The second fight on the card turned out to be one of the most unusual fights I have ever seen. Levi Caffery's cousin Mitchell who weighed in at 122.4kg was in against late call up fighter Liuaki Mafileo 151,9kg. The big boys made their intentions known right from the first bell and the big bombs started flying. Half way through the first when Caffery was on attack a counter uppercut from Mafileo sat Caffery down. He was on his feet and ready to go at the end of the count but for him round one had been lost. Round two was much more even with both fighters starting to feel the pace and fatigue was setting in. When the bell ended the round Mafileo staggered to the ropes in the nuteral corner and waved it off. It seems the two weeks training had caught up to him and even though he was assured of at least a draw if he lasted the third round he knew his body couldn't take it. It was a big effort from such a big man to step in at so late a time and the Canteen recipiants I am sure would have been espeacially appreciative of his huge effort.

Kasimilo Fulu not only brought his huge 6"7' 138.8kg frame into the ring, he also brought a war party who issued the challenge to his opponent Ben Alatipi 147.3kg. The challlenge was accepted with relish and the two giants set to work. Although Alatipi tried hard the hight and reach advantage was too great and Fulu took this one out.

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The first fight on the night saw Mathew Brown take on one of two fighters not involved is the Prison service. Levi Caffery had youth on his side and the tactics were to keep the pace fast and wear down Brown. Early in the fight Caffery used his reach and tested Brown with a nice right hand. Brown had a good right hand of his own and his guard was excellent. As the fight wore on Brown got into a rythem and had a lot of sucess countering with his right. He took the result from a very brave Caffery who never gave up all the way to the last bell.

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Once again the correctional facilities around Auckland rallied to the cause to raise money for Canteen. And once again it turned into a memorable evening. Faiyaz Khan organised nine bouts and the crowd certainly got their monies worth. The nights entertainment also included a very polished performance by a Polanesian Dance troupe who were very well recieved by the large crowd. Add to this a top DJ beatiful food and a great atmosphere and everyone went away happy. And to top it all off $6000 was raised for Canteen.

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My favourite fight of the night was bout three where two entirely different styles went head to head. Jawed Ceddique used a long jab and a stick and move approach while his opponent Michael Tausaga had a more walk up Mike Tyson style. This was a see sawing fight with both fighters having their moments. In the end the judges couldn't separate them. Luke McPherson and Ian Stead duked it out over a busy three rounds. Stead had a good start to the fight but McPherson was dogged in his resistance and started to get some rythem late in the fight. An entertaining bout that went the way of the more experienced McPherson. Olenny Faimasasa showed a lot of power from the first bell in his bout against Mitchell Brunton and many including this writer would not have been suprised if this one had finished early. Showing good all round skills Faimasasa peppered Brunton repeatedly with strong combo's but Brunton never flinched. His toughness was a feature of the fight and was well appriciated by the large crowd. Faimasasa took this one and looks capable of going further in the sport.

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Craig Thomson took an unbeaten record into his match against Kris O'Neill and with good footwork and inteligent options he left the ring with his record intact. O'Neill tried hard to bully his oponent in the first round but Thomson had the ring craft to negate these attacks. O'Neill had a good guard but Thomson landed strong rips to the body throughout the fight to take away a unanimous decision. Martial artist Keith Chan Chui showed his experience against brave young fighter Kyle Gabriel. Chan Chui produced a good display of hand speed and timing that repeatedly caught Gabriel on both sides of the head as Gabriel was launching attacks. This was an entertaining fight an one would have to think that Chan Chui would be greatly improved by the time July 11 comes aroud. The jam tart of Kyle Gabriel will see him have success in the future.

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AKO's promoted their seventh show in two years last night before another full house. This was a more low key affair with out the tables and dinning, but was still a very well run event. The excelllent live band added a great atmosphere and the breakdancers who performed were slick and smooth. This time all ten fights were corporate bouts and as usual the AKO crowd got right behind their men. The fighters had an added incentive last night as the winners were garanteed a spot on AKO's big show at Sky City on 11th July. Promoters Rich Hackney and Bill White have unseleshly nominated Child Cancer as a cause they want to raise funds for and all their fighters are getting on board as well. Great work guys.

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The USA pairing of Jameson Bostik and Clarence Tillman proved too strong for their Kiwi opponents at the ABA last night in what was a very enjoyable evening of corporate, amateur and professional boxing. Promoter Craig Thomson put together a mixed card and amazingly everything fell into place. I say amazingly because usually when you start matching fighters with big pulls in the weights it qute often means short one sided fights, but Craig had the recipe just right and there were some very close fights with no fighter being over matched. Jameson Bostik who's last fight was in Poland in December showed all his class, timing and power against Wilhem Swalger known previously as Moroni before changing his name by deed poll. Swalger was rocked at the end of the first and had the count applied and he may have been lucky the bell rang before Bostik could complete the mission. Swalger survived the second but was hurt again and was unable to come out for the third. Junior Pati offered much more resistance against 6'5" Clarence Tillman. In fact I had Pati ahead after the second but he couldn't keep the presure on and Tillman snucked a quiet round three before unleashing some fury in the fourth and final round. Some big clubbing blows had Pati down and near the end of the round he was down again with the ref calling it off at the same time the bell rang. Pati was keen on a rematch

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Joey Baylon is a fighter who is starting to attract attention to himself. His win against Rasy Soth on Sunday was his fourth in succession in his five fight career. Each time he has stepped through the ropes he has lifted his game and his performance this time out was one of a fighter who has the potential to progess a lot further in the sport. Although he fights at 61kg his punching power is that of a fighter much heavier. His ability to read a fight and pounce on any opportunity make him a danger to any in the division.

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Jason and Roger held Sunday Session 12 before a very good crowd yesterday. The 14 fight card produced some good performances. It was good to see Jay Hepi bring a couple of boys down from his Northland gym and if you are up north next weekend get along and support Jay who has some good match ups for his show. It was great to see Steve Anderson back in the ring. Steve has had a shocking run as far as injuries are concerned and yet he still has a very good record. Yesterday he was up against Ricky Campbell in the main event of the day. There wasn't much between them except for the winning shot in round two. As he has done before Ricky pulled off a great head kick that knocked Steve off his feet. It was a beautifully timed shot and although it didn't hurt or even daze Steve it immediately extracted an eight count from ref John Conway. Although he tried hard to make up lost ground Anderson couldn't get control of the fight from a very tough and dogged Campbell who is in fine form. A minutes silence was held at the start of the day in respect to Sean Wells who died in his sleep earlier in the week. Sean was 22 years of age and ironicly had beaten Ricky in what was to be his last ever fight in June last year. Sean will be burried on Tuesday. Rest in Peace

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The first kickboxing show to ever be held in Wairoa happened last Saturday and judging by the huge success it will not be the last one. August Rewi promoted the fifteen fight card and things went off without a hitch. Of the thirty fighters on show only Geoff Ahipene and Willy Rewi who fought for the WMC NZ Light Welterweight Title had had multiple fights. Ninteen had never been in the ring before and the other nine had only been in the ring once before. The Mayor of Wairoa opened proceedings and the full house were spellbound as the fights got under way. For the large majority of the crowd and a good number of fighters as well this was the first show they had ever attended. With ten fighters fighting from the Wairoa gym the crowd gave their boys plenty of support. In fact the crowd was one of the most encouraging I have come across in fifteen years with Combat Video. They breed the boys big and tough down that way and there was no less than six super heavyweight fights on the night. Some of the undercard fighters to stand out were brothers Luke and Josh Meredith (Wairoa) who both stopped their opponents. John (Noni) Duncan and James Vanderkuil both home town boys also won by the short route. I think the crowd would have been happy with that but Willy Rewi capped a great night for the locals when he beat Geoff Ahipene to win the title. That fight would have been a fitting main event at any show in NZ. I would certainly love to see both these guys fighting up here on a regular basis. For a gym that only produced its first fighter in 2005 August Rewi has done a great job with a limited number of fighters. Auggy is a quiet achiever who never shows too much emmotion but even he got excited when Willy was anounced the winner and joined in proceedings holding the belt aloft before putting it around his sons waist. Tojo Dixon talked long and hard to get us to attend this show but after the hospitality fetted upon us I am real glad we made the effort. Wairoa you did yourself proud.

