BBU After Dark: Bonnie Sveen vs Gemma Merna

BBU After Dark from Cardiff Arena
Bonnie Sveen vs Gemma Merna
(ACB Independent vs Lookout! Atlantic Boxing)
(6-3, 6 KO vs 20-21-1, 18 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Former ACB flyweight champion Bonnie Sveen travels to Cardiff to catch up with some of the elite BBU names and while Gemma Merna's record still sits below .500, the former Hollyoaks stalwart remains a tough challenge for anything bold enough to fight her. Sveen believes otherwise though given her press conference comments: "No offense but Gemma relies on her former glory too much. She's not a wimp but I can totally beat her up! I probably underestimated Mollie King a while back but I won't make the same mistake again. This cow is going down tonight!"

Gemma finds it amusing the tourist from Tasmania dismisses her so openly but refuses to fall for the trash-talking trap: "Maybe she's doing this on purpose. I mean yeah, Mollie King knocked her out and I'm way stronger than these singer ballerinas. If she wants a vicious scrap I'm here for the taking! Watch out what you wish for, bytch!"

Bonnie Sveen wears a white bikini set & red gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a half-up ponytail. Gemma Merna wears an orange bikini & white gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a half-up ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the flyweight division.

Round 1:
Gemma takes off with some high-octane jabbing and forces the tourist to react accordingly but she still lands plenty of solid leather into the younger blonde's face. Bonnie has to get going since she realizes the UK favorite won't yield an inch here so the action quickly turns into a back & forth leather dispute in the center of the ring. Bonnie follows through with some impressive hits but refuses to tackle the actress to the chest and swings upstairs to catch her on the mouth several times. However Merna leans into her punches as well and eventually knocks the better value into Sveen's face forcing her out of the close range come the final stretch. That last period might be enough for the Hollyoaks babe to take the round on points!

Round 2:
Bonnie comes out swinging in the second and lands some hard shots into the fellow blonde's face before powering ahead with an uppercut series to finally put some heat on Merna's cleavage. The assault lasts long enough to drive the English actress back to the ropes where she breaks the Aussie's run with a somewhat desperate heave from behind the guard. She decides to simply stick it into Bonnie's face while soaking up a steady dose of jug muggin' heat down the stretch. Both blondes lean into each other in genuine slugging fashion, Sveen shows no signs of ring rust and keeps the pressure on until Gemma has to blink first and clinch her to gain a late respite. Bonnie still knocks her back to the turnbuckle but can't really follow through with full power anymore.

Round 3:
Gemma storms back with a couple of head shots and laces one into the Aussie navel to keep her at bay while working the overhand drive during the opening minute. The idea to hold Sveen in mid-range pays off as the Hollyoaks stunner punches through her opponent's guard almost at will and causes the tourist to bark in anger when she gets smacked around the eye one time too many. She leaps into a quick jabbing burst but Merna has that covered and loops more overhands on target crashing into Bonnie's face all the time. Ugh! It's one thing to look physically above average after a lenghty lay-off but the Aussie defense is nowhere to be found in the final minute so Gemma duly knocks a couple of visible lumps around both eyes to leave the fellow blonde fuming at the bell.

Round 4:
Bonnie moves in to tackle the chest and scores a couple of good hits before Gemma can swing over the top again. Close range is where the Aussie tourist feels at home and she keeps drilling through the Brit's cleavage until she makes her yelp in pain... nothing a clinch can't rescue but Sveen shakes it off after a brief physical struggle and then booms one on the nose before Merna can raise her arms again. Woof! The British blonde stumbles to her heels upon impact and has little chance to recover in time as Bonnie NAILS her with a vicious combo on each temple. Uh-oh!!! Gemma goes limp and bounces off the ropes straight into a hard right hook on the mouth that FLOORS HER moments later amid a loud cheer from the Cardiff audience. Huh! Bonnie makes some gestures aimed at the crowd and cheerfully struts back to her corner however the clock comes to Merna's rescue and expires just as she gets up at eight... still looking rattled to say the very least. Can she recover from this dangerous spot?

Round 5:
Oh yes, she can recover! Bonnie romps it in but meets a hard series on the chest herself and comes off worst from a vintage if unexpected jug muggin' dispute in the center of the ring. Gemma cripples her foe into spasms and then volleys a right hook on the ear to slump the Aussie tourist on jelly knees wholesale. How about that? Bonnie looked set to build on that late knockdown and now she gets blasted back to the ropes with Merna slugging it into her guts until she breaks her down half-way through the round. SVEEN TAKES A KNEE and spits out her gumshield to delay the count. All that chest thumping leaves her visibly breathless and even when she beats the count at eight there is nothing she can do about Gemma blasting more leather up the middle to collect extra jug hits and carry the beating into the final minute. Sveen just can't take it anymore and cries out in pain forcing the ref to STEP IN and halt the contest a few seconds later!!! TKO5 Gemma Merna!!!

AFTER: Big win for the former Hollyoaks' finest who admits it was fun punching the crap out of the Aussie tourist: "So much for who beats up whom, bytch! I'm sure they love her back home but she's not in my league and never was! But hey, if she wants a full-time JMD contest then I'm ready for a rematch!" (winks).

Meanwhile Bonnie needs to find some answers if she's still an elite boxer or has to accept a downgrade to a contender benchmark for other girls. She can always make proper noise back in ACB but the rise of the Herbert, Perkins and Mescia siblings suddenly makes that market a little more crowded than few years ago.

Official Result: Gemma Merna def. Bonnie Sveen TKO5.