Chance for SC hopefuls to strut their stuff
Seven South Canterbury boxers will line up in the South Island Golden Gloves Championships at the Caroline Bay Hall this weekend.
Sam Chappell, Campbell Marr, Cain Pullar, Alan Ropata, Carn Blair, Corbin Gillespie and Joel Hill will be among the 100-plus South Island entries, with competition expected to be intense with the golden gloves titles on the line.
Competition will see the return home of a former New Zealand titleholder, Dion Hall, who fought in the 1990s out of the Temuka gym. Hall is currently coaching at the Whakatu gym in Nelson.
Also returning to his roots will be Sam Watt, who is currently rated No 4 in New Zealand in the heavyweight division, along with Alannah Pearce, who lines up in the women’s division, competing out of the Arapara gym in Picton.
Timaru Boxing Association president Graham Ellery is delighted that the Golden Gloves Championships are being held in Timaru again, after hosting them just two years ago.
‘‘The boxing fraternity recognises that Timaru is ideally situated with its central location, topped off by its excellent facility, the Bay Hall. Our committee has worked hard to ensure that an amateur event is run in a professional manner,’’ Ellery said.
‘‘Also credit must go to coach John Ensor who has prepared a large contingent of local boxers who will be competing as medal aspirants, as opposed to making up the numbers for a local crowd.
‘‘I am sure from this weekend we will have local boys who will go on to represent our region at the New Zealand championships in Queenstown in October.’’
Competition starts tomorrow with the afternoon session commencing at 1pm and the majority of finals in the evening starting at 7pm. A decision on whether entries will necessitate competition on Sunday will be made after tomorrow morning’s weigh in.