Antz Nansen has been showing plenty of aggression in his lastest fights. He usually finds his range early and pours the pressure on his opponents. On Saturday night we were all suprised to see him on the recieving end right from the get go when unknown fighter Joel Martin came out strong and had Antz under the pump. It was a test of Nansen's toughness as Martin never relented the fast pace right throughout the fight. When Nansen returned to his corner after the second round he looked like a beaten fighter and I was one of many in the packed out stadium to think we were going to see an upset. But to his credit he dug deep and finished the fight strongly to get the judges nod. This performance let us see a new side to Nansen as he has never been so sorely tested before. We now know he can take a shot as well as dish it out. The raw boned Martin who I believe started his carreer with Stu Chambers will be a welcome addition to the heavyweight ranks up here and after Saturdays display there will be a few of the big boys looking over their shoulders.

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SMAC gym was running its first promotion under new managment on Saturday night, and what a promotion it was. When I arrived early there was already a feeling of excitment in the air. It was obvious this was a real team effort and by the end of the night it was obvious everyone in the team had done their bit extremly well. The feeling of excitment grew as did the crowd and it was pleasing to see the first fight get under way on time. The match ups were good with the judges working over time to select the winners of many very tight matches. The main bout on the night was a 3 round Muay Thai Welterweight Fight between Sefa Fue and Whakatane's Wicharn Ekpaibal. The first round was less than 30 seconds old when a right hand from Fue flattened Ekpaibal. After the count Sefa rushed in to finish the job but Wicharn was fully recovered and tried to make up lost ground by throwing the first elbows of the fight. Towards the end of the round Wicharn was again in trouble. This time it was a left that did the damage and it was only the ropes that stopped Wicharn going down again. Referee Keo-Sud was quick to put the count on but that only prolonged the agony as with only 2 seconds left in the round Sefa delivered the croup de gras with another prefectly thrown right that put the lights out on the night for Wicharn. It was an emphatic display of percision and power from The Silent One and brought down the curtain on a very enjoyable night.

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Justin Reti & Jay McTaggart novice
Ian Best bt Levi Cotter pts
Ricky Campbell bt Doug Higgins pts
Torin Ropiha bt Gareth Dakin pts
Tafa Misipati bt Colin Rameka rd 2 ko
Jeremy Keogh bt Julian TeTai pts
Joe Brown bt Sam Hermez pts
Luke Brinkly bt Haydon Turton pts
Nick Schwarzer bt Mark Kitching pts
Ben Davis bt Josh Healy pts
Adam Smith bt Phil Larking pts
Kartik bt Trevor Browne pts
Tony Shhollum bt Shaye Brooks pts
Antz Nansen bt Joel Martin pts
Sefa Fue bt Wicharn Ekpaibal rd 1 ko

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Peter Sampson strung another scalp on his belt when he reversed the result of his previous outing with Daniel Tai. In their first encounter in September 2004 the decision went the way of Tai after the fight was stopped in the first round when Sampson badly split his shin. Sampson was justifiably cautous about kicking the tree trunks Daniel calls legs and prefered to use long range tactics. This performance was no where near as convincing as his win over Jason Suttie but he kept picking up the points to take the decision. Daniel looked a bit round in the middle but hes stamina was good and he used his experience to pace himself. As always he looked very dangerous when able to get close enough to land the leather and at one point I thought hes leg kicks might carry the day for him. As it was I had him a lot closer on the score cards than the judges did and hope that I am present at the decider.

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Rex Radford's dream of becoming the fourth man in New Zealand to fight two opponents back to back turned to ashes last night when the toss of the coin saw him matched against Joshua Tai ahead of Johnny Loughrey. What would have happened if the coin landed the other way we will never know but what we do know is that Rex struck Joshua at the very top of his game and that a devistating right hand half way throught the first round was the begining of the end for a very brave Radford. The fight had started well for Radford who has the reach on most in the division, he was keeping Tai at bay with straight punches and front kicks but Tai looked sharp and dangerous and as soon as the opportunity presented itself he was in like a shot. The first round ended with Rex under a heavy assult from Joshua and he must have been happy to hear the bell. After that things just went from bad to worse and in the second after another barrage that included everything bar the kitchen sink Rex went down in the blue corner. He managed to climb to his feet but before Clyde Cowley could finish the count his corner sensibly jumped in and stopped the fight. While Rex will be sporting a broken nose and some stiches over an eye for a while Joshua has his eye well and truly set on his next mission. A show down with Richie "Hardcore" Steward on 26th July

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Jordan Ming bt Jackson Mohi pts
Dave Cosgrove bt Chris Wells pts
Ian Best & Jeremy Bishop draw
Phoenix Mardel bt Phalcken Wilson pts
Kent Rusbridge & Mike Dawson draw
Fleur Storr bt Hui Poi pts
Duran Butler bt Phil Larkin pts
Shane Te Moni bt Antonio Tuamafono pts
Blade Pathai bt Musa Ahmadov pts
Nathan Nunn bt Tii Nanai pts
Tori Nansen bt Tiola Tausisi pts
Dan Srangham bt Marty Wickliff rd3 tko
Joshua Tai bt Rex Radford rd 2 tko
Peter Sampson bt Daniel Tai pts

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Lucky for some. While we put up with rain, hail, freezing winds and frosts some of the fighting community have packed up and headed of to warmer climates. Shannon Foreman is already in Thailand and he will soon have some company. Richie Steward left on Sunday night and Jan Antolik followed on Monday. John Conway and fiance Nikki leave shortly for an African adventure. Thinking of you all.

