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Aust, Kiwis slug it out for draw
NEIL DEVEY, The West Australian November 2, 2009, 9:01 am 
WA News / Mal Fairclough ©
Australia were forced to settle for a 4-4 draw in the inaugural Adidas Cup amateur boxing competition against New Zealand yesterday after super-heavyweight Shanan Hepi produced a final-round rally to rescue the Kiwis. Hepi was trailing AdamIan Fischer-Rasmussen 5-4 going into the third round at the Italian Club in Northbridge after earlier being deducted a point for holding. But he came good to win the 91+kg dust-up 7-5 and level an entertaining contest.
The Kiwis sent a team boasting five current or former national champions yet there was never more than one bout in it on a card reduced to eight fights after the clash at 57kg fell through. Ross Weaver (75kg) was arguably the star for the home side after he delivered a disciplined nine minutes to see off two-time NZ champion and world No. 26 Nathan McEwan 7-4 in a battle of southpaws. A muscular Patrick Eneanya made light work of Yamico Chihula's reach advantage to overpower the Kiwi 16-6 at 91kg.Brett Mather (60kg) also shone for Australia as he beat Nort Beauchamp 16-10, while Luke McLeod got the better of Todd Commons the longer their 64kg bout went to win 16-3.
But the New Zealanders had their heroes as well, most notably Hepi and at 81kg, where Reece Papuni proved too good for the taller Brendan Scally, who was squeezed out 12-10. The visitors also won the two women's fights, with the impressive Dawn Chambers taking the opening bout 14-10 against home favourite Jesse Bouquet at 64kg and Tegan Madden ousting Erin Nota 3-2 at 60kg.
Alliance Sports - adidas representative Chris Moar, one of the main players behind getting the event off the ground, hailed the event as a success. "We've been keen to get something like this off the ground for about two years and we spoke to (Boxing WA's) Geoff Peterson and Zac Arslanoski, who had similar ideas," he said. Moar said he hoped the contest would now be picked up by Boxing Australia and become a fully international competition on its annual calendar, with the likes of England and Ireland sending teams to participate.
Peterson agreed, saying the afternoon gave them something to build on. "This is the beginning. We'll see what went well and what we can improve on. But a 4-4 draw shows how well matched it was and the performance of Ross Weaver in particular was outstanding." |
Inaugural adidas CupThe first ever adidas Cup gets underway this Sunday the 1st November in beautiful Perth, Western Australia. The event has already generated worldwide interest and is set to become a permanent fixture on the annual boxing calendar. The Inaugural event see’s Australia take on the best from New Zealand and has reignited friendly rivalry in this cross Tasman challenge. There are currently 17 bouts scheduled for the event, with the winning nation earning not only bragging rights, but the opportunity to host the following year’s event and of course their place on the cup itself.
Initially planned as an Australia Vs surrounding nation’s event, Alliance Sports Managing Director Chris Moar and organizers WA Boxing Inc expect the event to soon become international with countries boxing off against one another for the chance to compete for the cup.
The adidas Cup encourages and provides opportunity for all Amateur boxers to try out for their National team and represent their country as well as provide valuable competition experience. The prestigious event takes place at the Italian Club 219 Fitzgerald Street, Perth.
To find out more or register your interest in this or future events, please contact Alliance Sports at
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or Phone +61 8 8281 4600 |
  17/10/2009 Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs - adidas equipped) opened the Super Six World Boxing Classic in style on Saturday night when he knocked out Jermain Taylor (28-4, 17 KOs) with six seconds to go in the 12th round. Fighting in front of a boisterous sell-out crowd of 14.200 fans at the famed o2 World in Berlin, Abraham connected with a huge right to the head to send the former undisputed middleweight champion down and out. "He was good, but I was better," Abraham said. "It was a great fight in front of a great audience. Now I look forward to returning to America." After a slow start, Abraham gained control of the contest and was ahead on all three scorecards going into the final round. He hurt Taylor with a big right in the ninth but the American superstar proved his chin and continued. Just seconds before the final bell, Arthur then landed a devastating punch to clinch the first three points of the tournament. "I had been waiting for a hole in his guard the whole night," Abraham said. "I finally found it." |
adidas Sponsored Russian Nikolay Valuev claimed a majority points decision to defeat veteran American Evander Holyfield and retain his WBA heavyweight crown.