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Johann Torea stage a tidy nine fight card at the ABA which was made up mainly of first time fighters. In fact the most experienced fighter on the card was Tii Nanai who had three fights on the boards. This lack of experience in no way detracted from the night which was well run and the match ups made for interesting fighting. James Pakinga (SMAC) remained unbeaten in three fights after his battle with Tauranga fighter Raymond Ruka (Rogue Angels) who showed a lot of heart. Jaques Marsters (Strikeforce) made it two from two when he stopped Alec MacDonald (Rogue Angels) in the third round, he also stopped his first opponent. Tii Nanai (Jombing-Johann) had to fight hard to beat the very powerfully built German fighter Mattias Schnisa (Beyond) in what was a real arm wrestle. The main bout was an interesting fight between Jesse Noon (Jombing-Johann) who weighed in at 98kg and Tamati Taloa (Beyond) who hit the scales at 143kg. Most thought that Noon would be too quick for the big man but that was far from the case as Taloa showed amazing speed for such a heavy fighter. At 21 years of age the youngster could have a future if he can keep his weight in check. Can someone from the Beyond Gym get in contact with me please.

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One of the most awaited fights of the night was the rematch between Steve Hahm and Sefa fue.These two first met in the ring in 2003 where they fought out a three round draw. Three years later they once again locked horns, That time it was an emphatic first round ko win by Steve. Since that clash both fighters had enhanced their reputation and no one was confindent of the out come with any certainty. We all know now that Sefa took the title home after dropping Steve twice with well placed right hands. But words on paper cannot descibe the intensity of the fight nor can they describe the heart and courage of both these fighters. Most other fighters would have wilted under the presure they put each other under yet both fighters finished the five rounds strong. But the after fight clean up can give a bit of an insite into just how tough this one was. Steve ended up in hospital to recieve cosmetic surgery to a gash that cut through both the inside and outside of the mouth while Sefa was even worse off. He sustained a broken arm while defending one of Steve's first kicks of the fight in round one. He went to Auckland hospital straight after the fight where doctors informed him that the arm was cleanly broken half way up the forearm but the bones were also shattered closer to the wrist. He underwent surgery to have plates inserted and will be off the scene for some time. As Ive said many times before "There's no sissies in this game"

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Slava Alexeichik slipped easily from amateur champion fighter to professional International fighter with no problems what so ever. With out doubt one of our most exciting fighters for some time Slava anounced his arrival to the pro ranks in emphatic style. Eastonian fighter Ristjan Talv come into the fight with good credentials and huge wraps but he was unable to withstand the early onslaught that has become the trade mark of the former Syberian. Slava started his fight career in 2007 as a nineteen year old and had 12 amateur fights before his switch last week. Lets hope he can get good quality opponents in the future to help his progression to the very top level of the sport.

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It was obvious from the first punch combination that he threw that the 6 foot 3 inch Eastonian knew what he was doing. He come to the ring in great shape and a long fight history behind him. The polite quietly spoken 21 year old started boxing at 12 before turning his hand to Thaiboxing. With good friend and fellow fighter Ristjan Talv he has made the trip to Thailand 4-5 times, training and fighting there before heading back home. He is the Eastonian champion. His fight career has also seen him fight in Australia, Poland and Russia. He is trained by Arslan Magomedov. His next fight is in Australia in three weeks time. Lets hope we get to see this class act again.

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The much awaited return to the ring by Jan Antolik happened in the main event. It was a week short of a year since Jan broke his arm in round one of his fight against Yoann Gouaida at the ASB stadium. He carried on in that fight and knocked the Frenchman out in the second. Round one was not a memorable one this time around either. Eastonian fighter Henri Lebedev fired a fast high kick early in the round that just skimed Jan's head and he touched the canvas momentarily before regaining his feet. I thought he had dodged it but referee Johnny on the spot Conway put the count on. That was the only difference between the fighters at the end of the first. Jan tried to make up the points in the second with some great combinations but for once in NZ Henri was equal in the hand department. His boxing background from the age of 12 until 16 really showed. This round was close but I tended to slightly lean the way of Jan. In the third round Henri seemed to be able to counter Jan's attacks and although it was another close round I beleive the judges got it right when awarding the win to Henri. It was great to see Jan back in action after his long lay off. The fight was fought under k1 rules.

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Sefu Phillip Lam once again set the bar for other promoters to try to reach when he staged KICK OFF 2010 at the YMCA Stadium last night. As usual Phillip concentrated on quality rather than quantity by presenting eight highly competitive fights. It was almost impossible to pick a winner looking at the fight card and most fights were decided in the last round. All fighters presented themselves in tip top condition and all fought at a title fight pace and skill level. A fight by fight report will follow. For those of you who missed out on getting to the show or like me you are looking for your next Muay Thai fix, next Friday at the ABA sees Johann Torea hold his show. More setails as they come to hand.

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I have recived the Tai vs Preston fight from Maori TV and now have it on the Bloodisloe Cup Trial DVD.

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On a night chock full of good fights they saved the best till last. Oscar Siale brought a 11 from twelve record while Vaitele Soi had an excellent 9 from 9 with 7 by ko. In rounds one and two it was easy to see how seven men had not lasted the distance with Soi. He had abvious power in both hands and was hungrily stalking his opponent. It took Siale a couple of rounds to get into any sort of rythem but by the third his ring movement and countering skills had come into play. I have been fortunate enough to have seen Oscar fight on a few occasions before but thought this was his best performance. Soi never varied from his plan and was very dangerous right untill the bell rang at the end of the last (6) round. The red corner of Siale were confident their man had carried the day and I agreed with them. The judges however went the way of Soi. The 22 year old no doubt has a good future in the game but may look back on this fight as a rather lucky one.

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Daniel McKinnon returned to the ring for the first time since his apearance on the Australian Contender series in September last year. His return was a good one. Fighting Fale Siaoloa over 4x3 McKinnon looked in great shape and in control. Siaoloa aways brings the best out of any fighter he faces and McKinnon was made to work hard. His body shots were a feature of the fight and he should be in demand this year. A lot of interest centered on the Steve Heremaia vs Harry Venka match up. Heremaia is on of the most dangerous fighters in the division and Venka treated him accordingly. Using his big height and reach advanatage Venka scurted the outer reaches of the ring racking up points as he went. This was the tactic in rounds one and two and he carried out the game plan to perfection, Heremaia started the third strongly and his supporters started to breathe a little easier. Venka tried to trade on occasions, to the consternation of his corner, and Grant Arkle looked happy to hear the bell at the end of the round. In the fourth (and last) round Venka went back to the game plan and managed to keep away from the the heavier hitting Heremaia to take away the win.

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The pros had their trials on sunday evening. Australian promoter George Christodoulou was in town to watch the Kiwi fighters vie for a place on the team to take on the Aussies for the Bloodisloe cup later in the year. Rivalry was feirce. The night got under way with a womans bout between Christina Tai and Michelle Preston. The pair had fought before with Michelle taking that one. This time Christina had a big pull in the weights and revenge on her mind. Michelle knew she wouldn't be able to out muscle Chrstina so relied on angles, fast hands and good ring work to score her points. Christina used power shots and good counter fighting skills to score hers. The judges went for Christina, a decision that Michelle's trainer Chris Martin has asked to have reviewed. I would love to watch this one again but will have to wait to do that. We had some technical problems and missed this fight. Fortunately our good friends at Maori Television are going to give us the footage. Big thanks to Peter Grant. Warren Fuiava who had only had to go the distance once in his four pro fights kept his record in tact by beating Faimasasa Tavui on points. Keep an eye on this guy. Leti Leti the former 2007, 2008, 2009 amateur welterweight champ started his pro career with a first round ko win over late replacement fighter Aaron Bartlett. The telling shot was a left rip to the ribs which had Bartlett in a fair amount of agony. Wrap up of the other three fights later.

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The 2010 fight season got under way for Combat Video with a full weekend of boxing. Two sessions on the Saturday were held to decide fighters for the Commonwealth games in India. The busiest fighter on the day was 64kg Anthony Taylor. He was the only fighter who had to front up three times and he went through the day undefeated. His team mate from Bay of Plenty, David Aloua-Rogers in the 91kg class also turned heads with his two performances. In the first session he upset warm favourite Yumiko Chinula who had represented NZ at world champs in Chicago 2007 and last year in Milan. Aloua-Rogers hard straight punches seen Chinula have to pick himself off the canvas twice in the last round. In the second session he had another hard out war when tall timber James Emmerson refused to back up and these two went toe to toe for much of the time. Reece Papuni from Canterbury was another hard hitter who survived two match ups. Sam Rapira gave him a real run for his money in the first session and clearly had the best of Papuni in the last round but the judges deemed he did not make up enough points and Papuni faced John Leighton later in the day. In an other close fought battle Papuni's big punching once again saw him get his hand raised. Thai born fighter Nort Beauchamp (Canterbury) went through in the 60kg class by defeating Manawatu's Angus Donaldson. Nathan McEwan, a coal miner from Blackball on the West coast of the South Island scored a well compiled win in the 75kg class while the only man to score a knock out on the day, Bowyn Morgan (Canterbury) took out the strong 69kg division. His ko came at the expence of Luke Campbell (Waganui-Taranaki) with right cross to the temple in round two and he later had a walk over win when Ricky Murphy (Auckland) was unable to take his place in the final after injuring his shoulder in his impressive win over well balanced fighter Daniel Parkin (Nelson). It was a great days fighting with a lot of talent on show. Congratulations to everyone that made it through.

