Calvert’s northern rival

Press, 23 July 1987, Page 32

Calvert’s northern rival

Dean Calvert will be up against his third northern opponent in little, more than one month during the Canterbury Boxing Association’s tournament at the Richmond Working Men’s club on Sunday afternoon. Calvert, the Canterbury and South Island intermediate 57kg champion, has been pitted against a well-per-formed Auckland and North Island representative, David Wickenham. Both fought successfully when the inter-island Golden Gloves champions met in Feilding late last month. Calvert beat Anthony Ferguson, Northland, in the 57kg bout, while the slightly heavier Wickenham accounted for Carl Bradshaw, Timaru, in the 60kg contest. A gritty performer, Bradshaw has proved competitive with Calvert in the past, suggesting that Wickenham has a chance to dent

Calvert’s impressive record. However, Caivert, a product of the Woolston Working Men’s Club gymnasium, kept in trim with a torrid defeat of a multiple national Junior title-holder, Trevor Shailer (Palmerston North), In Christchurch on July 5. The matching of Calvert with Wickenham, and also that between Tod Hazeldine (Bell’s gymnasium) and another Auckland boxer, John Adam, was made possible by sponsorship from New Zealand Steel and Tube. Hazeldine has been to the fore in helping his gymnasium to its place of prominence at Christchurch tournaments and on sorties to other centres this year. Five of Peter Bell’s boxers are included on Sunday’s programme, though the trainer himself has a prior commitment with the New Zealand Oceania Games team.

Many of the competitors

in supporting bouts will be rounding off their preparation for the Canterbury championships on August 9. For those who require some additional sharpening, another tournament is scheduled for August 2.

“We are keen to stress that the Canterbury championships are open to all boxers, not Just those resident in the province,” the GB.A. president, Wally Darrell, said.

“This has been the case for some years, but we have not publicised it widely before. This time we have notified every trainer in the South Island.

“Last year there was a very full programme on championships day. It did include some matched bouts, however, and we are keen to eliminate them this year,” said Mr Darrell.