Holyfield, 46, was bidding to become the oldest and first five-time heavyweight champion but was well beaten in Zurich, Switzerland. Valuev now holds a 50-1 record with 34 knockouts, while Holyfield's 24-year-old boxing career looks to be over.
Two judges had the fight 116-112 and 115-114 with the other scoring it even. "I saw it the other way from the judges but I'm not disappointed by my performance," said Holyfield. "He's a tough opponent, the sheer size of him is of course the main factor but he fights well with it too and that's the problem."
Four-time world heavyweight champion Holyfield was conceding a massive 96lb in weight and 12in in height to 7ft Valuev. But despite Holyfield's greater mobility, the 35-year-old Russian edged the fight to take the decision. "He was a strong opponent and he made me work very hard for the win," said Valuev.
Holyfield had hoped to eclipse George Foreman's record of claiming the heavyweight title at the age of 45. Fellow American Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994 to win the IBF and WBA crowns. But Holyfield, who last won a world title when defeating John Ruiz in 2000, must now be seriously considering his future in the sport. He had not fought since losing a one-sided decision to then-WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov over a year ago.
"I thought I had done enough, now I will just have to go home and think about my future," said Holyfield. |
Susie 'Q' Ramadan poised to make hitArticle from:  November 28, 2008 12:00am UNDEFEATED Australian champion Susie 'Q' Ramadan is set to become the golden girl of Australian boxing. Promoter Murray Thomson revealed yesterday that Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions in the US had shown interest in seeing Ramadan in action. De La Hoya, 35, is a former multiple world champion and one of the most influential figures in world boxing, staging international events worth millions in partnership with broadcasters HBO and Showtime. "They know about Susie and they're very interested. They want to see tapes," Thomson said. If she wins tonight's Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation super bantamweight title against New Zealand's world kickboxing champion Michelle Preston, it could get her a spot on one of De La Hoya's high-profile cards. Winning the OPBF title would also put Ramadan in the World Boxing Council rankings, making her a more valuable boxing commodity. The WBC is the most respected of boxing's many sanctioning bodies, and it will be the first time two female fighters have contested this belt in the 55.3kg weight division. Queensland's Sharon Anyos holds the WBC women's featherweight belt. Thomson said both Ramadan and his main-event fighter on tonight's Knox Basketball Centre card, Australian welterweight champion Oyewale Omotoso, had already been invited to train at Freddie Roach's famous Wildcard gym in Hollywood, California. But they need to pay their own way, so he was busy hunting for sponsors to help them make the dream trip a reality. After appearing on a Foxtel card in July, Ramadan caught the attention of boxing's sharpest eyes. Former IBF world champion and respected boxing commentator and promoter Barry Michael said critics of women's boxing should take a look at Ramadan. "I think she's an absolutely brilliant boxer," he said. "This will be a good test for her, but she's going to be hard to beat. She's got good timing, great defence and she's been well taught. I heard someone say recently that she was the classiest Australian boxer since Johnny Famechon." Ramadan, 29, has been boxing professionally for just on 12 months after a short but impressive amateur career. This time last year she chose to forgo the Australian Amateur Championships and seek her fortune in pro boxing. In her six fights she has won four by knockout and captured both Victorian and national belts. Ramadan has studied her opponent and said her hand skills were good. "She's got a good jab and mixes up her punches as well with hooks and uppercuts," she said. "And she's pretty stubborn. She keeps coming. But I'm feeling really good, really fit. This preparation has been the best of all, really." Manchester-born Preston, 30, has been competing in Thai Boxing for more than 15 years, taking out the world title in the UK in February. She has also won all three of her recent boxing fights. She says while she has the ring experience, Ramadan has the boxing experience, which will level the playing field. Ramadan's trainer, Australian boxing stalwart Ben Brizzi, says she will have the superior boxing skills that will pay dividends during the 10 two-minute-round contest. 
Cop that: Susie 'Q' Ramadan works out yesterday before tonight's career-defining bout. Picture: Peter Ward © Herald and Weekly Times. All times AEDT (GMT + 11). |
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