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Phillip Lam has made some very interesting changes to his card for his 26th July show. Daniel Kerr was to have fought Tony Angelov but will now step up to the main bout and square off against Choppa. This change comes about after Sifu had trouble securing a top class opponent for his star pupil. Tony Angelov fans will not be disapointed, as he will now face Charlie Smiler. This battle between the tall timber will be equally interesting. More on the card at a later date.

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There were not too many people in the crowd that thought Daniel Kerr, (all the way from Dunedin,) would last the distance against Jan "Atomic" Antolik.But he not only lasted the distance, he sorely tested Jan in what was a very bruising encounter. What a lot of fight fans didn't know, was that Daniel had lived and fought in Thailand for three and a half years before moving on to England for a stint in that country as well. The former Tae Kwon Doe gold medalist left New Zealand at an early age to further his experience after only two fights in this country, and at the tender age of twenty three has racked up fifty three fights in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, England and Singapour. He has won thirty six of then including twenty by the short route. His kicking style and power were a feature of his game on Saturday and his spinning elbow was the quickest I have ever seen thrown. Althought Jan won the fight, a lot of the talk after it was about the good Southern Man. Daniel had rung Phillip about a month ago to see if he could get a fight in Auckland but at that stage Phillip had nothing for him. The earthquake in China changed all that and Daniel was only too pleased to get the call up. Lam was quick to offer him another match up straight after the fight. Daniel who will fight anywhere from 78kg to 86kg has been matched against Tony Angelov

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Phillip Lam has long been known to those who know him closely as a kind and caring man and those attributes were never more evident than on Saturday night. Taking it upon himself to do something for the China earthquake victoms, he organised a show to raise money for them. With a near full house on a night that was competing against the All Black v Ireland test most would have been happy. The door takings would have been a nice contribution, but Phillip was not satisfied and I am sure his emotional and heart felt plea to patrons to contribute even more had a lot to do with the raising of an astonishing $20,000. Members from the Chinese Embassy were on hand to gratefully accept the donation.

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Nik Jesop bt Shane TeMonie pts
Johny Loughery bt Imran Khan pts
Davor Matarugic bt Ben Davis pts
Steven Pipe bt Luke Tarei pts
Mika Maliefulu bt Junior Crighton pts
Ben Ale bt Sam Hermez rd3 tko
Tafa Misipati bt Trevor Browne pts
Tony Angelov bt Bryce Baron rd1 ko
Jan Antolik bt Daniel Kerr pts

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Aaron Boyes had the recipe right to get a packed house at his Young Blood 2 show at the Ocean City Chinese Restaurant last night. It was a simple recipe really. Give the fans the fights they want to see and they will come in droves. Last nights card was jammed packed with great match ups and even Aaron was suprised how many good fights he was able to arrange. The two 5okg novice bouts were fair dinkum and got the night off to a flyer and from there on in it just kept on geting better. With fighters from as far away as Wellington on show there was a good sample of diferent styles and with the exeption of a couple of fights the matches could have gone either way going into the last round. As always there was huge suport for the large contingent of Strikeforce fighters and the fighters did their Gym proud. This crowd had its moneys worth well before the half way stage and were happy and vocal right to the very end. A very enjoyable night for me and a great night for kickboxing.

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Tiola Tausisi bt Shelly McBride pts
Rawiri Redden bt Kayne Conlan pts
Ben Sisam bt Julian Te Tai pts
Antz Nansen bt Kaota Puna pts
Ronan McCarthy bt Mel Prior pts
Luke Brinkly bt Joe Kelly rd3 tko
Duran Butler bt Arash Shadan rd3 ko
Harris Ishikawa bt Johny Claperton pts
Slava Alexeichik br Rhys Collier rd2 tko
Willie Lam bt Ivan Mertic pts
Steve Anderson bt Leeroy Calquhoun pts
Ruben De Jong bt Charlie Smiler pts
Leamy Tato bt Sam Brown pts mma

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Bethany Nansen bt Lauren Pringle pts
Luke Tairi bt Kane Walker pts
Hadleigh Donald bt Yok Sermjan rd3 tko
Luke Miller bt Tim pts
Jason Ajdani bt Garth Fogden pts
Peter bt Dion Blair pts
Gerhardt bt Kent pts
Albert bt Ash Spalding pts
Simon Hodder bt Johann Voss rd1 rsc
Bryce Baron bt Ra Johnathan pts
Jason Nicholson bt Evan Yoeman rd 5 kko

