Heavyweight boxing title to Stankovich

Press, 31 March 1983, Page 4

Heavyweight boxing title to Stankovich

PA Auckland George Stankovich needed fewer than three rounds to wrest the New Zealand heavyweight boxing title from Young Sekona in the Auckland Town Hall last evening. Stankovich, an explosives expert, blasted Sekona into submission with some power punching. Only the bell saved Sekona after he took an eight-count at the end of the second round. Midway through the third he turned away and took another eight-count as Stankovich prepared for the kill. After a couple of thundering straight rights and a powerpacked left, the referee, Mr Bevan Weir, stepped in to end the fight. The veteran trainer, Mr George Cammick, in Sekona’s comer, was far from happy with the effort of the defending champion. “you saw what happened in

there,” said Mr Cammick. “That will be his last for sure.” Stankovich had a healthy 6.Bkg weight advantage. Sekona fired only one shot in the bout, a clean left hook in the first round. Stankovich began tentatively, but quickly opened Sekona’s guard with some solid straight rights and used those openings to get home some big lefts.

David Stowers won the vacant New Zealand lightwelterweight title when he had a ninth-round technical knockout win over fellow Aucklander, Rodney Brown. Stowers was firmly in command from the outset. His solid left had BroWn in trouble in the early rounds, but he failed to land a telling blow. Brown took a standing eight count early in the eighth round and two minutes and 54 seconds into the same round. The referee, Mr Adolph JohaiAson, stopped the bout?