Rotorua Fight Night: Women's epic battle

It's not often you can say you've won when you've lost but "Slammin" Samantha Sandford can.

The 26-year-old took on The Daily Post reporter Krissy "Can't Touch This" Macfarlane in the seventh bout of the Corporate Fight Night.

Both women showed little fear and fists of steel as they slugged it out for three gruelling rounds in what was the fight of the night.

Macfarlane 28, an orthodox fighter with a slight reach and height advantage, looked to use it to full effect in the first round.

She fired long straight punches - raining them down like last month's hail storm - while Sandford, a southpaw fighter and a strong counter-puncher with a jaw of steel, answered back with her own granite-like straight punches.

Neither woman looked to take a backward step during the fight.

Macfarlane started to use a straight right to devastating effect late in the first round - snapping Sandford's head back. But Sandford countered with equal gusto with her own hard right jab.

At the end of the first round most of the crowd were on their feet - buoyed with anticipation for the second round.

Macfarlane came out hard and fast in the second, looking to break Sandford, pinning her into the corner and the referee jumping in to give the blonde bombshell a standing eight. Many would have folded but it appeared giving up wasn't in this girl's vocabulary and she came back swinging hard, landing a couple of solid left hooks.

Both fighters went to their corners at the end of the second breathing hard and knowing they had entered an epic battle with no room for the weak.

As they stood for the third and final round, the crowd were on their feet screaming and knowing they were witnessing something special.

No one in the room would have blamed the two women if they hadn't come out for the last round - but they touched gloves and got it on.

Sandford appeared to realise she needed to lift her game if she wanted to steal the win from Macfarlane and for the first time in the fight controlled the middle of the ring and for a moment had the taller woman moving backwards.

However Macfarlane's conditioning started to show through and she regained the ascendancy with stiff jabs which halted Sandford's progress and any chance of the win.

At the end of the round both women knew they had been in a fight and the crowd showed their appreciation with a standing ovation. Macfarlane's hand was raised in victory but there were no losers in this fight - only warriors.