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Brian Twomey staged what I consider the best ever Bash on Saturday night. After a very worrying time with major pull outs in the final week Brian managed to assemble a card that did both him and Tauranga proud. After some very entertaining novice fights seven very hard fought fights gave the large crowd everything they could have hoped for. With fighters from as far afield as Auckland in the North to Marsterton in the South the scene was set for some top class action. Like Miller and Adam Smith could not be separated by the judges and both have the potential to go a long way in the sport. Dion Blair was doing well against Bryce Glover until a perfect right hand ended his night early. Rhys Muir from ETK made it two fights two ko wins when he stopped David Cosgrove in the second round of their encounter. Patrick Jackson turned up to the hall to help set up the tables but ended up in the ring instead. Unfortunately Steve Rankin landed a huge right hand in round one and spoiled the party for Patrick. Super heavyweights Napoleon Eketone and Takie from ETK enthralled the crowd as they went toe to toe for the majority of their three rounds. In the main bout of the card Johny Claperton had to much ammo against a brave Rhys Richards. In the second Malcolm Harley threw the towel in as Richards climbed off the canvas for about the fourth or fifth time. It was a night I truly enjoyed and as usual Brian was an outstanding and extremely generous host. I look forward to Bash 10

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It was great to catch up with one of my favorite fighters from yesteryear at Lollos the other night. Mark "Buster" Burnett. During his career in which he was only beaten twice Buster held both the North and South Island Middleweight Titles, the New Zealand Middleweight Title and also the South Pacific Middleweight Title "Buster" was always good to watch, his stand up straight punching style made it difficult for opponents to upset and hence the excellent record. "Buster" still looks in good enough shape to get back in the ring.

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Saturday marked yet another milestone in the history of Lollo Heimuli when his Balmoral Lee Gar gym celebrated its 20th Aniversary. Over the past two decades Lollo has established himself as a world class trainer of both kickboxers and boxers. His list of champions is way too long to mention here and it was good to see a fair amount of them at the function to help Lollo celebrate. Among those to speak were his mentor Sifu Phillip Lam, Long time friend and former champion Wayne Veaga, Eugene Bareman who still has very close ties with Balmoral even though he and Doug Viney run their own gym, Ivan Walker spoke with passion while close friend David Tua spoke from the heart. Jason Suttie summed up what Lollo means to the sport and to those who know him To those Ive missed I blame the Carlsberg. It was a really good night with Mike Angove doing a good job on the mic. The two finalists from last weeks S1 were sitting side by side enjoying the night and Richie Steward who was leaving for South America the next day was also in attendance. There was some awsome footage of some of the older fighters and Albert Heimuli would have to have won best ko with a pearler of a right hand that had his opponent out before hit the floor, yes floor, no rings back in the early days. It was a good time to catch up with some of the guys I hadn't seen for a long time and Robyn and I really enjoyed the night. Thanks so much for the invite Lollo. ps Got to mention the food, absolutely fantastic.

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The S1 DVDs are now on sale. Many people have told me the S1 was the best nights fights of the year. I would have to agree. Anyone in Aussie or anywhere else overseas wanting a copy before Xmas should order soon to make sure it arrives in plenty of time.

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Duan Marshall over come the odds, a long lay off and a very strong field to take away the coveted S1 title and the $10,000 first prize last Saturday night. He also won the right to represent Oceania in Thailand on the 5th December to fight for 1 million Barht. Unfortunately because of injuries sustained in the tourniment (namely a split shin that required stitching) he will not be taking his place in the final. In his first fight against Daniel Smyrke. Duan took time to warm up and there were a few in the crowd (myself included) that thought he was lucky to get a draw at the end of three. In the decider he left no such room for doubt and went through to the semis. It was another tough battle, this time against a very brave Daniel Holmes. Near the end of the second round the Aussie corner threw the towel in when they could see their man was suffering from an earlier elbow injury that had been agrivated by blocking the strong kicks of a now rampant Marshall. The final was against his old gym mate and very good friend Simon (Spike) Chamberlain who had had to fight two wars to get to the end. Both his Aussie opponents (Paul Smith and Milan Milosevic were very tough compeditors and took him right to the wire. Duan started the final strongly and also found the mark when he started to land thigh kicks to the lead leg. Although Spike did his best to desguise the pain it was obvious he was in a lot of discomfort. Lollo Heimuli changed Spikes game plan in the second and Spike come back into contention. The pair put friendship aside and went toe to toe for long periods of the fight. It was a fight very worthy of being a final of the biggest show of the year and the fighters received a standing ovation from many in the large crowd. Duan was a desered winner. He had been thrown a life line in the first and grabbed it with both hands. He had beaten the best Australasia had to offer and he had done it with style, skill, courage and heart. Well done mate.

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Nick Schwarzer bt Colin Shannon pts
Mike Mulipola bt Channon Karaka rd2 tko towel
Lewis Haku bt Danny Upago pts
Wesley Ikifetoko & Zac Maaka draw
Phil Larking bt Jordan Moana pts
Hadleigh Donald bt Charlie Baik pts
Chris Li bt Dan Srangham rd3 ko
Johnny Claperton bt David Cosgrove pts
Keith Mowat bt Tiki Bishop rd2 tko
Adam Smith bt Liston Tongia pts
Richie Nola bt Josh Tai pts
Onesi Lea'aetoa bt Pomare Ah Ling pts
Sio Vitale bt Rapheal Tai pts
Joel Naiden bt Terry Jack pts
Choppa Chapman bt Lerdmongkong pts
Choppa Chapman bt Kongsuriya rd1 ko

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Kayne Conlan bt Ricky Helms pts
Ricky Cambell bt Mapu Tomo rd3 tko
Rebecca Knox bt Natasha Norden pts
Jason Nicholson bt Daniel Nepia pts
Harris Ishikawa bt Luke Taire rd2 tko
Steven Pipe bt Rawiri Redden pts
Matt Feterika bt Eoin o Droma pts
Nato Laauli bt Chanel Feterika pts
Rex Radford bt David Gassman pts
Reid Karena bt Justin Ropiha pts
Logan Golaboski bt Oliver Mackie pts

