TOM HAYES
BOXING
By TOM HAYES IT’S fight week, as 44 Magnum Promotions brings us a stacked card of boxing and kick-boxing action this Saturday, May 27. At the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS) in Traralgon, 44 Magnum Promotions is building from its first fight night, bringing a bigger and better event this time around. This time around there is five professional fights on the night, increasing from the singular pro fight in November last year. There will plenty of action throughout the night, with around 20 fights scheduled to go ahead. “We’ve got fighters coming from all over the country, as well as a lot of local talent on the amateur scene,” 44 Gym’s Steven Baldachino said. “There’s five pro fights, and I think nine amateur boxing fights and five to six amateur kickboxing fights.” The atmosphere is set to be electric, with much more capacity available for a bigger crowd at the GRISS’ showcourt, compared to one of the smaller courts from last year’s event. “We’re running a much bigger scale on this one, our last show we just used one of the smaller courts … now we’re using the main showcourt, so we can fit a much larger capacity now,” Baldachino said. Big things are expected for the main event fights, while locals are hoped to display their talents on the big stage too. There are five local fighters, representing the 44 Gym; Billy Whitmore, John Murray, Angela Witcher, Peter Pirona and Gabriel Winkel. Winkel is looking forward to his rematch with Sale’s Cooper Martin. Preparations have run smoothly for Winkel as he hopes to get another win under his belt. “Tuning up the last little fight touches, and then we’re on … sticking to the formula,” he said. “I’m not worried about my opponent this time around, I’m just gonna do me, box the way I box, fight the way I fight.” Winkel expects entertainment from not only himself, but the entire 44 Gym crew that will be on display this weekend. “Fireworks, all night,” he simply put. Baldachino is especially excited to see what fighters from his gym are capable of, putting his training skills to the ultimate test. “We got a lot of good talent coming through, all our local guys, all the guys from my gym especially – I’m very excited to watch,” he said. “I’m expecting my fighters to put on absolute spectacular performances, we’ve all be training super hard for the last eight weeks, they’ve had a lot of notice for this night, and their looking to cement their name on the amateur circuit.” Baldachino and 44 Magnum Promotions have been busy over the last few months to get this event up and running, as planning and matchmaking has been prepared behind the scenes. Fight Night #2 starts Saturday, May 27, with fights starting as early as 5pm, wrapping up around 9pm. Tickets for the fight night are still available from tinyurl.com/a4jkjekh
