Bruce Glozier (73.2kg) finished all over Chris Rehu (70.9kg) to take a points win in their six-round return match at the Auckland Boxing Association’s stadium on Thursday, February 23rd. A definite win was the goal of both fighters after they fought a disputed draw last October. Pre-fight Glozier had promised to “come on strong” in the rematch after struggling to make middleweight in their previous encounter and this he did.
Both parties agreed to a 75kg limit – making it a catchweight fight – and through no fault of his own, Bruce enjoyed a 3kg advantage and the extra weight and muscle made all the difference. It was an old-fashioned neighbourhood rivalry match with plenty of needle that thrilled the capacity crowd.
The bout wasn’t all one-way traffic, with Rehu proving difficult to tag cleanly with his awkward lunging style. He soaked up many of Glozier’s early blows without any sign of ill-effect although his nose bled profusely from the third round.
Referee, Logan Bragg, was forced to physically separate the pair as they continued to trade blows at the end of each round. In the sixth and final round Glozier gave Bragg a shove to get him out of the way. When on being reprimanded he claimed he was only “joking”.
In the four-round preliminary, Frank Atu (104.4kg) and Sio Vitale (114kg) staged a good fight. Vitale, better known as a kick-boxer, was contesting only his second orthodox boxing fight, but staggered Atu in the third round with a body shot.
Atu showed the experience that has won him three Fijian titles in the final round when he dropped Vitale with a sneak right-hand and went on to win a unanimous decision.
The best two amateur fights of the night on the supporting card were the first two. Tevita Pomale (42.5kg) from Kelston Gym could be a future champion if he sticks to the sport. He beat old and stronger opponent Eric Reddy (42kg) from Kaipara with pure skill. There aren’t too many 12-year-olds who can slip punches and throw copybook combinations that include cracking uppercuts. Incidentally, Reddy was no palookas either.
The other top amateur bout was between regular Josh O’Connell (60.9kg) from the Lance Revill stable and Theo Wilkie (61.7kg) from Te Rapa – a blood and guts, non-stop three rounder won by Wilkie.
