Amateur boxers from across the South Island put the gloves on and jumped in the ring in Timaru on Saturday for an annual tournament which attracted a sell-out crowd.
The Timaru Boxing Association’s (TBA) annual Matched Boxing Tournament featured 14 bouts at the Celtic Sports Hall on Saturday evening.
TBA coach John Ensor said the event had been very successful with 13 bouts going the distance, with an average three two-minute rounds per match.
One match was stopped early as a boxer was clearly outclassed, Ensor said.
“We pride ourselves on safety, the boy was just getting outclassed.”
South Canterbury boxer Wiremu James, 22, gave a highlight performance beating Fletcher Kirk, of Kaikoura, in the 81 kilogram elite male novice class.
He’s definitely got potential going forward,” Ensor said of James’ performance.
Boxers were aged between 11 and 22.
Coaches from Rangiora, Kaikoura, Oamaru, Dunedin and Leithfield had helped make the tournament a success, Ensor said.
Timaru has held the tournament every year for several years.
“A good boxer has the right attitude and listens to their coaches,” Ensor said.
While the Timaru club was always looking for boxers, he was quite happy with numbers, with 17 at training last week.
“It’s a process of them turning up and if they’re still here in three or four months’ time they get a wee bit more tuition put into them.
“We always give them a trial period to see if they like it first and then once they show a bit of promise we put them in the ring more and we put them in the ring with other boxers.
“Some of them take 12 months. It’s sometimes not until the next year that they actually have a proper bout.”
–stuff.co.nz
