TOM HAYES
BOXING/KICKBOXING
By TOM HAYES THE Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium was rocking on Saturday night when 44 Magnum Promotions hosted another fight night in front of over 1000 people. Twenty fights went ahead on the night, including professional and amateur boxing and kick boxing. The night was off to a shaky start, when after the first fight the fire alarm went off, forcing everyone inside to evacuate momentarily, but soon after the show was back on the road. Next up after the evacuation was the first local fight of the night, starring Angela Witcher – training out of Traralgon’s 44 Gym, as she took on Mayla. Set for three 90-second rounds, the fight went the distance and required the judges’ scores. Witcher was convincingly beaten in the end, losing via unanimous decision, yet still a valiant effort. Following that fight was another local one, when 44 Gym’s Billy Whitmore got in the ring against last-minute replacement Tristan Waldegrave for three two-minute rounds. The winner of this fight would then fight again later in the card, as a part of a three-way fight. Just like the last fight, this one went all the way and went down to the wire in terms of scoring. Whitmore started the fight strong but looked to be beaten in the final round, leaving the second in dispute. Whitmore ultimately lost, ending his night, via split decision on the judges’ scorecards. Waldegrave would fight later in the card and eventually win his second fight of the night, an incredible effort on such short notice. After Waldegrave won his second fight, 44 Gym had their third representative of the night, when Gabriel Winkel fought T-Jay, another replacement boxer, in three two-minute rounds. Winkel was sparked by T-Jay who he would’ve not known much about nor what to expect. He stuck to his plan and kept T-Jay on his toes, holding down the middle of the ring for most of the fight. Once again, the fight went all the way and the judges had to reveal their scorecards which read that T-Jay won via unanimous decision. Following the tenth fight of the night, an interval was scheduled as we got ready to see some kickboxing action up next. First up on the kickboxing card was 44 Gym’s John Murray, who faced Josh Laughton, in three 90-second rounds. Laughton had the edge from the get-go and got himself an early knockdown. Murray wasn’t able to get the fight on his terms, after Laughton continued to swarm him with contact. Laughton eventually got a stoppage, defeating Murray via technical knockout before the fight’s scheduled three rounds could be completed. Next to fight out of 44 Gym was Chris Ewert when he fought Tamim Yucefi in another kickboxing fight scheduled for three two-minute rounds. In one of the more entertaining fights of the night, Ewert and Lusdoc traded shots while remaining composed over the three rounds. And just like plenty of the other fights on the night, it went the distance and therefore came down to the judges’ scores. This time, 44 Gym had a winner, when Ewert was revealed as the winner via split decision. The final local fight was one of the more anticipated fights of the night, when 44 Gym’s Peter Pirona took on Harley Robinson in five two-minute rounds of kickboxing. In the longest fight of the night so far, more entertainment was on for the crowd, which was buzzing at this point. Either fighter would gain momentum on a punch or kick landed as the tide of the fight continued to sway. But, after five rounds we went to the judges’ scorecards, who deemed Robinson the winner in a tight fight via split decision. While running around throughout the night, coaching and getting things sorted, 44 Gym’s Steven Baldachino believed the night to be a success. “Was a successful night of fights, we had a packed crowd who showed tremendous support for all the local and interstate fighters,” Baldachino said. “We are looking forward to the next event in November.” Keep your eyes peeled for more information on 44 Magnum Promotions’ Instagram @44magnumpromotions
