Minka Kelly vs Candice Patton

Minka Kelly vs Candice Patton
(Lioness Club of America vs Belle Boxers)
(53-26-1, 49 KO vs 6-8, 6 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: This is a curious match-up as Candice Patton was once rumoured to replace Nicole Scherzinger at Lioness Club of America before the arrival of Nina Dobrev voided those plans. Candice has landed over at the Belle Boxers instead and hopes to cash in on Minka Kelly who's "way past her prime" according to the Mississippi native.

However Minka claims she's got juice left in the rank that will carry her all the way to the Hall of Fame: "I don't wanna sound rude but Candice got punched out by flyweight convert Selena Gomez AND Priyanka Chopra who is only few months younger than I am. What gives, Candy? You're seeking way too much attention compared to your actual skills so it's gonna be a pleasure to shut you up tonight!" (giggles).

Minka Kelly wears a leopard print bikini top, black hotpants & red gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Candice Patton wears a neon green bikini top, silver hotpants & matching silver gloves. Medium lenght black hair tied in a high ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Minka's been accused of starting her fights oh-so slowly before but not tonight! She catches the younger woman by surprise and clobbers her to the body to force Candice back upon the initial impact. The southpaw brunette works her punches on the proverbial speed dial and has Candice responding in weak single-hand fashion that makes little difference as Kelly simply bounces her around with superior execution and work rate. Candice lands on the ropes and weaves around in futile attempts to break free - the California rival simply keeps her stacked with more nasty hooks finding the target and Patton has to bellow out behind a desperate earmuff late while losing any hopes of making a comeback here.

Round 2:
Candice squares up to the older actress in close range and punks her in the body before working downstairs for majority of the opening minute. Minka holds her ground well at first but she gets sucked into some unneccessary wrestling struggle while Patton tries to stick her foot in the door amid a frantic effort to punish the southpaw to the body. Both women clash heads at one stage but refuse to back off; Candice blasts a left hook on the jaw to finally assume control and she lands some crisp jabs on the follow through as Kelly weaves around on her toes but still gets trapped on the ropes late and has to clinch her opponent in the end.

Round 3:
More body assault success for Patton in the opening minute as she repeatedly targets Minka's breadbasket and forces her into a lenghty clinch that slows the pace of this bout right down. Minka's a renowed counter-punching expert but she gets bullied onto the ropes as Candice seeths into her ear and lands those nasty gut shots to keep the former champion under cosh. Minka breaks free but trading head shots doesn't solve the deadlock as Candice rallies her downstairs thereafter and thumps her onto the ropes where more slugging harpoons force another clinch from the Lioness fighter. It's ugly boxing to a degree but very effective for the underdog Belle Boxer who punches the air in visible delight at the bell.

Round 4:
Candice rolls out with the body assault heat again but gets spun to the side when Minka tags her chin with a brutal double combo; she follows through with a looping shot on the temple and has Patton reeling thereafter. More strikes from the southpaw stance knock Patton's head back and she has to seek respite in mid-distance while Kelly maintains her prowl and eventually thumps the younger brunette onto the ropes. Candice weaves around on her feet and sends punches from behind the guard but finds the forearms with most of them and eats a vicious overhand late with Minka dropping a rare harpoon bomb on the navel to fold her rival into loud spasms right at the bell.

Round 5:
Patton is determined to make her body assault work again but finds herself blasted on the liver area herself as Kelly takes advantage on the phone booth pounce during the initial tangle. Both women lean on each other and hammer away in feisty fashion when a loud shriek of pain interrupts the back & forth slugfest... CANDICE IS HURT!!! She got rocked by one of these harpoons on the liver and bends to the side while Minka SMOKES her with a right/left combo on the exposed chin!!! DOWN GOES PATTON!!! Those two nasty shots provided the surplus damage as Candice collapses in a heap and can't stop moaning her heart out during the count... nope, she's all done here, folks! KO5 Minka Kelly!!!

AFTER: Minka calmly walks back to her corner and exchanges words with Eva Mendes while Candice has to be lifted off the canvas and heads back to her corner with a face full of pain. "Told ya she's not good enough to be a real force! She doesn't have a true heart of a Lioness", Eva pads Minka on her back but with the upcoming Fight Night Live line-up announced last night, the LCA focus shifts to Laura Vandervoort already: "We've got a serious test on our hands next! Two weeks and we're back in action again!", "I'm cool, Laura had her moments but she's kinda past-prime-ish already. I really have to blow her away! She was on my birthday hit list and guess what, I can still win at the age of 40! How about that?", Minka remains in high spirits and doesn't want to settle for undercard Cougar bouts going forward. She celebrated her 40th birthday on Wednesday and there's still plenaty of juice left in this Irish-American tank!

Official Result: Minka Kelly def. Candice Patton KO5.