All photos © 2005 The Image Girl

Results

1. Joel Naiden defeated David Kim by unanimous decision.
2. ]Daniel Sokolich & Keith Putt – majority draw.
3. Alex Porter defeated Robbie Edmonds by unanimous decision.
4. Simon Chamberlain defeated Dion Read by unanimous decision.
5. Tony Angelov defeated Gordon Pye by majority decision.
6. Daniel Tai defeated Sio Vitale by 4th round KO.
7. Joe White defeated Jayson Vemoa by 1st round KO.
8. Jason Suttie defeated Niels Eikeland by 1st round KO.
9. Choppa defeated Painiran Asanai by 4th round KO.

If the first show of 2005 is any indication of what the rest of the year will be like we are in for one Hell of a ride! Sifu Philip Lam proved there is no beating experience when it comes to fight promotion; staging an outstanding event that offered everything you could possibly hope for and a whole lot more.

The night kicked off with Hamiltonian Joel Naiden (Ultimate Kickboxing) matching up against City Lee Gar's David Kim. The first two rounds were extremely even with technical skills on display from both fighters were impressive given they had both only had two previous fights. Joel stepped it up in the 3rd, putting his hands to good use and landing some good clean shots that proved enough for him to get the judges nod.

Although Daniel Sokolich and Keith Putt (Team Glasgow)may not have matched the first two fighters in the technique department – they more than made up for it with heart and determination. The boys went at each other hammer and tong for the whole 3 rounds – both landing huge shots that would have been fight winners in many other situations. Daniel dropped Keith in round 1 with a huge right hand but Putt arose and fought back with everything he had. After 3 rounds of toe-to-toe war the judges declared the fight a majority draw (one judge scored Sokolich as the winner).

Fight 3 saw Robbie Edmonds (Team Glasgow) face Alex Porter (City Lee Gar) in a fight that was a study in contrasts. Porter was the more mobile and technical of the two while Edmonds was the tough brawler. Alex chipped away at his opponent with sharp jab/cross/low kick combos while Robbie primarily used his hands. Round 2 saw Porter drop his opponent with a perfectly timed left hook. Edmonds got straight back up and tried to put Alex away with big bombing punches but couldn't quite find his range. Porter wisely kept his distance and kept banging away with well placed kicks to the legs and body. He changed tactics in round 3 – coming out and tying Robbie up in the grapple straight away – obviously confident he could win a knee battle. Edmonds wanted none of that and tried to punch his way out of the grapple. Alex connected with a big right hand that rocked Robbie but was still not enough to put the battler away. Ultimately though, Alex had done enough to take the fight by a well earned unanimous decision.

The next fight between Dion Reid (Strikeforce) and Tony Angelov (City Lee Gar) was another closely contested bout. Both fighters had excellent all round skills and gave as good as they got, however it was Angelov who appeared to connect with marginally cleaner shots. Tony took the fight by majority decision with one judge scoring the bout a draw.

Gordan Pye (Harley's) and Simon Chamberlain (Balmoral Lee Gar) provided a study in contrasting styles with the former matching his powerful straight hands and go forward style against the quickness and crisp technique of his opponent. Simon worked the angles and scored with smooth combinations and beautifully timed kicks and knees. Pye on the other hand is a renowned battler and found a home for his trademark right hand on numerous occasions. His defence also looked to be much improved after his recent stint training in Thailand. Simon is an exciting fighter whose career was interrupted last year by injury. His impressive technique, speed and tactical approach caught the judges' eyes and earned him a unanimous decision. Hopefully his injuries are behind him (and judging by this performance they definitely seem to be) and we will be able to see him continue his development as an emerging force in the kiwi kickboxing scene.

The Professional Heavyweight division in NZ has been stagnant for several years. The likes of Jason Suttie, Andrew Peck, Ron Sefo, Hiriwa Te Rangi, and (before his defection to boxing) Doug Viney have ruled the roost for so long that it has sometimes seemed like they were part of some kind of exclusive club that no one else would ever be able to join. The only fighter who has looked like crossing the gap in recent years is Sio Vitale, who under the tutelage of Jason Suttie has emerged over the last two years as a definite contender and threat to the status quo. The only fighter, that is, until Daniel Tai made his surprise move to Heavyweight last year. After winning his first few Heavyweight fights in impressive fashion Daniel made big waves at the end of the last year when he won Scotty Thompson's 8-Man Heavyweight tournament – beating Vitale in the final. There was therefore a lot of interest in how this contest would pan out.