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Happy New Year everyone. If you are anything like me you will already be looking forward to the first fights of the year. If all goes to plan they could be earlier than usual. For the last couple of years the first lot of fights have been about the third week in February, but we may see fights at the end of January if all goes to plan. Jason and Roger are looking at the last week of January to hold an ever popular Sunday Session. Over Xmas I made Nuthin But Knockouts 09. This is a three DVD set of twenty-five of the best stoppages throughout the year. Keep in mind for birthdays. I am also still working on the Jason Suttie documentary. I still have a few interviews to do but am happy with the way it is coming along. I will keep you updated as to a release date.

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After strugling with computer problems over the last couple of weeks I have finally caught up with the back log of work. All fights that are on the lastest fight list are available on DVD. This includes AKO'S boxing show on the 14th and last weekends Rumble in Rodney show.

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Putting the clocks forward tripped a few up on Sunday but the large crowd didn't seem to mind the slow start to the show. Expanding on the Sunday Session theme by indroducing a more experienced card Jason and Roger look like they have scored another goal. The place was full well before the first fight and with the top class fights on show they were all there until the last fight. Two South Pacific Titles were the main bouts on the 14 fight card. Where as the Sunday Sessions are made up of quite a few novice bouts there was only one novice on the day. Chuck in a pig on a spit and a couple of bevies and it was a fantastic day out. Fight report to follow.

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The last fight on the card was everything a main event should be. Darren "The Ginja Ninja" Anderson and Mike "The Hammer" Attwood started with plenty of gusto and their long heated exchanges had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Both fighters got a taste of giving and recieving in what I thought was an even round. Darren came out firing again in the second. By the middle of the round both fighters seemed a little wary of each other and they stood like gun fighters in the center of the ring waiting to see who would tee off first. When the shot was fired it was a looping right hand by Mike that went around behind the guard of Darren and sent him on a wobbley walk across the ring with the ref in close attendance. Darren seemed fully recovered in the last round and he and Mike went toe to toe on numerous occassions in this round. Mike was strong enough to repeal the hard challenges layed down and took the decision in what was a great end to a fantastic night.

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The penultimate fight on the night was a real arm westlle. Scott "The Shrek" Dobbie took on Scott "The Tagger" Lee and he went on attack right from the bell. There was no fancy stuff from "Shrek", just pure in ya face agression. Scott Lee on the other hand was trying hard to put what he had learnt in the gym into practice. His hands were held high and his footwork was keeping him (for the most part) away from any colateral damage. "Shrek" was forcing a strong pace when nearing the end of the round out of nowhere and against the run of play "The Tagger" did just that. It was an overhand right straight from the text book and staggered "Shrek" back against the ropes and the ref did the county thing. If round one was a fast pace the second was faster again. "Shrek" tried everthing to corner his opponent but Lee was having none of it and used any means to stay out of reach. Going into the last Shrek knew he had to win the round to draw or put a count on to win. He definately wasn't after a draw. But once again try as he may he could not corner Scott Lee who was trying his best to take the round with some nice straight hands. In the end the judges deemed the fight to be a draw and both deservedly got to share the spoils.

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Fight six on the card saw the two most experienced fighters in the ring. Here they were having their first boxing bout, but both Josh "The Tiger" Taia and Bevan "The Razor" Guest have kickboxing back grounds. Josh is one of the best up and coming fighters on the kickboxing curcuit at the moment and Bevan retired from the ring as the New Zealand Super Welterweight Title holder. That was back in 1998 but if there was any ring rust it wasn't apparrent as he found the range and distance straight away. Both had adapted nice boxing styles and it was an intriuging bout to watch. Bevan's good footwork and experience at using the ropes were keeping him out of trouble while Josh tried to keep up a high work rate to wear down the older fighter. Throughout the fight there were some great exchanges. It was late in the third when Bevan landed the punch of the night. It was a short right hand that stopped Josh and sat him down. He regained his feet but the fight was called of and Bevan left the ring as he had in his kickboxing days, as a winner. Josh who had given away weight and a big amount of experience was philisophical about the fight. What dosn't kill you makes you stronger.

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Right from the moment Simon "Random" Burden and Lance "Lights Out" Muiava stood face to face center ring you got the feeling it was going to be a hard night at the office for Lance. Simon was a late replacement and the only non finance involved fighter on the card. The obvious differences were easy to spot. Simon was 6 cm taller than Lance, he was 13.5kg heavier and had a big reach advantage. The not so obvious differences also went in the favour of Simon. He was nine years younger and had been training hard for seven months. On top of all this he really knew his stuff. His stright hands and good footwork made it difficult for Lance to cause too many worries, although it would of been interesting if some of Lances big haymakers had landed. Simon looked in control of this one and took away the win. To Lance's credit he never gave it away and was still trying to live up to his name when the final bell tolled.

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Wayne "The Basher" Besant came out of the blocks like Husain Bolt in his match against Ramesh "The Sniper" Subramaniam. Ramesh did well to keep his composure under attack and came back towards the end of the round. Both fighters had their moments in this one with turns on both attack and defence. Round two was the decisive one when Wayne landed a well placed right hand. This put Ramesh off balance and Wayne took the oportunity to follow up quickly with a couple more good rights. There was a blood stop by the ref after that flurry and then with only seconds to go Wayne landed another righthand bomb that made the ref reach for the abacas. Ramesh tried bravely in the last round to get the points back but it wasn't to be and Wayne took the win.

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"The Tornado" Mike Tunai was up against "The Hitman" Steve Freundlich in the third on the night and right from the bell it was obvious we had two contrasting styles. This was a classic puncher versus boxer match up with Mike taking the the mantel of being the big banger. It was a good thing Steve had learnt his lessons well as the power from the "Tornado" was at hurricane level right throughout this bout. On many occasions Steve was only centimeters away from being caught with a big Hare Ra right hand. Steve on the other hand was scoring with nice straight punches and he got into a rythem early in the fight. Ironically it was Steve who landed the most telling shots of the fight. One was a peach of a right hand and the other was beutifull right hand uppercut the got the ref counting. With Mikes power this one was never going to be over until the last bell and he tied desperately to make up the leigh way. Steve's good footwork and excellent defencive qualities kept him out of harms way and he came away with the judges nod. Top class performances from both fighters.

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Ben "The Bruiser" Bland and Evan "The Venom" Veza were next to sqare off. Evan went straight on the offencive from the first bell and for a while it looked like he might get an early night at the office. But Ben had other ideas and after being caught cold early he fought well in the second half of the round to even things up when th ebell rang. Round two was another see sawing round and I had it real close coming into the last round. Evan managed to mix it up and land some clean shots at the start of the round to get ahead on the score board. Ben never gave up and fought himself t a veritable stand still. A top fight to watch with Evan taking the win.

To be totally honest I didn't know what to expect when the fights got under way. I had spoken to all but one of the combatants before the fights and most had never had a fight before. Not even at school. I have to say I was both impressed and surprised at the skill level of all involved. The guys had obviously trained hard and the gyms concerned deserve full credit for molding some very skillfull boxers. The night started at a cracking pace with "Gentle" Ben Lum and Mark "Hulk" Holtom going at it from the bell. Lum showed his ace early in the form of a good right hand, and after landing it gestured the Hulk to come and get some more. Round one on my card was pretty even. It was Ben's right hand that took centre stage again in round two. With only seconds to go the ref stepped in and put the standing eight count on. Up untill that point Mark had still been doing ok. In round three Mark knew he had some catching up to do. But in the fight game you have to hurry slowly and Mark copped a big left hand while trying to up the pace and the ref got the calculator out again. Mark never gave it away but was caught again near the end of the round for another count. A good fight to start the night with Ben taking the points victory.

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Child Cancer came away nearly $70,000 dollars better off after the bankers corporate night at the ABA. There were eight fights and with the exception of one fighter all were from the finance industry. These guys had trained over verying periods of time and all presented themselves in good nick. The crowd excitement was huge and all had a great time, with a large contingent happy to stay behind after the fights to bathe in the atmosphere of what to many was their first time at the fights. Most of the fighters knew each other, having met either through work or at the gym, but that didn't count for anything as they went mate against mate in true State of Origin style. Along with all the fight excitement, you can chuck in some very nice auction prizes and an appierance by the Mountain Warrior Shane Cameron and you can imagine a little what the night was like. Fight report to follow.