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Rochelle Stroh bt Jinna Griffin pts
Dan Srangham bt Josh McKeon pts
Suzane Chapman bt Jo Norman pts
Luke Brinkley bt Shane Te Moni pts
Durran Butler bt Arash Shadan pts
Bede Bignell & Joseph Trevan draw
Terry Jack & Logan Golaboski demo
Melanie Stevens bt Brithany Nanse pts
Davor Matarugic bt Tomihoro rd1 ko
Aaron Rapson bt Ethan Hapi pts
Edwin Samy & Richie Steward demo
Jarad O'Gorman bt Vince Hidalgo pts
Lee Patrick bt Lisa Maulau pts
David Werimu bt Duan Marshal pts (boxing)
Prince Hamid bt Paz Viago pts (boxing)


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Over the last thirteen years I have been very fortunate to have interviewed close to 2000 fighters including most of the big names from over seas. I have met some wonderful men and women and heard some great stories, but French fighter Ghislain Bellon had a tale to tell like none I have ever heard before. After learning that he had been in Thailand training for a year I asked him how many fights he had in France before he went to Thailand. His reply amazed me. Before he left Paris he was a pizza cook and had never had a fight in his life. Not on the street, not in a club or bar, not even in school. He had never had a boxing glove on his hand but decided one day to shift to Thailand and become a Muay Thai fighter. Since his arrival one year ago he has learnt how to fight and has actually fought ten times. He has won seven of these fights with five being won by ko. Spike Chamberlain gave him a lesson on Saturday but there is no doubt he is a quick learner and will take a lot from the outing. I wish him all the best in his chosen career.

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There has been (as there always is after a close fight) quite a lot of conjecture about the judges decision in the Alexader-Chapman fight. I can see arguments for both fighters but believe the decision was a fair one. I certainly didn't envey the judges on the night and thought by the reaction of the fighters when the draw was announced that both looked comfortable with the call. That is usually a good indication of how they thought the fight went. For those of you who like me think the best outcome would be a rematch, we may get our wish. Phillip Lam is trying to arrange this to happen on Febuary 23rd. Lets all hope he is successfull.

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Phillip Lam got the best birthday present ever when Cosmo Alexader stepped into the ring with his "boy" Choppa Chapman. Over the last three or four years he has tried his hardest to get a fighter worthy of stepping in with our best ever Muay Thai fighter. Many have promised much but failed to deliver on the night and with a couple of exceptions Choppa has outclassed all easily. Instead of Phillip being happy about Choppa's winning streak, he has continued to look for a fighter that would test Choppa and give his loyal sponsers value for money. Little was known about the Brazilian who had been training in Thailand for only four months but Phillip took the word of Cosmo's trainer that it would be a good match up and it reached and surpassed all expectations. It was evident right from the first bell that Cosmo was the real deal. Choppa as usual probed for an opening right from the start but could not penitrate the cast iron defence and towards the end of the round it was Cosmo who was stalking Choppa. The second round was more of the same. Both fighters looking for an oppening but showing respect at the same time. Very technical would be the best way to describe the fight so far. It all erupted in the next. Cosmo had started the round strongly but Choppa had withstood the charge and was doing the attacking. From out of nowhere Cosmo ran forward and leapt in the air leading first with the right knee then while in full flight slamming the left knee flush to the jaw. For most men the night would have been over but Choppa is not most men and he climbed from the canvas staggering at first but then gaining his senses in time for the inevitable onslaught. He was lucky to avoid a straight right hand and another knee either of which could have finished the job in the red corner and looked like he might be back in it when another knee, this time to the solar plexis took the wind out of him and he had no other sensible option but to go down again. It was a testiment to his fittness that he was fighting back at the end of the round but he must have been thankfull to hear the bell. Choppa came out for the fourth fully recovered and set about making up for lost time but Cosmo was equal to the task and his defence remained strong. In the last Choppa lifted the bar again but once more there was no way through and one of Cosmo's knees almost got the desired result. All three judges saw the fight differantly and the end result was a draw. There were arguments for both fighters but neither deserved to lose. If a rematch can be arranged a sell out crowd will be assured.

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Slava Alexeichic bt Matt Williams
Richie Nola bt Keith Mowat pts
Chris Li bt Cam Charoensin pts
Antz Nansen bt Zac Maaka pts
Reid Karena pt Ben Davis pts
Jon Gallia bt Darza Svenson rd 1 ko
Michelle Preston bt Bronwyn Wylie pts
Jan Antolik bt Aaron Boyes pts
Spike Chamberlain bt Ghislain Bellon bts
Cosmo Alexader & Choppa Chapman draw

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Rex Radford had the height and reach advantage and he also dominated the first round in his match against Oscar Batucan. With Rex using the ring well and scoring at will in the grapple it was evident it was going to be a hard night at the office for Oscar. In the second things changed dramatically. Oscar started to have success with the hands and Rex seemed to drift away from the game plan that had worked so well for him in the first. In saying that it was still a very close round. In the third Oscar kept peppering Rex with long combo's. His hands have always been his best weapons and they were getting plenty of action. Towards the end of the round Rex came back strongly and that part of the round was clearly his. This was a close one and neither myself or co commentator Aaron Boyes was prepared to call it. The judges went the way of Oscar. This was a good result for him and he said that now his youngest is three he is hoping to fight on a more regular basis. We are hoping too.

