The Auckland kickboxing events calendar certainly ended with a bang thanks to Elite Thai Kickboxing’s ‘Christmas Smackers’ promotion. The only thing hotter than the sweltering Auckland Boxing Association on a humid night was the action in the ring.
Logan Golaboski (ETK) and Keiron Boardman (City Lee Gar) got the night off to a cracking start with a hard fought novice bout that could easily have been a full fight. Both boys demonstrated good all round technique and held nothing back, characteristic of the ‘raising of the bar’ in terms of the skills of first time fighters that we have seen all through this year.
Neil Hanson (ETK) and Brad Blackstock kept the momentum going with a frantic start to their fight. Neil impressed with powerful kicks but Brad was the more aggressive fighter and took the bout by UPD.
The next fight featured Dimitri Simoukov (ETK) vs. Kyle Merryweather (Samson Thai boxing). Dimitri took control early in round one and kept the pressure on Kyle throughout the fight, working left and right kicks to the legs and body followed up by strong straight punches. Simoukov has improved greatly in each of his 4 fights and his performance on this night was indicative of his increasing confidence. Kyle scored with kicks to the legs and body but was never really able to put any combinations together. Simoukov by UPD.
Laura Church (SMAC) met Ana Williams (Tai Bros) in a torrid contest. The two women started by trading big leg kicks before Laura backed Williams into the corner and caught her with some big bombs. Ana got away but was back-peddling for the rest of the round.
The break saw Ana’s corner doing extensive work on her visibly reddened left leg and she was in obvious pain. However, despite this, it was Williams who opened the round with a big right round kick to Laura’s body. Laura retaliated with a right kick of her own but Ana was finding the mark with her right hand and put a nice jab, cross, right round kick combo together. Laura came back hard and caught Ana in the grapple with some hard knees. Ana fought back but Church again finished the round on the offensive and had her opponent backing away from a barrage of hooks and uppercuts.
Ana was obviously gassed in the 3rd round but refused to give in. Laura came in hard but time after time Williams rallied to fight back. A huge effort from by both fighters but Laura took the fight by a well-deserved UPD.
ETK’s Roger Earp fought 14-year-old phenomenon Rowan Samson (Samson Thai Boxing) in an exhibition match. Rowan showed an impressive array of skills and techniques, all the more amazing because of his young age. Rowan is well on his way to becoming a kiwi kickboxing superstar of the future. The demo gave Rowan a great opportunity to learn from and test himself against one of the best New Zealand has to offer in his weight class, as there are few more skilled or experienced fighters in this country than Roger Earp.
Perhaps the most exciting fight of the evening was that between Super heavyweights Dan Nepia (ETK) and Nooroa ‘Noodles’ Poa (Balmoral). After exchanging big kicks with Dan early on, Noodles exploded and caught Dan with about 20 unanswered shots to the head. Dan took them all and retaliated with a left/right combination that put Noodles through the ropes, resulting in a standing 8. Nepia followed up with some hard body shots, and a kick before putting Noodles down again with a big right hook.
Dan started strongly in round 2 working left and right kicks and strong knees to the body. Backed against the ropes, Noodles tried to keep his opponent at bay with push kicks but Dan found his way inside again catching Noodles with the right hand and sending him to the canvas. Noodles arose and fought back with another barrage of left and right punches finishing off with a big right cross that put Nepia down. Poa negated any advantage he might have gained from the knock down by losing his head and hitting Dan twice while he was on the ground. Referee Terry Hill moved in quickly and sent Noodles flying as he pushed him back to the neutral corner. Hill showed just why he is considered the best in the business as he cautioned Poa before applying the count to Nepia allowing Nepia an opportunity to recover before the end of the round.
The pace slowed somewhat in the final round but Dan maintained the higher work rate utilising his kicks and knees and finishing the round strongly with a flurry of punches. Nepia by UPD.
Papa Gabriel (ETK) showed he has much more to offer than just a strong chin and big punch in his fight against Mark Farrelly (Sepaki Thai). Papa made effective use of left and right round kicks to the legs and body and caught a number of Mark’s kick attempts following up with his devastating right hand. Mark also demonstrated great toughness. When his shoulder dislocated during a punch combination, Mark simply stepped back, threw it back in, and continued the fight. It was a closely contested battle but Gabriel did enough to get the nod from two of the judges, taking the fight by majority decision.
Carwyn Morrison (ETK) also won by majority decision against Ryan Donnelly (Houghton Kickboxing). It was a tentative fight in which neither fighter really fired but Carwyn definitely had the higher work rate, picking away at Ryan with kicks to the legs, ribs and head.
The next fight between Paul Sillick (ETK) and Eugene Bareman (Balmoral) was another extremely close contest. The taller Sillick staying outside and using cracking leg kicks to set up his right hand, while Bareman used his fast hands to set up his favoured knees. Although one judge scored the fight as a draw, the other two officials felt Eugene had done enough to take it. Bareman by majority decision.
