Te Kapotai Tohu, left, catches Thomas Russell during their Saturday night bout. Image / Stuff
New Plymouth boxer Te Kapotai Tohu has arrived as a professional courtesy of a unanimous decision over Thomas Russell.
But his Saturday night win at the New Plymouth YMCA in front a full house was a learning lesson.
Russell, a perennial loser after more than 20 fights, was a very late replacement for the injured Thomas Heads, and at short notice the fight was moved to heavyweight level.
Supporters might have expected an equally short main bout – but Russell turned up in top form. After spending the first-round ducking anything Tohu threw, he invited Tohu to a slug fest for the rest of the bout, and the crowd loved it.
The two traded huge shots as an 800-strong crowd roared them on for another three rounds.
Tohu was given a unanimous decision, but a couple of rounds were so close that had it ended in a draw some observers would not have been surprised.
Hybrid fight night
Wellington-based Russell might have ended with another loss to his name, but his durability and ring savvy was notable.
The bout capped off a new hybrid fight night for New Plymouth which saw fight fans entertained by corporate and pro boxing, MMA and kick boxing.
MMA drew the biggest response, none more than Ethan Brockett’s second-round win over Henrique Coelho.
Coelho caught Brockett flush in the mouth with a kick at the outset, and a bloodied Brockett duly fought back to win a belter of a clash by stopping Coelho in round two.
Queue the quote of the night after Brockett applauded his lighter opponent after “three people cancelled on me”.
In an open invitation to rivals he announced: “Consider this a declaration of war”.
Turning people away
Promoter Sam Rapira was delighted with the success of the night and the popularity of the hybrid model.
“We were turning people away at the door because we were full … we’ll explore this formula further,” he promised.
And of Tohu’s win… “there were some torrid exchanges, and it was good experience for him.”
Rapira talks from experience.
It was 10 years ago in April that New Plymouth became infatuated with fight nights – when Rapira made his own pro debut and came back from a second-round knockdown to stop Scott Taliauli.
- Stuff