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Eugene Bareman has always strived for perfection in the ring and that attention to detail was evident when he (along with absent bussiness partner Doug Vinney) hosted the first of what I hope is many promotions. It was a select and happy group of fans who knew the game that lined up to wittness what was a very pleasant night of fights. I had expected a night of novices but was happy and suprised to see some familiar names, including a couple of favouites. The main bout between Vinni Mahoni and Bryce Barron was the expected war everyone knew it would be. The two were evenly matched with both men landing some big shots. Near the end of the second Bryce was in trouble as Vinni landed some heavy punches and Bryce went backwards across the ring at a rate of knots. Vinni tried to finish the job but Bryce's experience saw him through. It was a very very close fight, Vinni saying later that he didn't think he had won but Bryce not complaining about not getting the nod either. Great sportsmen these two men. A nice touch on the night was a link up with Dougie from LA just to personaly thank the trainers and fighters for their support. That was how the night was. Careing hosts with fine food, a friendly atmosphere and topped off with some close well fought bouts. Others fights covered later.

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Pete Black & Harris Ishikawa novice
Kane Walker & Karl Rogers novice
Ellen Portch & Gaela Nixon novice
Maximus Bowden & Dylan Coyle novice
Ben Parkin bt Chris Stevens pts
Bryce Lendorf bt Daniel Kidwell ko rd1
Duncan McIntosh bt Dawson Grey pts
Josh Maloney bt Cann Hutton pts
Natasha Norden bt Leigh Peters pts
Oscar Batucan bt Rex Radford pts
Vini Mahoni bt Bryce Barron pts

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Dimitri Simoukov stole the show with an outstanding all round performance in winning the WKBF New Zealand Light Middleweight Title. Jamie Johnson had the hight and reach advantage but the speed of hand from Dimitri negated all that. Jamie was doing good work with low kicks and for a while had some success in the grapple, but as the fight wore on the power punches from Dimitri combined with his speed and excellent footwork saw him pick Jamie apart. Jamie Johnson is a very good fighter but on this night he could not control a rampant Dimitri who grew in convidence as the fight progressed. In the end he was dominating Jamie in all facets of the fight and it was ironicaly the leg kicks (Jamie won the early leg kick battle) that ended it in the third. Dimitri has gone from strength to strength this year and is high in the reconing for a shot at the S1 Title in November. Having scored a win over Jason Scerri who looks a likely candidate for the Aussie team will not have done his chances of gaining a place any harm, and the fact that Jamie is trained by S1 promoter Scotty Thomson would mean the win would hardly have gone un-noticed. On Saturday's performance I believe he would be hard to go past as a member of the New Zealand team.

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Steve Pipe & Charley Baik draw (novice)
Bryce Glover bt Colin Shannon rd2 tko
Lizzie Curtis bt Fleur Storr pts
C.J.Gilbert bt Jeremy Tewhau pts
Lewis Haku bt Joseph Trevan pts
Oscar Tahali bt Vince Betham pts (boxing)
Tony Schollum bt Johnny Loughery pts
Rebecca Knox bt Bridget McLaren pts
Gareth Jenkins bt Feleti Tavui rd3 tko (boxing)
Nga Rani bt Kathakan Mohandas rd2 tko
Ivan Mertic bt Jack Tuhega pts
Steve Anderson & Jason McDonald draw
Supi Moi Moi bt Kalolo Faatua pts (boxing)
Dimitri Simoukov bt Jamie Johnson rd3 tko

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There will be plenty of support for Steve "Action Man" Anderson when he makes his way into the ring on Saturday night. Steve is one of the most popular fighters in the North and many will be happy to see him back in the ring after what looked like a career ending accident when he fought Hamish Johnstone at this venue in October last year. On that night what looked like a mundane knee grapple turned into Steve's worst nightmare when both men fell and their combined weight landed on Steves leg and ripped the hamstring. Many fighters would have flagged the game away but Steve showed the determination that has made him so popular in the ring could also work for him in his recovery and he has finally made it back. His task will not be easy against the hard hitting Jason McDonald from Tokoroa. Jason has made a name for himself down the Island by ending fights early and is sure to be well tuned for his first bout in the big smoke.

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Scoty Thomson has just informed me that his computer crashed after opening a link from the links page on this site which lead to a site hosting a virus. He has been told by his computer man that it is the worst trojan virus around. My computer man is in Aussie until the 9th so I warn everyone NOT TO OPEN ANY LINKS ON THIS SITE. Iwill get this problem rectified asap. Cheers UPDATE: Computer Man has removed the links page due to missuse from pornography spammers.

