It was a weekend to remember for the Timaru Boxing Association Gym with six boxers making their competitive debuts at the South Island Novice Championships.
Ten boxers from the Timaru association fought on the card at the Woolston Boxing Club, in Christchurch, at the end of March.
Joining George Cann, 15, Parker Hanifin, 14, Cameron Clarke, 15 and Lewis Taylor, 17, to make their debuts were Noah Livesey, 12, Jack Molloy, 15, Jonty Vaughan, Carter Wakelin, 17, Capri Coffey-Gibson, 10, and Paiaka Taha, 15.
In the male cadet 50kg division, Noah came up against a strong opponent in Southern Queen Boxing’s Luis Payan and was defeated in the first round via RSC (referee stops contest).
Molloy showed a lot of grit and spirit in his male junior 75kg debut bout against Kaikoura’s Kobi Allen — ultimately losing by unanimous decision.
In the male elite 75kg division Vaughan took a hard shot in the first round from Box on Boxing Blenheim’s Isaiah Ratana but bit down on his mouthguard, kept his guard up and battled through to the end of the fight.
The judges scored the bout in favour of Ratana via unanimous decision.
Wakelin put in a tidy performance on debut, throwing some good basic combinations but was unable to land enough of them, resulting in a unanimous decision loss.
Coffey-Gibson showed heart against a strong older opponent in Papanui’s Wolf Ross — losing in the end via unanimous decision.
Cann started strong in his bout, dropping Southern Queens Boxing’s Israel Henwood in the first round.
Although he appeared to dominate throughout the fight, he was handed a close split-decision loss.
In the junior 80kg division, Taha took on Victory Boxing Nelson’s Zac Fleming and despite a good performance was handed a unanimous decision loss.
Hanifin came up against a familiar opponent in Reefton’s Brock Thomson, who came at him hard and fast.
Showing great composure, Hanfin managed to stay on top throughout the fight and pick up a unanimous decision win.
Clarke took on Hickman Boxing Gym’s Marvin Oh-Stanley in a rematch.
Unable to take advantage of his range due to good pressure from an improved Oh-Stanley, Clarke lost the competitive contest via unanimous decision.
In a straight final, Taylor took on Whakatu Boxing’s Devon Edwards in the youth 70kg division.
Showing great improvement since his debut in October last year, Taylor incorporated more variety in his shots but just not enough to get the win.
Edwards received the nod from the judges via a close unanimous decision.
Coach Hannah Guthrie said while it was not the best day results-wise, the Timaru fighters held their ground and displayed some quality boxing.
‘‘[I’m] so proud of all the hard work leading up to this. Having 10 boxers in one day was huge.
‘‘Literally running between two rings at times was a bit of a struggle to manage but we got there with team work.
‘‘A huge thank you to coach Cherie, Shannon, Will and Curtis for everything you guys did and a shout out to all our families, supporters, sponsors, officials, Rangers Specialist Coatings for their continued support in suppling us with their van for the weekend and Woolston Boxing Gym for hosting.’’