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When Steve Moxon efeated Slava Alexeichik at the Coral Reef on Satuday night he maintaned his unbeaten record and extended his winning streak to fifteen. The feat of beating Slava was a noteworthy one. Slava had only tasted defeat once before and he holds the New Zealand Light Heavyweight and the WKBF Super Middleweight titles. Steve has an interesting background when it comes to how he got into the game. At the end of 2006 he went along to a gym with a friend for a look. He was 1.69 tall and weighed in at a whopping 90kg. Eight months later he he stepped into the ring at 72.5kg. His early fighting was done in his home state of Victoria and he based his style of fighting on his favourite fighter Mike Zambidis. He still usually fights at around the 72kg mark and his 78.6kg against Slava was the heaviest he has ever fought. On his way to his immpesive record he has recorded six knockouts and has gained an IKBF South Pacific title. One night he fought in front of "The Cheif" Peter Graham who enticed Steve to up anchor and move to Sydney. Now he fights out of Boxing Works under Peter and Tony Daou and works at the gym as a kids fittness trainer. Since his move he has fought in Queensland, Melbourne and Auckland and is still looking forward to having his first fight in Sydney. That will have to wait a while though because his next fight is against "THE HEADHUNTER"s brother Lawrence Nandex back in Melbourne on the 20th of this month.

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The strong following fight fans have for the sport was illistrated on Saturday night when Eddy Tongalahi ran a sucessfull show at the Coral Reef while the All Blacks and the Springboks played a test just down the road in Hamilton. Not many promoters would have taken the chance but the gamble paid off and Eddy was rewarded with a full house. And the patrons went away happy after watching a well matched fourteen fight card. The main bout of the night saw one of my favourite fighters Slava Alexeichik take on Aussie Steve Moxon. Whenever Slava steps through the ropes you know there is going to be plenty of action and it was Slava that made the early play. Steve was able to soak up the punishment and bided his time before unleashing a huge right hand that changed the fight around. From the midway point in the fight it was edge of the seat stuff. Slava got caught with some big bombs but as usual he never gave it away and landed some great shots of his own. Unfortunately for Slava he couldnt pull it off for his large contingent of fans and the likable Aussie Steve Moxon took his record to a very respectable fifteen from fifteen.

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The second part of the night were full Muay Thai fights. Fightshop fighter Shannon Martin fought well in his win over Peter Paul. Once again both fighters were evenly matched. Dougie Higgins fought to his full potential in a very interesting fight against Harris Ishikawa.His use of the angles was briliant Both these fighters have big futures. William Rewi and Rob Russell's fight like most on the night went al the way to the judges with Rewi taking the decision.. THen it was on to the Title fights.

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SMAC gym held a well run promo on Saturday that show cased some very promising fighters. Along with some well established names we got to see fighters from farther afield who made a lot of the local fight fans take notice. I have to mention the pee wees who got the night off to a great start. Stevie Ray Vesetolu and Vernon Taylor fought an exihbition bout that showed off their considerable skills. the first amateur bout went the way of Sam Hill from SMAC. He wore Riz Ali down with well placed leg kicks. Bryce Howard from Terry's got the nod in a close one over Whetu Brown.The next fight between Rasy Soth and Freddie Paul was also very tight with the decision going to Paul. He remains unbeaten after four fights. James Pakinga scored another win for the SMAC gym when he defeated Lawrence Howard in another see sawing bout and the same thing happened in the next fight when Roy Vessy-McWatters nudged outRamegus Tewake. The judges weren't needed in the next fight when Josh Lui having his first fight stopped Jenerio Tapasoa in round one with a strong display. In the last fight before the break Yi Lang Chen from Pathai's fought back to take a split points win over Sam Carrol.

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It is hard for me to remember when I have been so excited before a fight as I was before last weeks World Title fight. I have had goose bumps on occassion for some of the big fights when Ray Sefo, Choppa, Psycho and John Conway have been involved but I would probably have to go right back to the days when our son Mark The Shark was fighting to feel what I was feeling in the lead up to the big one. The tension was hightened by some very good undercard fights. Michelle Goh from Wellington scored a nice win over Rochelle Stroh with a very busy performance. The Nansen girls Tori and Baby flew the flag high for the smac gym with typically tough performanes that saw them over power Sarah Watene and Rebecca Knox respectively. Matt Adams brought Jason Ajdani's unbeaten run to an end in their battle. Other fighters that cought the eye in the early fights were Jocelyn August from Tauranga, Huntly fighter Levi Cotter and Mark Scanlon from Strikeforce. I will cover the Earp Santos, Kavanagh Teller and the big one later.

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Uthai and Felicity Pornicom revamped the ABA for their fight night. bright coloured balloons, immaculate tables and good service kept all the patrons in good spirits throughout the night. I can't remember the place ever being fuller. This was a gamble for them as all their shows of late have been out west. The move payed off big time. As well as the hospitality a good fight card made the night even more enjoyable. Paul Cole from Tokoroa won a hard fought three round battle over Bee Mathews to get the night under way and set the tone for the night. Jeremy Keogh looked sharp in his win over Conrad Wati while Arich Sknuphan from Pars Academy had a nice win over Ben Kapoor. Danny Upago was slow to start but once in range took out his bout against A J Fletcher.The only KO of the night came when Muslum convertee Omar Anapapa Gabriel found a home for his right hand against Zac Maaka. One of the highlights of the night was when ex pro rugby player Anthony Jakeman out bombed and out stayed Billy Mihinui. There was great antisipation when top fighter Shannon Foreman put his first fighter into the ring as a trainer. His student was Hori Harris and he had obviously been listening. Good skills saw him take a well compiled win over Luke Peters. Som Thongsinh accounted for Nunz Wati in their fight and Ben Davis beat Sam Hermez in a full thai rules contest. Spare a thought too for Shane Te Moni whose opponent went awol when Shane was ready to step into the ring. Apart from that small hicup over which the promoters had no control the night was very enjoyable.

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Daniel Tai and Vinnie Mahoni faced off for the Naksu Heavyweight belt on Friday night. With encouraging training reports coming from the Tai camp plus his prolific fight experience Daniel went into this one as the resounding favorite. His fans would have been further encouraged when he stepped into the ring. I have to admit I was immpressed to see him to be in the best shape I have seen him for quite some time. This was a step up for Vinnie although I have since learned that he had a good second round KO win over Daniel America in Aussie in a lead up fight for this title shot. Right from the first bell it was obvious that Vinnie was showing Daniel respect. This could be expected as Daniel has cut down some of the big names in the sport over the years. With Daniel waiting to counter off Vinnie round one turned out to be fought at a slow pace. Throughout the fight Vinnie used his reach and his ring craft, jabbing, kicking and then away. These tactics were used from the first bell until the last and all the time the points kept getting racked up. Daniel tried to change tactics and go after Vinnie but was unable to corner him and time ran out. This was not the greatest fight of all time by a long way but for the true fight fan it was a real game of chess. By planning the rules of engagement and then sticking to the plan Vinnie came away with an immportant career win. The up side for Daniel was that for the first time in yonks he could have gone another two or three rounds. I hope he stays in that shape and we see him fight on a regular basis.

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The winter hiatis ended with a bang last Saturday when Aaron Boyes hosted Supremacy 3 at the YMCA. It was a five week wait without fights and the place was full before the first fight got underway. That was a good thing as the best KO of the night happened in fight one when Ricky Campbell kko'd Richie Barnett at the start of the second round in an xtreem muay thai bout. As usual Aaron put together a top class card of mma fighters from around NZ. The one international bout saw Jeff King from Penrith take on crowd favorite Sam Brown. King made his intentions clear right from the get go as he took Brown to the ground. At the end of the first both men were bleeding profusely with Sam having the worst of it. Round two was another ground struggle until a very slick move from Sam got him into position for a rare nacked choke. Once there it was over in seconds. That move was so quick and smooth any international fighter would be proud of it and it cemented the reputation of Brown as a worthy champion.

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Making comebacks is nothing new to Andrew Peck. He like many fighters before him has experienced both the good and the bad, the highs and the lows that accompany sportsmen who have long careers, and he has had a long carrer. He had is first fight in 1991 and it will come as no suprize to anyone to hear that he won that by first round stopage. Since then he has beaten some of the best and has an immpresive resume. He has or at some stage held The North Island Heavyweight Title, the NZ K1 Title (2000), the WKBF NZ & South Pacific Super Heavyweight Titles, the WMC NZ Super Heavyweight Title, KO World Series Ociania Title and he was also runner up in the 2002 Oceania K1 and third in last years Planet Battle World Series. Among all the upsides there have also been some downsides. Andrew has fought at times when his heart was else where and at these times has been beaten by fighters who normally could not share the same ring. One of the funniest comments I have heard at a pre fight conference was Andrew's answer to a qustion of why he was fighting when he had been away from the ring for so long, His answer was short and matter of fact. "I need the money to paint my house". When he is not in need to up keep his possesions and he is focused on the fight game he is the match of any. That is why it was so good to see him in positive mode on Saturday night. His power has never been in doubt but it was his timing and choice of shots that immpressed me the most. It was vintage Peck. This against a fighter with top credentials himself. Eduardo Maiorino is a 2x K1 Brazilian Champion and a 4x Brazilian Muay Thai Champion and early in the fight his quicksilver hands and his punching power was evident. He was however no match for the Powerhouse who slowly picked him apart. It took until the fourth round before the inevitable happened and two elbows in close succession had the fight waved off. Andrew's next mission is a crack at Ben Edwards newly won ISKA Oriental Rules Title in Canberra at the end of August. Good luck mate.

