Lara boxer eyes a tilt at state title

EIGHT stitches and a bloodshot eye.

Jaxon Wilson is still bearing the scars of a gruesome injury, seven days after he became the Australasian Golden Gloves champion.

“That happened in the last minute of the championship fight,” Wilson said, pointing to his left eye.

“I thought they were going to call off the fight, so I was pretty lucky.

“The doctor was having a really good look at it. It was open, about 30mm long and 15mm high, so you could stick your finger under the flap of the skin and I thought he was going to call it off.

“Somehow I managed to convince him not to and thankfully the fight went my way.”

A minute later, Wilson’s hand was raised as the 64kg division champion.

The 20-year-old from Lara had downed Malaysia’s Aaron Lopez via unanimous decision in the Golden Gloves tournament in Scarborough, Western Australia.

“I’m pretty pleased,” said Wilson, who has an 18-5 amateur record. “I’ve had seven fights for seven wins this year, so I’m off to a good start.”

With three fights scheduled in as many days, Wilson battled local Emmanuel Kori and secured victory via unanimous decision.

Wilson was preparing for a second bout in quick succession, but Lopez’s first fight was cancelled, giving the Malaysian a free ticket to the final.

“He was a backfoot fighter and he threw some hard shots,” Wilson said of Lopez.

“But once I started moving under his shots, it made it a lot easier for me. The first round was close, but then I realised what I had to do and did it.”

With the biggest victory of his young career, Wilson has now turned his attention towards earning a spot in the Victorian championships.

“I didn’t get through to the state titles last year, but that’s my next task,” said Wilson, who also competed in Perth alongside Kristy Harris.

“I’m not sure how many will be fighting, but that’s the big ticket to the Aussie titles.”

Training six days a week, including three sessions under Kevin Murray at Murray’s Gym in Geelong West, Wilson attributes his recent success to “hard work”.

“Some days are easier than others, I’m just working hard. I’m getting up every Sunday and running about 10km and that’s not easy,” he said.

“I recover from that and then I come in here (Murray’s Gym) and do five or six rounds of sparring.”