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Sam Hermez 7 Nik Jessop draw
Johnny Loughrey bt Hadleigh Donald pts
Mike Gault & Peter Bishop jr draw
Ivan Mertic bt Estall Glassie pts
Nathan Nunn bt Jackson Mohi rd2 tko
Carmen Thompson bt Bridget McLaren pts
Joe McNeil bt Anton Hunt rd1 ko
Joel Naiden bt Andy Donaldson pts
Logan Golaboski bt Terry Jack pts
Jason Reti bt Iopu Iopu rd2 tko
Edwin Samy bt Soo Hyeong Hahm pts
Logan Galaboski bt Joel Naiden pts

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It wouldn't take much ink to write about the the main bout on the card. Jan Antolik was far too experienced for his opponent Yasoudah Yahudah in this one. Yaudah, the soft spoken 25 year old from Athens in Georgia didn't know how to combat the efficient machine that Antolik has become, and a jumping knee that slammed into the jaw ended it all in the first round. The rest of the card however produced some interesting matchups. It was good to see Jay Hepi back in the ring after his eight month enforced lay off. He looked very sharp and fought way too smart to be caught by Leamy Tato who tried hard to close the gap but was kept at bay by good front kicks and cleaver ring movement. Sio Vitale continued his comeback to the ring with another well compiled win over Daniel Tai. The smooth one didn't use any extra energy than was required making every shot and kick count. It was a polished display and makes Vitale two from two on the comeback trail. 117kg fighter Josh Masters was way to powerfull for Jon Gallia in their clash. Gallia tried hard, picking himself off the canvas numerous times, but the 21kg weight disadvantage and the immense strength of Masters wore him down. It only took one unorthodox looking punch half way through the third to finish the job. Soo Hyeong Hahm and Terry Jack fought one of the best on the night with Hahm getting the judges nod in what I thought was an extreemly close fight. The other fight of the night for my money was the bout between Alex Daly and Peter Bishop jr. Both have a lot of potential.

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I am still having trouble recieving order forms on my site. Anyone wishing to purchase DVDs or videos can get me on email. I have answered all corospondance so if I haven't got back to you I haven't recieved your mail. Please try again.

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Slava Alexeichik bt Armstrong Lomu pts
William Robson bt Erik Edwards pts
Alex Daly & Peter Bishop jr draw
Karthakan Mohandas bt Joe McNeil pts
Neil Swailes bt Shane Heurea pts
Soo Hyeong Hahm bt Terry Jack pts
Josh Marsters bt Jon Gallia rd3 ko
Sio Vitale bt Daniel Tai pts
Jay Hepi bt Leamy Tato pts
Jan Antolik bt Yahosuah Yahudah rd 1 ko

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Scotty Tomson has once again pulled off a major coup by retaining the rights to run this years S1 show on the 1st September. Last years show was a huge success for everyone except Scotty who I know suffered heavily financially. Over many years Scotty has put his heart and soul into the game we all love and I am sure with the refinments he has made to this years show he will come out on the right side of the ledger. If you have any passion for this sport I urge you to suport this show and make it the success it deserves to be. With Scotty picking the NZ team and Joe Hilton and John Cockburn (two men I admire greatly) picking the Aussie team we are garanteed to see the best Astralasia has to offer on show. Some have spread rumors that Choppa will try to make the weight for the eight man event but after talking to him at Aarons show this is unlikely. That dosen't mean you won't see him though. But for now my lips are sealed.

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There has been a fair bit of controversy about the bout between Joshua Tai and Blake Tomlinson, or should I say about the judgeing of the bout. I don't want to get too involved in that side of things except to say I agree totally with a comment Aaron Boyes made on AX about how you can watch a fight from one side of the ring and it looks as if fighter A has won the match and then you see it from a different angle on video later and you think maybe fighter B should have won. Blake Tomlinson came into this fight with a huge advantage as far as experience was concerned. Twenty four fights, seventeen wins with ten KOs against Joshua who had only had five previous bouts. This experience showed in the early rounds with Blake controling the ring and also the grapple. In fact I thought Blake had one of the best grappleing techniques I have seen in an amateur fighter. Half way through the fight Joshua started to land some nice shots but the two and a half years Blake has spent living and fighting in Thailand stood by him and he quickly went back to the inside and his beloved grapple. Joshua fought hard and will take away a load of experience from this fight. Blake is a fighter I am sure we see a lot more of up here in Auckland, well at least I hope we do.

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It seems I have not been getting all my e-mail or order forms. If you have not recieved a reply please send again as I have answered all the mail I have recieved.

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Aaron Boyes managed to bring a lot of new fighters into play on Saterday night and matched them up beautifully. Four novice bouts got the show under way. But all four fights were only novice in name as the eight fighters involved showed that they were more than ready to climb through the ropes. The two main events had titles attached. Dave Cooke and Richie Nola matched each other in the early rounds in their WKBF Light Heavyweight Title fight with Dave doing well fighting from the outside and Richie looking dangerous when he managed to get close. On a couple of ocassions Richie looked to have Dave's measure particulary in the fourth round but each time Dave dug deep and come back strongly. It took until well into the last round before Richie landed the shot that changed the fight. It was a looping right hand that caught Dave on the side of the head. It didn't look any different from many that he had thrown before but Dave staggered along the ropes and ended up in the blue corner. Richie had been chasing all night and was not going to let this chance pass by. A vicous onslaught forced John Conway to step in and he called it off. It was the right decision and Richie was rightfully the new Title holder. This is just reward for a man who has always layed his all on the line whenever he steps through the ropes. Well done Richie. It was also the first time Dave had ever been stopped, but he can be proud as he fought as he always does, full bore.Main bout write up to follow