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Lance Bishop bt Wicus Myburg pts
Scott Bregman bt Tiki Bishop pts
Janeiro Tapusoa & Omar anapapa Gabriel draw
Sean Wells bt Ricki Campbell pts
Davor Matarugic & Ivan Mertic draw
Terry Tuteru & Hori Belass draw
Harley Love bt Ian Menzies pts
Joe Hopkins bt Justin Reti pts
Slava Alexeichik bt Easton Nichols rd4 ko
Jombing bt Oliver Redriger pts
Andrew Peck bt Eduardo Maiorino rd 4 rd4 ko

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This time a week ago there were some very nervous men making their way to the Panmure Recreation Centre. It was corporate boxing time again and Regan Foley and Partner Veronica Thompson this time with input from Northern Boxing had assembled a very good card of fighters from the corporate world. These nights have become so popular that some of the fighters keep coming back for more time after time. An ex-amateur boxer in Karl Skett showed he still retained his ring savy when he out pointed Russian import Danil Burov It was hard work for Dan but he tried hard even after copping a fair amount of leather. Bout two between Nick Renalds and Paul Greenwood was much closer with Nick taking the decision. Mark Gower claimed his first win in three outings beating treaty negotiator Mike Dreaver in a good old fashioned stoush. Mark Blackham had both timing and power on his side and Darren James was the man on the recieving end of some big shots. Although he tried to return the gifts of leather Darren was unable to dodge all the incoming and his corner threw in the towel in the second round. As he had in a previous corporate fight Neil Cattermoul layed it all on the line in his bout against Alex Castle. Neil can really bang and I thought Alex did extreemly well with his ring craft and footwork. Neil took it away but it was a very entertaining fight. Todd Barnett and Dan Huhu fought a busy three rounds with their previous ring experience evident. Dan had plenty of go forward which was a contrasting style to Todd who used good ring work and long straight jabs. Todd took out the close decision. The big boys finished the corporate part of the night with a bang or should I say a load of bangs. Luke Nialamu and Ringo Rissetto took no time at all to get warmed up and it was bombs away right from the first bell. At 100kg and 132kg respectively Luke and Ringo bypassed the jab and went straight for the KO punches. Luke had most sucess in the delivery department and a lesser man than Ringo would have been out of there early. Luke won the nod from the judges but Ringo certainly lost no freinds with his never say die attitude.

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The fight of the night was without a doubt the battle between Kasper Jacobson and Josh Taia. I know they are only new fighters but I think I could have been looking at the next Choppa when I watched that fight. Kasper was dropped early in the round but recovered and instead of playing safe and holding on and seeing the round out he backed himself and was rewarded with not one but two knock downs. From then on it was a matter of who was going to go daown next as both young men traded shots. It was Josh who wore the brunt and he also showed huge heart as he kissed the canvas an amazing seven times throughout the fight. His heart alone will win him many fights but add to that the skill he posseses and we have a fighter with rare talent. For Kasper to pick himself up and fight the way he did after gave us a glimps of natural ability. Both his fights so far have been against fighters with heaps of potential and I doubt if he will run up against any tougher in the local amateur ranks. Barring injury I think we may have an international star who could turn out to be very hot property.

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It was pbvious Richard Barnett was feeling the effects of his outing the previous week when he faced up and coming fighter Kayne Conlan. The legs were a little tender by the look of things and the Strikeforce camp soon targeted that area and in Conlan they had the right man to carry out the instructions. Conlan took this one away although I think it could have been a lot closer if Barnett had come in fresh. Maybe a rematch down the track. The NZ Super Welterweight Title fight between Natalia Tellar and Fleur Storr never reached any great hights as both women cancelled each other out. Natalia was initiating the grapple most of the time and Fleur helped her out by getting in too close when she tried to score with the punches. If she had kept the distance it may have worked in her favour. In saying that Natalia has proved in the past that she is good with the hands so who knows. Natalia took away the decision in what could best be described a scrappy affair. The night ended with a pro boxing bout between rising star Steven Heremaia and seasoned campainer Iona Puna. After an even first round the men stepped up a gear in the second and with only seconds to go Heremaia landed the perfect right hand and floored Puna. Puna regained his feet and although wobbly was convincing enough to allow the fight to continue. The bell rang and saved him from a round two exit. Unfortunately for him it was only a short posponment as the third round was only just under way when Heremaia finished the job.

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Matt Adams was one of three fighters to back up from Ring of Fire 1. Unfortunately he was unable to repeat the result he achieved a week earlier. As always he gave 100% but converted MMA fighter Ramesh Naresh held too many guns on this occasion. Naresh once again showed dogged determination and now has a two from two record in the kicking sport. Joseph Tevan finally fought up to his potential in his match against Nik Jessop. Nik had won his last three fights while Joe had only one victory in five fights. In a tough match Joe came from behind to repay the faith co trainer Roger Earp has had in him since day one. The name Isa Gabriel-Hutchins had me thinking he must be a brother to Tony who last fought in 2005. In fact I found out later that they are one in the same. Tony changed his name to Isa when he converted to Muslim. His return to the ring was a torred one. Mike Milipola was on song on the night and never allowed Isa to get into any sort of rythem at all. Mike is one of the quiet achievers in the game. Still unbeaten after four fights his strong hands and well timed leg kicks make him a formitable opponent.

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Anyone who saw Ring of Fire 1 would have thought it immposable to replicate that night. But the ETK guys have never been ones to rest on their laurels and they not only emulated the night they exceeded it with version two. Another full house was on hand to witness some awsome displays of toughnes, courage and skill. After seeing a first for me in one armed fighter Thomas Hanlon going three rounds, the action really started to heat up. Glen Barrett and Conrad Wati set the scene for what was going to be a stellar night. Wati come away on top in that close encounter and it looked like Matt Ahern was going to do the same in the next fight when he was all over Ramegus Tewake in round one. I don't know what Song from the Cambodian Kickboxing gym said to Tewake in between rounds but it was a different fighter who appeared in round two. He easilly took that round and hung tough in the third to prove the never give in and it ain't over till its over threory. Coming up will be a run down on fight of the night and a revue on the rest of the card.

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Rebecca Knox & Tipphawan Sumprasoet demo
Riz Ali & Thomas Hanlon novice
Glen Ingham bt Mark Daniel pts
Conrad Wati bt Glen Barrett pts
Ramegus Tewake bt Matt Ahern pts
Kasper Jacobsen bt Josh Taia rd3 ko
Ramesh Naresh bt Matt Adams pts
Joseph Trevan bt Nik Jessop pts
Mike Milipola bt Isa Gabriel Hutchins pts
Kayne Conlan bt Richie Barnett pts
Natalia Tellar bt Fleur Storr pts
Steven Heremaia bt Iona Puna rd3ko

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Te Awamutu hosted the second leg of the boxing international on Saturday night. The Aussies had fought on Thursday at the ABA and come away 7 bouts to 3 in front. The Te Awamutu officials had done their best to lull the visitors into a false sense of security by awarding them a mayoral reception and leaving nothing to chance in the way of hospitality. But the Aussies were still very much on their game on the night and although strongly tested in many of the fights they came away with an 8-3 score line. Before I talk about the fights I would have to agree with all the Aussies I spoke to, in saying that the Te Awamutu officials did a fantastic job in organising and running the event. It was therefore deserving that the fighters all obliged and put on top class action for the very good sized crowd. The main event was an 81kg Senior Elite Light Heavyweight bout that saw Zig-Zag Wallace take on Champion Australian fighter Sam Blyth. This fight epitimised what the Queensbury rules is all about. Right from the outset both men went to work in tradesman like fashion. They found the distance quickly, used excellent footwork around the whole of the ring and scored with both body blows and quicksilver hands to the head. It was a real game of chess. I thought Zig-Zag may have done enough to take the first but the judges favoured Sam 4-3. Again it was Zig-Zag who took the fight to Sam in round two but some very efficent looping left hands ensured Sam stayed in front 9-8 when the bell rang at the end of the second frantic round. Amazingly, the pace quickened even more in the last round. The majority of the round saw both fighters going toe to toe. Sam seemed to weaken a little about half way through the round and went into defencive mode. I like the rest of the cheering Kiwi's thought Zig-Zag was getting on top, but the tough Aussie rallied again and scored with a brilliant combination and poked his nose back in front. It was a fitting end to a great night of fights