Robin Suttie (ETK) demonstrated the same fast hands and power kicks that have made his brother Jason so successful, in his ring debut against Dallas Hikaka (Samson Thai Boxing). It was Hikaka’s second fight, his first taking place just one week earlier. Dallas showed great fighting spirit by accepting the fight on short notice and giving up a lot of weight to Suttie. It was yet another extremely even contest and in the end it was probably only a few knees and punches thrown by Dallas in the second round that made the difference. Hikaka by majority decision.
The first title fight of the night saw Andy Donaldson (SMAC) challenge Sefa Fue (ETK) for his WKBF Super Lightweight belt. A fighter known for his ability to counter attack, Sefa has made huge strides this year and has impressed with his increased aggression and confidence. Donaldson is well known as a fighter who never takes a backward step. Those who have had victories over him in the past have shown that the only way to defeat him is to beat him at his own game. On this occasion Sefa was unable to do so, as Andy controlled the centre of the ring and continually backed Fue against the ropes, plastering him with knees and punches. Sefa smiled, shrugged off Andy’s best shots, and counter attacked with big right hands and push kicks, but in the end Andy’s greater aggression and work rate saw him take the fight by UPD.
Sukbong Chang (ETK) faced off against Hamuera Maika (Sepaki Thai) in an all out war for the
WKBF NZ Middleweight title. Hamuera had the better of the first round using jab/cross/left round kick combinations to good effect as well as a sweet left kick, right knee, right leg kick combo. Chang started strongly in the second before copping an unintentional low blow. Astonishingly rather than give a time out for Sukbong to recover, the ref applied a standing 8 despite Chang’s obvious agony. This fired up the Korean and he came in hard finishing the round strongly. The fact that Maika’s kick was south of the border was supported by the huge amounts of ice Chang’s corner tipped in his lap during the break.
The two fighters went toe-to-toe for the remaining three rounds, fighting themselves to a stand still in round 5. Even then, they stood in centre ring and continued to throw big swinging blows despite their obvious exhaustion. The final score cards read 48 – 48, 49 – 46 (Hamuera), 48 – 47 (Sukbong)-Draw.
This was Sukbong’s last fight before his return to Korea. He will be a sorely missed feature of the New Zealand kickboxing scene as he has provided us with some of the most exciting fights of the year (This one as well as those against Willie Lam and Ritchie Steward being classic examples).
The final fight of the night saw rising star Sio Vitale (ETK) match up against K-1 contender,
Richard Tutaki (Pathai) for the WKBF NZ Super Heavyweight crown. This looked to be Sio’s biggest test to date and a measure of his readiness to step up to the next level. Vitale lived up to his fight name with ‘smooth’ movement around the ring and slick combinations. Tutaki always looked dangerous, scoring with big power shots and kicks but did not match Sio’s work rate. Vitale seemed happy to play the ‘stick-and-move’ game until the fourth round when he faked a jab and then launched a huge straight right into Richard’s solar plexus. Tutaki went down on one knee to take the count, tried to get up but then fell sideways, holding his chest in obvious pain. With Richard not able to get up before 10, Sio took the fight by KO.
Another fantastic promotion from Jason and Roger at ETK and a perfect finish to a great year of kickboxing.
Full Results
- Logan Golaboski (ETK) v Keiron Boardman (City Lee Gar) – hard fought Novice fight
- Neil Hanson (ETK) vs Brad Blackstock – Brad UPD
- Dimitri Simiukov (ETK) vs Kyle Merrywether (Sampson Thaiboxing) – Dimitri UPD
- Laura Church (SMAC) vs Ana Williams (Tai Bros) – Laura UPD
- Roger Earp (ETK) vs Rowan Samson (Samson Thaiboxing) – Demo fight
- Dan Nepia (ETK) vs Noodles (Balmoral Lee Gar) – Dan UPD
- Papa Gabriel (ETK) vs Mark Farrelly (Sepaki Thai) – Papa Maj. dec (29-29, 29-29, 30-27)
- Carwyn Morrison (ETK) vs Ryan Donnelly (Houghton Kickboxing) – Carwyn Majority dec (29-29, 29-28,29-28)
- Pauly Sillick (ETK) vs Eugene Bareman (Balmoral Lee Gar) – Eurgene by Maj. dec (29-29,29-28,29-28)
- Robin Suttie (ETK) vs Dallas Hikaka (Samson Thaiboxing) – Dallas Majority Dec (29-29,29-28,29-28)
- Sefa Fue (ETK) vs Andy Donaldson (SMAC) for WKBF NZ Superlightweight – Andy UPD
- Sukbong Chang (ETK) vs Hamuera Maika (Sepaki Thai) for WKBF NZ Middleweight – draw (48-48, 49-46 Hamuera, 48-47 Sukbong)
- Sio Vitale (ETK) vs Richard Tutaki (Pathai) for WKBF NZ Superheavyweight – Sio 4th round KO