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Carmen Thompson bt Natasha Norden pts
Nat Cohen bt Shane Te Mani pts
Ray Claver bt Mark Akuhata pts
Gerald Naepi bt Soane Pukeanga pts
Ben Thomas bt Daniel Kidwell pts
Kaota Puna bt Scott Simpson pts
Richie Nola bt Dave Cooke rd 5 tko
Blake Tomlinson bt Joshua Tai pts
There was also four novice bouts on the card

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Carl Cowley had the recipe spot on when he packed the Whakatane War Memorial Hall to the gunnels on Saturday night. Affordable prices to get in ($10-00) no that is not a typing era, cheap food (steak sandwich $3-00) and drinks (beer $3-00) ensured everyone in town wanted to be there. Once inside they were entertained by fighters from as far away as Auckland in the North to Queenstown in the South. Ra Johnathan and Todd Wilson fought for a Light Heavyweight Title in the main fight of the night. These two were rematching each other and it was Todd who once again come out on top in a very close bout. Wicharn Ekpaibal dropped Gavin Hedges twice in the first round of their full Muay Thai rules bout but couldn't put him away. Gavin made a good recovery and came back strongly in the last, but Wicharn would not be denied and held on for a good win. Two fighters I was seeing for the first time really impressed me. Matt Larkins had one previous fight and made it two from two when he defeated Nick Schwazer with a very tidy display. He fights out of the Sepaki gym in Rotorua and is trained by Dave Gahan. George Ellis produced an exciting fighter in the form of Bobby Popata. This young man was having his first bout and had to be tough to get the win over Dawson Gray. Both these guys showed a lot of potential.

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Unfortunately on Saturday evening we had a couple of problems with our equipment. This was due to someone turning the switch which was situated down below us off on a couple of occasions. As a result we missed filming round two of the first novice fight and the entire bout between Piri Daniels and Luke Hartley. One of the culprits was later ejected by Carl. We are very regretfull to those affected by these actions.

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Shaun Pant bt Kiel Noble rd3tko
Matt Larkins bt Nick Schwarzer pts
Bobby Popata bt Dawson Gray pts
Johan Voss bt Des Hiwarau pts
Andy Reagan bt Darza Svenson pts
Zac Maka & Eion o Droma draw
Luke Hartley bt Piri Daniel pts
Wicharn Ekpaibal bt Gavin Hedges pts
Todd Wilson bt Ra Johnathan pts
There was also 5 novice fights on the night

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My favouite things at the nationals. Best fighter: Janna Vaughn, her performance against Karen Lynch, one of our best ever female fighters was outstanding.
Best fight: Eddie Smith vs Billy Davis: Although it didn't last long it had all the ingredients that make a good fight great, it is always good to see a fighter pick himself up off the canvas and stage a big comeback.
Shot of the weekend: Joshua Tai caught Edwin Samy with the most perfect reverse elbow I have ever seen. Timeing and accuracy were spot on. Pitty for him it came right on the bell. I still think it deserved a standing eight count though.
Unluckiest fighter: Tony Evans: His match against Logan Golaboski was a beaut. Could of went either way.

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DVD's for the trials will be sold both seperately or as a set. Both the morning/afternoon sesion and the night sesion will be the usual price of $30-00 each if bought individually, but if you want to buy both sesions you can so so for the discounted price of $50-00

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The WMC organisation further entrenched its self into the NZ scene when the national trials were run without a hitch in Napier on Saturday. With some late minute pullouts and some last minute add ins as well you could have expected some minor hicups at least, but there was nothing but smooth sailing right throughout the tournement. From the weight in on Friday night, all aspects were covered and everyone was given clear instruction on where to be, when to be there and why. To Sue, Leighann and Andrew big ups guys, it was an outstanding event from start to finish. Of course the event can still fall over if the main partisipants don't perform, but every fighter came to the party and there were some top performances over the thirty two bouts.

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One division I am really looking forward too is the 71kg class. Only four fighters have been nominated but they are the big four. Edwin Samy with his big knock out punch. Spike chamberlain who gave the great Wonlop a real run for his money in his first pro fight. And Dimitri Simoukov and Hamish Johnstone who fought a real nail bitter last month. This line up is worth the ticket price alone.

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The Karate fight of the night belonged to Ryan Trevor-Roper and fifty two year old Barry Ellis. These two went at it hard out for the whole three rounds in a fantastic show of fitness and stamina. The difference between them in the end was Ryan's leg kicks but in every other facet of the fight there was very little between them. Ryan is fast becoming one of the best Kyokushin fighters in the country and this fact made Barry's effort all the more meritorious.

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Really looking forward to the trials in Napier this weekend. A big contingent of fighters have put thier names forward and it promises to be a great day of top class fighting. Our own Kings Cup so to speak. Any more details as they become availible

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Can anyone who has sent an email to me in the last four days get in touch with me again. My good friend the computer has decided to do his own thing again and I have lost all my mail from that period.

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I made a big boo boo when I said on the Sabaki 7 commentry that Bash at the Beach 8 would be held on May 24th. The actual date is 19th May. All fighters and trainers interested in competing at this show should get in touch with Brian or Sue as soon as posible as with the hospitality on offer places will fill up quickly.