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The performances of Tafa Misipati, Mika Maliefulu and Antz Nansen sugest they could very easily slip into the professional world without any trouble at all. It was a pity we never got to see more of Antz against a truly big man, his fight being stopped in the first when man mountain Greg Stewart broke his toe when attempting to check a kick. But from what we have seen in the past the notorious one is ready to take the next step. A number of the newer fighters on the card are also ready to take another step and get a title fight in the not too distant future. Jason Ajdani who flew out to Thailand on Monday night to further his experience is one who continues to impress. Others who may get the chance sooner rather than later could be Steven Pipe, Davor Matarugic, Harris Ishikawa and Luke Brinkly

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The Coral Reef was absolutely buzzing. And why wouldn't it be. Right from the first fight the atmosphere had built steadily and by the time the big boys stepped in to fight for the NZ WKBF Super Heavyweight Title it was at cresendo pitch. Tafa Misipati and Mika Maliefulu looked the most relaxed guys in the whole joint as everyone else waited in anticipation. Things changed dramatically when the bell rang. You could not ask for a more comitted pair as each fighter tried to assert their will over the other. Throughout the fight the fight swung back and forth with both being stunned at different times and both sucking it up and comming back with all guns blazing. Tafa did a lot of leg kicking throughout the fight while Mika's right hand and high knees were always dangerous. When the final result went to Mika there were some in the crowd that didnt agree. The fight was very close and I urge you to have another look at it before making up your mind. Tafa's leg kicking had taken its toll on Mika and he did finish stronger but it was a five round fight. I just want to enjoy it for what it was. A top class fight with two determined strong hard men fighting with skill and courage. I rank it right up there as one of the best amateur fights I have ever seen.

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Well known fight comentator and news reader Mike Angove came through his professional boxing debut uninjured but also unsure if his future includes more bouts. Mike was gratefull to Fale Saioloa who stepped in at the last moment for intended opponent Mose Toleafoa. He had had a nervous wait while boxing officials debated about wether Toleafoa was licenced to fight or not, and when Toleafoa was refused permission it looked like the appearance of Lightnig would be put on hold. But Saioloa stepped into the breach and the packed house got to see the old tradesman at work. There were glimpses of a little ring rust early on but the most evident thing was the ring movement. Mike's ability to slip punches and ghost out of tight situtaions is a pleasure to watch and it bought back memories from a time gone by. After the popular victory Mike said he just wanted to enjoy the moment before he makes any decision on his future in the ring. He turn 38 this week.

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It was the weekend I dream of. Fourteen fights in the Friday (all of high quality), and then I get the opportunity to cover fifteen boxing fights on Saturday with eleven of those being international bouts. I ask you, what more could a man want? I will review the Ring of Fire show first and cover the Te Awamutu show later in the week.

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Matt Adams bt Praveen Mistry pts
Haydon Todd bt James Gordon pts
Steve Carr bt Nunz Wati pts
Daniel Brinkley bt Jared Faaselele pts
Steven Pipe bt Chris Wells pts
Davor Matarugic bt Joseph Trevan pts
Jason Ajdani bt Imran Khan rd1 tko
Bronwyn Wylie bt Christina Tai pts (boxing)
Harris Ishikawa bt Richard Barnett pts
Mike Angove bt ? pts (Boxing)
Luke Brinkley bt Tony Schollum pts
Mika Maliefulu bt Tafa Misipati pts
Antz Nansen bt Grg Stewart rd1 tko
Sio Vitale bt Charlie Smiler pts

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One man who will not be attending Ring of Fire is Aaron Boyes. Although he will have five or six boys fighting on the card he will be in Perth with his student and good mate Willy Lam. They will be there to take on one of Aussies tough men in Domonic Devana who will be making a return to the ring after a three year lay off. Last seen in NZ in 2003 when he fought Choppa in Hamilton, Devana had stamped himself in the top echelon of fighters from the land of spiders and snakes. His loss to Choppa in a tough five rounder was only the third in his ninteen fight career. Even allowing for the lay off this will be a tough match up for Willy who has been training exceptionally hard for this encounter. The fight is at 80kg which is seven and a half kg heavier than when he fought here.

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Once again Roger Earp and Jason Suttie have proved to be inovators by turning one night into two. Always eager to do the best for their fighters but aware you can get too much of a good thing they have split Ring of Fire into two nights. This makes complete sense to me. The fans get two chances to get to the fights and more importantly all the fighters get the opportunity to get in the ring. Fifteen years ago the average fights on a card was eight but with the growing popularity of the sport this number has crept up considrably. We have had cards with up to eighteen fights which even for the most ardent fan is just too many. The famous show bussiness saying "Keep them begging for more" is in my opinion a very good policy. All fans should leave an areana wanting to see another fight. When is enough enough.? Personally I think about ten fights is a good number but well run shows may be able to sucsessfully get away with more. There is nothing worse than the crowd leaving before the last fight. There is also nothing better for fighters than a packed venue of excited fans. For those wanting to attend both shows Jason and Roger are offering a discount for the second show. More good bussiness sense

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A lot of new fans to the sport may know the name Mike Angove for his commentary work with the voice Micheal Shivallo, but us oldies can remember him for his fighting prowess in days gone by. Although he will be boxing this time around it will still be good to see one of the genuine talents of the ring back in action. In his day there was no better technician than Mike. His fighting revolved around studying his opponent, working out a statagy and following a game plan that he would stick to fastiduously. Although he had Lollo in his corner his ability to read a fight as it unravelled was a very strong point in ammassing his good record. Although he was a strong leg kicker it was his hands that begat the name "Lightning" and he should have no worries with the Queensbury rules. I haven't seen Mike for a while but he always kept himselve in good trim and even at thirty seven years of age I believe he will do himselve proud on Friday.

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Antz Nansen could set some sort of record when he climbs throught the ropes on Friday night. As he faces genial giant Greg Stewart across the ring he will realise he is fighting a man that is a whopping fourty five kgs heavier than he is. That is almost half Antz weight. If both men weigh in at their normal fighting weight Antz (95) and Greg (140) it must go close to being record for amount of weight given away in NZ. One fight that many will remeber is when Jason "Supercharge" Vemoa gave away 27kg against Heriwa Te Rangi at the St James back in 2001. As brave as he was that night the differance was too much for Jason and the T man came away with an easy victory. Will history repeat or will the Notorious one be able to overcome the huge odds.

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In a night that is shaping as one of the best for a good while the Tafa Misipati and Mika Maleifulu fight looks like one of the most intriquing. Both fighters remain unbeaten, both fighters have scored ko's, and both are destined for bigger things. For either one this could be the fight that propells them towards a professional career. Although Mika has been fighting longer than Tafa he has less ring time. He will step through the ropes for the sixth time on the night while Tafa will be having his tenth. Tafa was very busy last year notching eight fights in seven months. His fight against Joel Martin to take the title was was a beaut and with the belt up for grabs again this will give the big men plenty to fight for. Mika has shown a lot of stamina in his outings and will have about a ten kilo weight advantage. This one will go right to the wire.

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Former Commonwealth welterweight champ Shannon "F16" Forrester has been in the country visiting his wifes family in Rotorua. Shannon fought on this side of the ditch on a number of occassions and always gave fight fans what they expect from the Aussie fighters. A humble and gracious man out of the ring his tough no nonsense walkup style endeared him to all who were privalidged enough to see him in action. Originally from Aubrey in NSW Shannon now resides in Broome and has started his own gym. Although he hasnt fought Muay Thai for some time he did have an MMA fight for charity about a month ago and said he enjoyed the experiance. He attended one show while in NZ and said he was immpressed with the quality of fighting.

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I'd seen Craig Thomson perform well in the ring but I was as equally immpressed with his perfomance outside the ring as a promoter on Friday night. Managing to get a full house is never easy but to do it on a night with foul weather and a league test between the Kiwis and Kangaroos requires a lot of organisation. That organisation was evident as things fell into place and the night went off without a hitch. The main event turned out to be a little one sided with American Jameson Bostic having too much reach and skill for a game Junior Pati who left the ring very frustrated after being unable to land the giant killer punch. but before that the crowd had been treated to some top class action. Without a doubt the most entertaining fight of the night had been a womans matchup between Shannon Balzat and Renee Nikora. This bout was non stop action from first bell to last and the crowd really got behind both fighters. Some of the best amateur fighters on the scene completed a night that left patrons well pleased with their choice of entertainment for the start of the weekend.