Tai took the initiative in the first round, quickly finding his range with kicks to the legs and body. Vitale was sharp on counter attack also connecting with low kicks and straight punches but it was Tai who was pushing the pace. Tai caught Sio with a stiff jab to the eye in round two, causing some noticeable swelling. He continued to target the eye and by round 3 had opened a cut. The doctor checked it and cleared Vitale to continue but Daniel continued to hone in on it. Sio tried to step it up and threw a number of big bombing punches – finding the mark on a couple of occasions but not doing enough damage to deter Tai from his methodical attack. Vitale was clearly having an off night and noticably absent from his arsenal were his trademark swift hand combinations. By round four Daniel had clearly decided that Sio was open for the uppercut connected with a couple before knocking Vitale down for an 8 count. Sio arose and signalled that he was good to continue but then walked straight into a huge right uppercut from Tai that sent him crashing back to the canvas. Tai took the fight by KO – serving notice to the big boys club that they may soon have to admit a new member.

Next was a match up between NZ kickboxing legend Jayson 'Supercharge' Vemoa face off against Joe White. The pair started cautiously both testing the waters with jabs and low kicks. Vemoa looked as if he was about to start something as he connected with sweet hand combo but he never got the opportunity to finish as White exploded in retaliation with tripled up high kicks and a couple of flying knees – the second of which caught Jayson flush on the jaw and sent him to the canvas. Supercharge staggered to his feet but looked good to go by the 10 count and signalled to Referee, Terry Hill that he wanted to box on. White came in hard on attack and although Jayson managed to evade his first barrage of punches he got caught with a big right hand that sent him down again. He got straight back up for the 8 count but was warned by the ref that if he hit the floor again the fight would be stopped. Jayson charged in throwing punches but overbalanced and fell again causing Hill to end the bout. White had a quiet year last year as he recovered from a broken arm and then spent time training in Thailand. However if his performance on this night is any sign of how he plans to approach 2005 then look out!

Jason 'Psycho' Suttie made similarly short work of the Thai trained Norwegian Neils Eikeland. The NZ fighter lived up to his fight name with a frenzied punching attack on the tall European. Eikeland tasted the speed and power of the Psycho and didn't want a bar of it. Jason chased him around and landed some crashing kicks to the body and legs before backing him against the ropes and nailing him first with a right hand to the body that doubled him up followed by another to the jaw that knocked him out cold.

If there has been a more exciting fight in NZ than the main event between Shane Choppa Chapman and Thailand's Painiran Asanai few must have lived to tell the tale because it was one of the most truly heart-stopping fights I have ever witnessed! Choppa started slowly in the first round allowing the diminutive Thai to find the mark with lightning quick kicks to the legs and body. This seemed to wake Chapman up as he went in for the grapple and connected with some hard knees when out of nowhere the Thai let loose with a flashing elbow that opened a cut on Choppa's forehead that sent blood spurting across the ring. The crowd were literally all on the edge of their seats as the ring doctor took a long look at it before giving Shane clearance to carry on. The bell rang shortly after – giving Choppa's corner time to work on the cut.

The kiwi was a man on a mission in round two, throwing everything at Painiran. The Thai was a supremely tough customer though and despite being wobbled by a couple of huge left hooks, kept coming back at Chapman – landing more elbows and re-opening the cut. With his face totally covered in blood, Choppa continued the pressure throwing fast hand combos, high kicks and flying knees in his quest to take out Asanai.

Asanai came back hard in the start of the 3rd round and the tide of the fight seemed to be turning again before Choppa stepped it up yet another notch – finishing the round with a spectacular flying knee. He continued his attack in round four and forced the Thai against the ropes with a high knee. The Thai bounced back only to be met by a baseball bat like elbow to the head that felled him like a tree! The entire YMCA crowd leapt to its feet and roared in appreciation for the man who is indisputably the top middleweight in NZ. The Thai also got a huge round of applause for his contribution to a truly epic contest – an epic that it seems will continue as the two are slated to meet again on Kio Sud's promotion on April 2nd.