BOXING
By TOM HAYES
IT just keeps getting bigger and better.
The 44 Magnum Promotions crew put on their biggest show to date, with their fourth fight night – IGNITE #4 – held on Saturday, December 7.
A massive 16 fights went ahead, with bouts beginning as early as 5pm, with the event wrapping up close to 11pm.
It wasn’t just boxing either. Also on show was kickboxing and Muay Thai, keeping the hundreds in the crowd engaged as the night grew older.
A number of local fighters, trained out of Traralgon’s The 44 Gym, put their skills to the test, 15 to be exact, some even fighting each other. A further eight fighters were from the wider Gippsland area.
THE night kicked off with amateur/corporate boxing fights, beginning with two locals fighting out of The 44 Gym, Ben Dowd versus Josh Gangi.
Both fighters set the tone for the night, getting the crowd into the festivities. In what appeared to be an even fight, Gangi was the first winner of the night, winning via unanimous decision.
That was the general theme of the night – with unanimous winners – but the action ramped up as the night tracked on.
The 44 Gym was well-represented in the second fight too, with both fighters training at the gym. Ethan Wilson took on Ben Lewis.
Again, both fighters gave each other a good crack, and from what looked to be another close fight, Lewis rose victorious by a unanimous decision.
Sale’s Cooper Martin was the fifth Gippslander to take to the ring, when he battled with Torquay’s Mathew Ludbrook.
Martin made it three local wins to start the night, with the third straight unanimous decision win of the evening, taking care of business over Ludbrook.
The following fight between Bairnsdale’s Lucy Avage and Melbourne’s Yzabel Jacob was the closet bout of the night up until this stage.
Both girls had a hand over each other at some point during the bout, which split the scorecards. Avage luckily made it four local wins in a row with the split decision win.
Amber Leyshan, training out of The 44 Gym was next to enter the ring, facing her from across the ring was Bairnsdale’s Nina Cook.
Again, both girls put on a show, giving each other their worst, but Cook managed to get the better of Leyshan, winning unanimously on points.
Local Aaron Hawkins fighting out of The 44 Gym was beaten in another close match-up that split the judges scorecards. The winner Kourosh Arvan from Torquay doing it only just.
As things began to ramp up, so did the fighting. The bout between local Daniel White and Bairnsdale’s Luke Forehan really got the crowd on their feet.
White had dropped 10 kilograms for this fight, mentioning he had put a lot of work into his camp during fight preparations.
In the most exciting fight of the night until this stage, White’s preparation proved to pay off, getting the win unanimously on points.
Fan favourite out of The 44 Gym, Chris Ewert, was next into the ring, taking on Hayden Daymond of Sale.
Ewert held control for most of the fight, almost knocking out his fellow Gippslander on occasions, but Daymond managed to stay on his feet and in the fight.
Daymond may have survived the rounds, but Ewert was a clear-cut unanimous winner.
The crowd was pumped to see local Max Conway take on Western Australia’s Takahi Hita, as the two big boys clashed.
Conway controlled the fight, using his height as reach to his advantage, claiming his win via unanimous decision.
Up next was the fight that most of the crowd had been waiting for – the Barista Bash between One Shot Double Shot’s Stefan Posa and Bohdi Specialty Coffee’s Kade King.
Both baristas had worked themselves into the best shapes of their lives in preparation for this fight, receiving a stand ovation after they went at it for three rounds.
Reminding everyone they weren’t boxers, the two put on what appeared to be the most encapsulating fight of the card.
King was unanimously victorious, as he was able to hold off any advances from Posa while keeping him at an arm’s length away.
To round out the amateur/corporate side of things, Traralgon’s Billy Whitmore joined Reghan Lewis in the ring.
Originally planned to fight someone at a higher weight, when Whitmore’s first opponent pulled out, he was forced to drop about four kilograms in under two weeks in order to make weight for this fight.
Both fighters showed more speed and technicality than any other fight on the card up until this stage, and in doing so, Whitmore appeared to win the first two of four rounds.
Lewis showed more fight in the third round, with the fourth round looking like it could have gone either way as the fight got messier.
Nonetheless, if that was the case, it was safe to say that The 44 Gym had another winner, as Whitmore claimed another win under his belt, winning unanimously.
ALL that was left to see was the final five fights, all of a professional standard, leading into two title fights to cap off a massive night of boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai.
Local Michael Cunningham and Abdul Mahdawi were the first to showcase kickboxing, giving the crowd some extra action to tune in to.
In a fight that certainly caught the attention of the crowd, Cunnigham wouldn’t find himself successful with Mahdawi claiming the win unanimously.
The Muay Thai fight also caught the eye of the crowd, with everyone in attendance paying close attention to the formalities before the fight begun.
The ritual ceremony performed by the fighters before engaging in battle is called Wai Kru. ‘Wai’ refers to the traditional Thai greeting, while ‘Kru’ means ‘Thai teacher’, meaning the ritual is a thank you and blessing to the coaches, gym, training partners, and family.
Taking to the ring in the Muay Thai fight was Torquay’s Jaivan Callander and Melbourne’s Benedict Tivisini.
Over three three-minute rounds, drama and controversy ensued. Callander took control landing the bigger blows early into the fight, leaving a nice gash on the left eyebrow of Tivisini.
However during the fight, Callander’s mouthguard continued to fall out, and while disagreeing with the referee (it appeared), he was given a one-point deduction.
With the fight coming to an end with both fighters still standing, the result had the crowd shocked with a split draw between the two.
Clearly unhappy with the result, Callander’s corner wanted their questions to be answered, but they were to live with the result.
The show resumed with another fan-favourite, fighting out of The 44 Gym, ‘Pistol’ Peter Pirona entering the ring to face WA’s Zane Patience.
This one got the crowd up and about, with Pirona acting as the aggressor from the first bell.
At one stage during the first round, Pirona had Patience on the ropes, and as he approached Patience, the latter began showboating by imitating the move seen after Muhammed Ali dodged 21 punches in 10 seconds in an exhibition match against Michael Dokes.
Pirona would eventually put Patience in his place with continuous leg kicks that had him unable to stand during the second round. After countless efforts to try and get up, he was left on the ground, as Pirona won via technical knockout.
All that remained was the two title fights, the first being the vacant Women’s Super Flyweight Australasian Title between Bairnsdale’s Erini Ramirez and WA’s Holly McMath.
After a fairly decent defensive showing from both fighters, McMath was first to break the shackles and take control.
She would eventually claim the title via unanimous decision, claiming each round on the judges scorecards.
Unluckily, the final bout between the locally trained Jhon Cortejos and Melbourne’s Sitthidet Pansaensa for the Men’s Silver Victorian Title was somewhat of an anticlimax.
Although the fight started off promising, the continuous stops during the fight made it difficult for either fighter to gain a rhythm.
Pansaensa led with his head, not only dangerously, but also resulting in a number of clinches, which forced the fighters to break constantly.
Eventually Pansaensa paid for his actions, when he led with his head, resulting in an accidental head clash during the fourth round. The head clash saw Pansaensa’s head split open, to the point he needed medical attention during the round.
The fight was brought to a halt, and since they had surpassed the halfway point, they went to the judges scorecards.
Following four rounds of action, the judges scorecards had the bout result in another split draw, leaving the Men’s Silver Victorian Title on the table.