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One of our best ever woman fighters makes a return to the ring this weekend. Karen Lynch will make her entrance after a long injury enforced layoff in the UK. Now living in Essex Karen has had no less than three knee operations in her attempt to regain her glory days. Karen is best remembered in NZ for her demolision of a top international field in the WKB1 in 2004. That night she faced Sarah Clunie in the quarter finals, Aussie tough woman Shari Ranger in the semi final and then NZs best ever woman fighter Julie Wood in the final. She not only beat them she knocked all three out in the first round. Unfortunately she suffered the knee injury shortly after and could never recapture that form. She reports she is feeling BLOODY GOOD, so injury free I am sure she will be a hand full for her opponent. Combat Video and Im sure the rest of NZ wish her well. Incidently another fighter from the WKB1, Lucy Hunking lives close by and they see each other at shows. Small world

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Jombing repelled another challenge on Saturday night posting his 218th win from 271 fights. The victom this time was Joel Naiden all though I saw him nothing like a victom at all. Joel was making his first appearance since his devistating first round ko loss to Steve Hahm early last year and in my opinion looked stronger and harder than I have ever seen him. At just 21 years of age he is certainly going to be a hand full for who ever runs up against him. I think Jombing will be first to agree. Joel started the fight with a plan to tire the 47 year old. His ring movement and hit and run tactics worked well early in the fight. His best weapon was a looping left hand that found the mark repeatedly. Allthough this frustrated Jombing it didnt have the desired effect of slowing him down and that firey detemination kept the old master in the hunt. As he did against Sefa Fue in November last year Jombing come from behind to steal the last round and the fight. It was a split decision that not everyone agreed with but no one would ever begrudge the old champion his night of glory. One judge gave all rounds to Jombing and was obviously watching another fight

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Strikefoce promotions did themselves proud with a great batch of willing well trained fighters producing an outstanding twelve fight card. Match maker Karl Webber should take a bow even although a number of fights didn't go the distance. The outcome was never obvious until the end of the large majority of fights with most twoing and froing throughout the duration of the bouts. Promotor Aaron Boyes said although they fell short of the break even mark financially Strikeforce is in the ulltimate fight game for the long haul and promises more shows of the same high quality in the future. The main event between two out of towners Gareth Ealey of (Strikeforce Canterbury) and John Erskine (Acadomy of Combat Porirua) will be long remembered. Unfortunately it will probably be remembered more for the amount of blood spilt than for the excelllent tactical batle that it was. These two changed position more times than Debbie on a visit to Dallas. Whenever one fighter seemed to have a hold the other would counter and this went on right throughout the entire fight. Wether on their back or in the straddle niether fighter could gain control. Arm bars, Leg bars and choke holds that looked certain to end the fight were slipped and it was non stop action from bell to bell. The Elbows of Ealey did good work and Erskine recieved many cuts thrughout the fight. The worst of these occured in round two when blood was litrally squirting out like a fountain. Ref Terry Hill stopped the fight to have the cut checked and was amazed to find it was a very tiny punture wound that was the cause of such a huge amount of claret. In the third round the blood was becoming a big factor in the fight. The fighters were like greasy pigs with neither man able to grip the other. Terry said there was so much blood he was slipping all over the place and for safety rather than injury he called it off. I'm sure everyone present and onyone who sees the DVD will want to see a rematch. Lets hope it happens.

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French fighters to have visited NZ in the past have all shown plenty of heart and skill. Jean Charles Starbowski, Ghislaine Bellon and the Marchal twins Cyrille and the late Yannik are fighters I remember who gave their all and left nothing in the tank. When Yoann Gouaida faced off against adopted Kiwi Jan Antolik you got the feeling this was going to be another epic. Even at 6'2" Jan had to look up at the Frenchman. But it was clear from the first bell that Yoann was not going to try and keep away from Jan and use his reach advantage. The fight was only seconds old when Yoann threw the first elbow and Jan was happy to reply in kind. It is fair to say that there were more elbows thrown in the first round than you see in the fifth in most Thai fights. They weren't wildly thrown elbows either with many finding the mark and referee Fanta Atapong stopped the fight to have cuts to the head of Antolik checked out just before the bell ended the first. The second round saw more of the same. Half way through the round Yoann let go with a big right elbow that just missed the mark and Jan responded with one of his own that landed picture perfect and it was game over. It was reminescent of Jan's come from behind win over Aaron Boyes a year earlier. Unfortunately the win came with a great cost. On the night it was clear Jan would need a bit of sewing done to fix the head wounds but the damage was far greater. On Sunday Jan underwent surgery to have a plate inserted to fix a badly broken left arm that was broken near the end of the first round. This will nessisitate a lay off of at least three months and doctors ore not optimistic of him being able to fight again. Jan on the other hand is more optomistic and thinks that he may be able to box after the enforced layoff before returning to the kickboxing arena. Lets hope he is right. However his clash against Nathan Corbett at the end of the year is now very doubtfull at best.

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The main womens bout on the card (one of four) was between Michelle Preston and Aussie glamour girl Heather O'Donnell, who is a three time South Pacific champ. Michelle has found it very dificult to find suitable opponents in this part of the world and had to give away almost 3kg to her very experienced opposition. On top of that O'Donnell was a good deal taller than Michelle as well. The first round was a classic feeling out round but right at the end of it Heather walked through a couple of shots and went to the grapple. Athough she didn't do any damage on that occassion it was obvious that was going to be the danger area for Michelle. Heather used her reach advantage very well, good straight hands, smart ring movement and front kicks that kept Michelle at bay were her strong points. These attributes were making it difficult for our champion to get any rythem going but Michelle did start to land some good leather particulary with the right hand. These strong punches kept Michelle in the fight but in the last round (5) Heather found the mark with the knees and Michelle did well to beat the count on a couple of occassions. It was great to see Michelle in action in NZ again and she lost no freinds with her gallant effort against a very classy and bigger fighter. Joe Hilton has trained some of the very best in the past and in Heather O'Donnell he has another world class fighter in his hands.

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Choppa kept his eye in and had a good blow out for his upcoming clash with Chad Walker when he out boxed Samoan fighter Nuisila. Any questions about Choppa being able to handle heavier opponents has long been demissed and once again he looked very comfortable at 82.9 kg. Choppa never looked in danger even though his experienced opposition had plenty of power, espiecially in his right hand. Once Choppa went to the body in the second round the writing was on the wall. The power of these punches made Nuisilsa's hands lower a fraction and that was all that was needed for some fast strong combos. Midway through the third Nuisils took a straight right hand and he and his corner called it a day. A wise decision as Choppa was really warming to the task. After years of battleing weight Choppa looks right at ease and still retains all the speed of old. Nuisila will testify that he has an abundance of power as well.

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For thirty years the YMCA hosted some of the best kickboxing shows in Auckland. That was until Febuary 2006 when the venue was closed to promotions. Last Saturday saw a new begining when the ETK crew hosted Nemesis back at the venue. Roger Earp hit the nail on the head when he said in the changing rooms before the fights that it just felt right to be back like we were back home. And what a home coming it was. A wicked undercard, some of our best up and comers plus three of our very best to ever donn gloves. The main bout could have also seen the new begining of a rejuvinated Jason "Psycho" Suttie. This was a performance of the Suttie of old. The hand speed was back, the ring movement was evident, the timing was spot on. But most pleasing of all to me was the way he saw the fight out, fighting hard and strong right to the last bell. All this added up to trouble for his unlucky opponent Alofa Solitua, the deaf fighter from Penrith. He was a worthy opponent and may have tested Jason a year ago, but not on this night. Jason has never been one to look for excuses and blamed some previous under par performances on the fact that he expected to carry on at the top after his lay off for surgery to his neck and elbow. To me I think it is a case of those injuries finally healing. What ever the reason it sure was a delight to see the Psycho in full steam again.

