Visiting boxers fare badly

Press, 7 May 1984, Page 3

Visiting boxers fare badly

Mr Gordon Todd’s smartly-outfitted team of eight boxers from New Plymouth provided plenty of entertainment, but enjoyed few successes in the Canterbury Boxing Association’s amateur tournament at the Richmond Workingmen’s Club yesterday. Of the eight boxers whom Mr Todd brought down to Christchurch, only two, Brendan Snodgrass and Cameron Todd, won their bouts. But it was Todd who was responsible for easily the most spectacular act during the 13-bout programme. Todd, knocked out in his last two bouts, looked to be heading for a repeat defeat when he stopped a big right hook in the first round from Kere Ihaia (Barry’s-Monier), making a return to the ring after nine years. The punch left Todd dazed and the referee, Mr Mick Drury, applied a standing eight count.

Ihaia, aged 25, then moved in for the kill, but a left hook which few of the spectators saw, let alone the recipient, knocked him out cold on his back. A doctor was called to attend the prostrate boxer and he was eventually able to leave the ring, with asistance, on decidedly wobbly legs. The knockout punch came against the run of the fight, which lasted about Imin 40s, but it was a big boost for Todd and his ecstatic trainer.

The other success for the New Plymouth visitors came from Snodgrass in a contest with Kevin Wood (Ashburton), during which both boxers gave good value. The pair adopted unrelenting two-fisted attacks, and it was not until the later stages of the third round that they were looking for breathers. Hemi Dempsey, from Fidow’s gymnasium, a popular little boxer with the crowd, actually made two appearances in the ring against New Plymouth opponents, and won them both. He polished off Brent Waller, easily distinguishable with his pudding basin haircut, in one round, but got rather more resistance from a game Paul Snodgrass about an hour later. Of the five boxers from Barry’s gymnasium taking part only one, the unfortunate Ihaia, failed to record a victory. One of the winners, Tony Enright, received the Bill Molloy Trophy as the “boxer of the day” for his polished display against Malcolm Clark (Crichton Cobbers). Another boxer from the gymnasium, Shane Everest, had a well-merited win over Patteson Aifai in the

feature bout of the afternoon. Aifai was a bundle of energy and Everest tired significantly in the third round, but he had built up a solid points lead earlier, assisted by his speed and superior reach.

Results.— Hemi Dempsey (Fidow’s) beat Brent Waller (New Plymouth), r.s.c., round 1; Nigel Tew (Ashburton) beat Mike Standeven (Fidow’s), points; Brendan Snodgrass (New Plymouth) beat Kevin Wood (Ashburton), majority points; Tony Enright (Barry’sMonier) beat Malcolm Clark (Crichton Cobbers), points; Greg Bell (Bell’s-Kearns Motors) beat Gordon Smaeli (Fidow’s), majority points. Dempsey beat Paul Snodgrass (New Plymouth), points; Les Cooper (Eastern Suburbs) beat Tom Fitzgerald (Clearwaters), points; Kenny Lynn (Ashburton) beat James Stewart (New Plymouth), majority points; Paul Graham (Barry’s-Monier) beat David Miles (New Plymouth), points. Chris Kelly (Barry’s-Monier) beat David Allen (Crichton Cobbers), points; Philip Cropper (Crichton Cobbers) beat Stewart Cook (New Plymouth), r.s.c., round 2; Cameron Todd (New Plymouth) beat Kere Ihaia (Barry’s-Monier), r.s.c., round 1; Shane Everest (Barry’s-Monier) beat Patteson Aifai (New Plymouth), points.