For the first time in more than two years, Timaru will play host to an amateur matched boxing tournament.
Hosted in partnership by the Timaru and Temuka boxing clubs, the event will take place at Celtic Hall on Saturday.
The host boxers will be joined by fighters from Dunedin, Christchurch, Queenstown, Kaikoura and Rangiora on a card with 16 confirmed bouts.
The fights will range from mini cadet action all the way to the elite level, making for a wide range of weight class and skilllevel match-ups.
Timaru Boxing Club coach Hannah Guthrie said it would be great to finally have everyone back in Timaru.
‘‘They work so hard all year in training and are often out of town, so it will be really nice to have that local crowd behind them, because that’s not what we get very often.’’
The card will feature six fighters from Timaru and Temuka, notably Shannon Drake from Timaru and cadet Leo Davidson from Temuka.
Timaru club boxers had spent most of this year travelling around the South Island and for the first time in seven years entered a fighter, Pasoni Taafaki, 16, in the nationals.
The club also had recent success with Pasoni and his younger brother Taafaki Taafaki, 12. Both became novice Golden Glove champions in their respective categories.
Taafaki Taafaki was also awarded a trophy for the best overall improver in all grades at the Golden Gloves competition. Guthrie said she hoped the tournament would be a kickstarter for future Timaru boxing events. ‘‘The aim is to run a Timarubased tournament once a year. ‘‘We really need local support to allow us to build on the momentum of this tournament and hold bigger and better tournaments here in the future.’’
There had been a bit of a resurgence in the number of Timaru boxers in recent months, she said.
‘‘We would normally see about 10 to 15 on an average training night, but now we are seeing about 26 a night which is cool — a lot of young kids as well.’’
She said that the youngest member of the club was 9 and the oldest 33.
Doors open at 5pm; tickets are cash only, with adults $20 and children 15 and under $10.
Family passes for two children and two adults are also available for $50.