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Ezekeil Tasipale & Sam Hutton (novice)
Thipphawan Sumprasoet & Shioni Murdoch-Pike (novice)
Hemi Poharama & Kaho Pani (novice)
Bronwyn Wylie & Rebecca Knox (demo)
Victor Mechkov bt Shannon Eyre pts
Jerry Teh & Nick O'Leary (draw)
Scott Bregman bt Jabez Collin pts
Ben Kelleher bt Poeati Kuli pts
Caroline Leaupepe bt Tricia Enriquez pts
Ben Sisam bt Torin Ropiha pts
Marcus Brill bt Darren Rima pts
Fleur Storr bt Caragh Doherty pts
Baby Nansen bt Megan Hohaia pts
Richie Steward bt Reid Karena pts

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Peter Simpson bt Max Djuric pts
Danny Lasitani bt Fabio Santos pts
Lee Chin & Luke McPherson (kickboxing) draw
Harrison Lee bt Max Gaoa pts
Danny Lasitani & Richard Lovo draw
Chris Thomson bt Darryl Pasco pts
Rashi Bhatnagar & Catriona Lovo draw
Scott Elsmore bt Dontay Pati pts
Thomas Thomson bt Mitch Thomas pts
Steve White bt Johnny Johnson pts
Paul Fraser bt Mase Maka pts
Ryan Mundeen bt Sammy O'Loughlin rd 3 tko
Hamish O'Kane bt Rod Dawson (kickboxing) pts

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The fighting sport returned to the YMCA last Saturday after a long absence and what a return it was. Regan Foley and Veronica Thompson left nothing to chance when they presented their eleven fight card to the corporate world. The packed out stadium was treated to good food, plenty to drink and a very well run program. On top of that the fighting was absolutly top class. It was amazing to see fight after fight, guys who had only been training for about 3 months fighting like well trained athletes. The match ups were excellent with all fights see sawing back and forth. The night started with an MMA bout that took an extra round to decide the winner. The closness of that fight set the scene and a lot of the decisions throughout the night were split. The main event on the card was the New Zealand Heayweight Title fight between Chauncy Welliver (The fat dorky white guy) and Daniel Tai. Unfortunately this fight was stopped in the second when Daniel was disqualified after repeated low blows. Fight of the night on a night full of good bouts was the Peter McMillan (45yrs) vs Neil Cattermoul (55) fight. These two went hammer and nail from start to finish. This one could have been fought in a phone booth as neither man knew the meaning of backing up. Practically the whole fight was fought toe to toe at a pace that would have made men half their age proud. If I was giving stars for this show I would give five out of five. ORDERS FOR THIS SHOW CAN BE MADE BY CONTACTING THE PROMOTERS ON 09 527 3619 OR 021 537 574

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The third Sunday Session was another success story for the ETK crew as a good crowd turned out to see some well matched bouts. The main fight of the afternoon which ran ahead of time on the well run show was between Matt Williams (ETK) and Kent Rusbridge (Phantom). Rusbridge has remained unbeaten since his move north from Christchurch and had last fought one month ago while Williams was having his first fight of the year. Matt started strongly and his southpaw style seemed to have Kent a little confused. With his slight hight and reach advantage Matt was doing good things on the outside and the early exchanges were going his way. Kent tried mixing it up but even in the grapple Matt was proving a real handfull. It was pretty much the same in the other two rounds as Matt made the play and Kent was left playing catchup. Any hopes Kent might have had of Matt fading in the last round were unfounded and Matt fought strongly right to the last bell. For me his change of angle and his choice of shots were the highlight of the fight.

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Tere Parkinson & Tricia Enriquez (novice)
Chris Wells & Logan Collins (novice)
Desiree Maaka bt Kellie McIntosh pts
Mike Ikilei bt Musa Ahmadov pts
Josh Hughes bt Sara Tieng pts
Tafa Misipati bt Taylor Ulufonua pts
Harley Love & Dave Cosgrove draw
Tony Schollum bt Phil Larking pts
Reid Karena bt Nick Schwarzer rd 1 ko
Lisa Maulau bt Tiola Tausisi pts
Karthakan Mohandas bt Zac Maaka pts
Matt Williams bt Kent Rusbridge pts

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The WKBF New Zealand Light Heavyweight Title fight looked like an even match up on paper. Ronan McCarthy had won five from five and Slava Alexeichic six from six. After an even round one there was nothing to sugest just how good this fight was going to get. In the second round the first of four knock downs occured. After a nice kick to the outside of the thigh Ronan caught Slava with a left hand. It only just hit the chin but was enough to send Slava to the canvas. For the rest of the round Ronan chased Slava trying to finish the job while Slava continued to throw some good punches off the back foot. Right near the end of the round McCarthy's persistance payed off when he landed three hard right hands and Slava was down again. In true Rocky style Slava struggled to his feet and thankfully the bell sounded at the end of the count. The third round was a real battle of wills. Slava had seemed to have recovered and held his own against Ronan who looked determind to end it early. As time ran out in the stanza Slava landed a good right and then followed it up with a couple of uppercuts and a big knee. As the bell sounded it was the Alexeichic fans doing all the cheering. To say round four was a round of changing fortunes would be an understatment. Slava started on his toes and took the attack to Ronan. For a full minute and a half Slava pummelled Ronan non stop. I was sure Fanta would stop and put the count on but he let it go. Then Ronan fought his way out of the corner and after some big clubbing right hands he managed to get a count put on Slava. Most mens hearts would have been broken by now but in the last round Slava kept his hopes alive by dropping Ronan with a beautijul right hand. After Ronan beat the count Slava chased hard to get another big bomb through but was unable to do so. Ronan won the fight and the Title in a match that will be talked about for years to come. In this one kickboxing truely was the winner.

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Eugene Bareman switched back to kickboxing as if he had never been away when he beat Ivan Mertic for the WKBF Super Middleweight Title. Eugene has been concetrating on MMA of late and was to have had his fourth fight in that disapline on this show. His opponent Steve Warby was unfortunately injured a couple of weeks ago and so rather than miss out on a fight he jumped at the chance to fight for a title. Ivan Mertic took the fight on late notice to get it off the ground and the rest you may say is history. Eugene was in fine form and never really let Ivan get into any sort of rythym at all. Personally I think it is the fittest and most ripped I have seen him present himself. His speed and change of angle frustrated Ivan who try as he may could not land any big shots. I for one certainly hope Eugene can participate in both sports as he definately has the ability to do so. Just for the record his three MMA fights have all ended the same way. Win by submission in round one.

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Auckland has not been a happy hunting ground for Charlie Smiler in the past. Since first fighting up here in 2003 when he lost a points decision to Terry Tuteru Charlie had made the trip from Wellington on no fewer than eight occasions with his one and only victory being in the rematch against Tuteru. A fight he won by breaking Terry's jaw in the last round. To be fair the opposition he has faced have not been slugs. Daniel Tai, Jay Hepi, Vinnie Mahoni, Andrew Peck, and Jason Suttie who he went the distance with twice all know their way around the ring. So this trip really didn't look any easier. In facing Tony Angelov it looked like the old bull vs the young bull scenario. From the outset it looked like it might be another long trip home for the 6 foot 4 inch fighter. Tony was beating him to the punch and the kick from the outside and he ran away with the first round. Charlie needed to change tactics and the years of experience he has gained fighting the country's best stood by him as he started to wear Tony down. Towards the end of the third Tony was looking pretty fatigued (as was Charlie) A good sustained attack from Charlie gave him his first round of the fight. In the fourth both men looked like they were fighting on instinct alone when Charlie landed a right hand that sent Tony to the canvas. Tony trie to regain his feet but could not beat the count and Charlie become the proud owner of the New Zealand W.K.B.F. Super Cruiserweight Title.

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Shane "CHOPPA" Chapman showed once again on Saturday just why he is the best ever New Zealand Muay Thai fighter. When it comes to fighting full Thai rules he reigns supreme. On Daniel Kerr's showing against Jan Antolik I thought this could be a tough fight. When I saw Choppa come into the ring with a heavily bandaged leg (covering a badly infected shin wound) I thought it would be even tougher against a strong kicker like Daniel. Another question to be asked was how was he going to cope with the extra weight. He was fighting at 81kg a full five kg heavier that he has fought before. Any fears I may have had were dismissed when the pair went toe to toe in the nutueral corner. At the first opportunity Choppa landed a text book right elbow and Daniel was gone for all money. He was counted out by referee Fanta Atapong but then some how managed to persuade Fanta to let the fight continue. Choppa asked Daniel three times if he was sure he was ok to keep fighting. The Southern man with the huge heart said he was and they went back at it. Eight seconds later Daniel was back on the deck, this time courtisy of a right hand. He copped a knee as he was falling but there was no way he will remember that. After the fight Choppa said that he had been worried about this fight all day. I think this attitude of showing a lot of respect for every fighter he climbs in with just makes Choppa all the more dangerous. I am sure Daniel will get more opportunities to fight up here and would love to see him and Arron Boyes go head to head.

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Phillip Lam did it again last night as he has so many times before. Once again he put on a show that will be talked about for months to come, and some of the fights will be talked about for years. On a night that was competing against the All Blacks and a huge storm Sifu's star studded line up produced some of the best fights seen for years. The Alexeichic v McCarthy bout was an absolute epic and Choppa was brutally and ruthlessly efficient in his dispatch of a brave Daniel Kerr. The fighters may have taken center stage and rightfully so, but I think Phillip Lam should take a bow for the supurb entertainment he provided last night.

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Julian Alcock bt Terry Lin pts
Clinton Draper bt Shane Heurea pts
Mika Maliefulu bt Trevor Browne pts
Vinnie Mahoni bt Kaota Puna pts
Richie Steward bt Terry Jack pts
Ronan McCarthy bt Slava Alexeichic pts
Eugene Bareman bt Ivan Mertic pts
Charlie Smiler bt Tony Angelov rd4 ko
Choppa Chapman bt Daniel Kerr rd 1 ko

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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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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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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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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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A full report of these fights will be posted shortly.

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