Nina Dobrev vesus Sophia Bush (Bantamweight Title)

Unified Bantamweight Title
Ch Nina Dobrev vs Sophia Bush
(Lioness Club of America vs Girls Friday)
(40-24-1, 32 KO vs 27-21, 25 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: "It's not a stretch, folks! I had Sophia on my radar for a long time but this delay will only make my victory even sweeter than before!", bantam champion Nina Dobrev dismisses the idea she's run out of justified options when defending the belts and claims "Priyanka Chopra missed her chance when Claire Danes told her to move over last month! And hell, she's retired now so it's a win/win for all of us!" (laughs).

Sophia's rise into the bantamweight elite has shocked several people in the industry and even losing the Alpha Boxing Club management didn't stop her from landing back on her feet with the notoriously dangerous Girls Friday. So tonight's contest actually serves as a Kaya Scodelario revenge mission? Not for Sophia who claims: "I've waited way too long for this shot to be talking about Kaya! It's mad enough Nina talks about Priyanka Chopra but I hope she chokes on all these laurels coming from the Danes retirement thing. That was then and this is now! Don't call me an underdog because I will make you pay!"

Nina Dobrev wears a violet bikini set with black trim & red gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. Sophia Bush wears a red bikini set & white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Champion dominates the opener cracking one head shot after another as the older brunette needs to gather her thoughts around the high-tempo start from Dobrev. Easier said than done and Sophia's leaky guard leaks too much which only makes Nina smile a little too soon for comfort. This is a completely different level for Bush though and she doesn't respond with enough power to tame the Dobrev attack which relies on both pace & precision and has the challenger backing off in a hurry. A swift hook on the liver area only makes matters worse for Bush who gets tangled back along the ropes and eats an overhand from the left that sends her spinning onto the turnbuckle right before the bell.

Rounds 2 & 3:
Nina's surprised she managed to stick it to Sophia is such a commanding fashion that she almost taunts her into a proper attack during the next six-minute spell. Does this makes the champion a little too careless in the post-Danes world after all? Sophia tries to bang some combos in but relies on the single strikes too often to make her mark and gets easily brawled into a stalemate where Nina bumps her off in a sign of complete physical dominance. Bush ain't gonna do much from mid-distance either and gets picked off one punch after another until she ends up earmuffed in the corner and Nina piles more juice on the expoxed ribcage to run away with the action at will.

Round 4:
Bush finally storms out in a slugging manner and lands a couple of nasty hook on Nina's jaw which triggers a punch-happy exchange in the center of the ring. Nina still has that half-grin on her face UNTIL she gets whacked on the jaw and wobbles to the side while Sophia pierces her solar plexus with a nasty double. She adds a belting hook on the liver area and has the champion screaming for the first time! Dobrev pushes off the back foot and tries to smack the older brunette right back but eats a quick hook on the nose instead and drops her gloves just so Sophia BLOWS into her chest with a right hand that folds the Bulgarian brunette like a jack-knife! AND DOWN GOES THE CHAMPION!!! A stunning result of Sophia's first meaningful attack of the night that has the arena going silent! Huh! Nina barks a lot during her slowish recovery and gives Bush a mighty death stare when she gets up but she's not smiling anymore and Sophia just piles more pressure when the action resumes! She lands one hook on the rack after another as well as clipping the jaw to shut Dobrev down for good!

Round 5:
Sophia rolls out the jabbing cannon fire and has Nina backed off in mid-distance where the response impact is rendered neutral. The hassle for the upset is on but Bush just doesn't have the legs to close down a spooked champion. She lands singles when she needs a Grand Slam to smoke Dobrev away and even the scorecards won't do enough damage here... Nina defaults the round in order to survive and clinches the challenger when she needs it the most. Ref turns a blind eye and lets the champ to fight on her terms before a late hook on the jaw sends her spinning onto the ropes with a whimper... too little too late from Bush to cash in on the wounded prey though!

Round 6:
Girls Friday order another full-scale attack but Nina battles back amid heavy attrition early in the sixth where she knocks Sophia on each brow ridge and begins to scythe across the face on a repeated basis. We enter the grudge mode now and Bush still thinks she's got the fellow brunette rattled enough for one epic series to break her back for good... not gonna happen here though as she swallows some pride when Dobrev clobbers her on the mouth and bends onto her heels before a jug-lifting series glues her to the spot... The Canadian citizen then adds a huge cross on the brow ridge that tears some flesh and has Bush ailing on the spot! Another left hook on the jaw and Bush gives up too much real estate but the clock expires just before Dobrev can smoke her with more juice in the corner!

Round 7:
Bush struggles physically now as she gets bullied around the ring with Dobrev reigning supreme in close range; she lands too much jug muggin' leather for Sophia not to feel it and once she tags the wounded brow ridge, the seeping nightmare becomes a problem for the challenger. Bush doesn't have the power required to match Nina's in-yo-face style and gets pounded back to the corner where she leaks one brutal strike after another... Dobrev gets vocal again as she piles more head-hunting pressure and has the older woman screaming in shame... this only fuels her production and blows a vicious uppercut double on the chin that sends Bush into jelly mode... she slumps on her knees with a loud shriek and gets SEND ON HER MERRY WAY with a LEFT HOOK ON THE ACHING CHIN!!! Sophia bounces off the ropes deadmeat and collapses face-down at the Canadian's feet! And it's all over! KO7 and STILL the unified bantamweight champion Nina Dobrev!!!

AFTER: "Okay, so this wasn't my finest performance yet but win is a win!", Nina reviews her latest title defense with an ice pack around her chin, "Going overtime vs Claire Danes was a little tough I can tell you that and Sophia can pack a punch but she didn't bother me enough to steal those straps!" (points at the belt wrapped around her hips). "I'll be just fine! Please ignore these fans who can't cheer for the Bugarian Badass like ME!" (laughs).

What next for Ms Dobrev? No official word from the Lioness camp and Eva Mendes can't think of a better response than "It's not gonna be Priyanka Chopra" because everyone pretty much knows that already!

Meanwhile there are some angry faces in the Girls Friday corner. Coach Lauren Berlingeri realizes that Dobrev was there for the taking based on her gruesome Danes battle last month but Bush just didn't have enough power to shoot the low-hanging fruit down tonight. Maybe it was a sabotage from Kaya Scodelario then? Boxing World Magazine questions whether it was in Kaya's best interest to see her older stablemate beat Dobrev tonight and the answer coming back is "NO". But the English babe remains silent on twitter unlike Demi Lovato who still tries to tell everyone and their mother why she's the BEST bantamweight prospect in the league right now.

"Beggars can't be choosers! I'm soooo sick of Demetria right now!", Nina almost storms out of the ring when she realizes those rumours have surfaced again! But they sure make for a great PPV storyline so Nina better thinks of a very good excuse to silence them anytime soon!

Official Result: Ch Nina Dobrev def. Sophia Bush KO7.