Canty boxer gets last laugh
Nort Beauchamp doesn’t mind who laughs at him as long as he is laughing last.
The Canterbury boxer’s upset victory over world rated Australian Joel Brunker (33-3) in Melbourne over the weekend will go down as one of the biggest upsets of the year in Australasia.
Beauchamp (17-2) lifted the vacant IBO Oceania Super Featherweight belt and is now the No. 1 contender for the WBA Oceania Super Featherweight belt.
‘‘It’s very satisfying. A lot of people didn’t expect me to even make it out of the amateurs let alone make it this far in the pros with a good record and winning titles,’’ Beauchamp said. Back in 2011, Beauchamp was representing the New Zealand amateur team in Sydney on the undercard of Brunker’s WBO Oriental Featherweight title victory over Adones Aguelo. ‘‘I said right then that I wanted to fight him one day and people were telling me that I was dreaming, people were laughing at me but it’s funny how it all comes back around,’’ Beauchamp said.
An Australian sports betting agency had Beauchamp, who trains under Deacon Henry at 1 More Round in Christchurch, at $5.70 with Brunker a $1.12 favourite in head-tohead betting for last Friday night’s fight. ‘‘Most people didn’t expect me to have a shot at all,’’ Beauchamp said.