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There has been a lot of controvesy about who won the title fight last week. The answer is simple. Aaron Boyes won the fight. It doesn't matter that half the crowd didn't agree with the decision, it doesn't matter that I called it wrong (its not the first time) or that some highly respected people in the sport got it wrong as well. The bottom line is THE JUDGES DECISION IS FINAL. This is not like a horse race where you can go to the photo finish. The judges also don't have the luxury of a slow motion replay. This is real time and and they must call it as they see it. Although Boa has been critisized for his scoring, (and rightfully so) no one has suggested there was anything underhand in any of the judges decisions. I spoke to both fighters straight after the fight and this is what they said. Hamid said he was hoping that if Aaron's hand was raised his would also be raised as he thought he had won but he certainly didn't think he had lost the fight. Aaron said that he felt lucky that he got the nod. I took this to mean that it was such a close fight that it could have gone either way. All fighters that have fought as often as these two guys have had decisions go against them. (Remember Hamid against Wonlop last year.) Like I said at the start of this story the crowd was split 50-50 so just as many people would have been unhappy if Aaron had the decision go against him. I have since watched the fight again (quite a few times) and I have come to the decision. THERE HAS TO BE A REMATCH.

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I have almost finished Sabaki 7. Will put the results up soon and will post orders out tomorrow. Thanks for the patience guys.

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Watch TV3 Sports Tonight for highlights of the ETK show. Dobbo is once again getting behind the sport and even this early in the week is predicting that one of the clips will make the top five plays of the week. Out of all the media, Dobbo has consistantly supported us in getting fights on TV and this is a big factor in increasing the popularity of the game we love so much. A call or note to TV3 wouldn't go astray and may help to get even more coverage.

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Tere Livingston & Sid Sharma (novice)
Mike Goodman bt Ant Fryer ko rd1 Slava Alexeichik bt Ricki TePania pts Roger Earp bt Wicharn Ekpaibal pts Lizzy Curtis & Lisa Maulau draw Dawson Grey & Tony Schollam draw Areta Gilbert bt Carwyn Morrison pts Michelle Preston bt Carmen Thompson rd3 tko Dimitri Simoukov bt Hamish Johnstone pts Faisal Zakaaria bt Terry Tuteru pts Aaron Boyes bt Prince Hamid pts A full review will follow.

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A full report of these fights will be posted shortly.

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Howard Dobson will join the Combat Video comentry team for the World Title bout on Saturday night. Dobbo is a great fan of the sport and is keen to promote it whenever possable. Last year he commentated the first ever S-1 Oceania extravaganza and is keen to see first hand another top class event. Combat Video will be covering both shows this weekend. Mark Stewart said things are still on track for an exciting 12-14 fight card at his Sabaki challenge while Jason Suttie is very happy with one of the best line ups ever for the ETK show.

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There will be plenty at stake when Aaron Boyes and Hamid Boujoube meet center ring at The Ocean City Chinese Restaurant on Saturday night. With the W.K.B.F. Super Middleweight Title up for graps this full Thai rules match looks a cracker. This is a very interesting match up. Aaron can be expected to have a decent weight advantage on the night as he will have shed a lot of weight to make the weight in.The Prince on the other hand will have no trouble at the scales and is expected to be around the 76kg mark. The full Thai rules could even that advantage up. Although Aaron has fought full Muay Thai rules before and successfully I might add, the Prince's speed may give him an edge on that score. I see the fight as a power vs speed contest and like many others I know I am going to sit on the fence as far as picking a winner goes.

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It is just under a week before the double header and fans will soon have to decide which show they are going to see. Mark Stewart will hold Sabaki Challenge 7 at the A.B.A. in Ngahuru Rd Eden Terrace. Doors will open at 6-00pm with the first fight getting under way sharp at 7-00. Addmission is $20-00 at the dorr. This event will follow the previusly successfull format incorporating both Knockdown Ring Karate and Kickboxing. The E.T.K. show will be held at the Ocean City Chinese Restaurant in Victoria St in the city. Co Pormoter Roger Earp will be seen in action against Thai fighter Wicharn Ekpaibal. More info as it comes to hand.

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All the fights should now be up to date. If you have any queries or can see any oversights or mistakes please dont hesitate to point these out to us and we will corect them. Also any feed back or sugestions about the revamp would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

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24th March will see the first double header in Auckland when ETK and Mark Stewart both hold shows on the same night. Full report to follow.

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Fight fans that are new to the sport may be forgiven for asking, who is Simon Chamberlain, the man who is fighting Jordan Tai on Saturday. For those same fans, the question they may be asking, is, has he got enough experience to take on a fighter of Jordan's caliber.

The answer is yes, for although it will be a tough ask for the man they call Spike, he has got the right credentials. Spike's first fight was against the at the time unstopable Carl Cowley. Although he was beaten he showed a lot of promise and confirmed that promise by scoring a ko win in his next bout. He then had a points win over top class fighter Jason Tudor before going to the Kings Cup where he won his opening fight but was injured in doing so.

On his return he won the North Island Super Welter Weight Title by outpointing Lawrence Norton, another tough fighter of the time(1998). Spike has only fought spasmodically since then but two fights since then have been against international fighters. His come back fight in Dunedin resulted in a good win for him and all accounts sugest his training is going extra well.

No matter what the outcome, Simon "Spike" Chamberlain will give the fans their monnies worth.

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