Australian Boxing/SM Memorial thread

Really looking forward to it, WAR. Can't wait to see Jai make that soft Euro Cruiser fly. Home without the belt, that is.

Pretty excited about the undercard also. For the degenerate gambler types, Conor Wallace looks decent value. He opened at $6.50 for the win. I think he can. CamaKO v Koen Mazoudier is a good rematch of a fight that I thought could have gone either way the first time.

We've got Dana Coolwell & The Headsplitter featured also.

There's even a smattering of offerings for those who don't like putting their hand in their pocket. I reckon we might see David Nyika on the non-PPV portion of the telecast between 6 & 7pm tonight. I hope so, anyway.

 

He mentioned it was potential career ending and as bad as can be.
If I am Briedis that is a target for me from now on.

 

Maybe an in built excuse? Maybe a bit of gamesmanship?

Lonergan talks a bit of tripe sometimes.

 

Will you able to watch the fights live mate?

 

If I dont fall for mu afternoon nap.
Also there is the Nations League volleyball Brazil v Thailand match in the afternoon so we’ll see.
I only care for the main event and Taylah on this card.
But will watch if I get the chance.

 

sometimes? lol
utter garbage is all that comes out of his gob.
midniteRat is not Lonergan is he? pmsl.

 

hope Jai smashes him.

 

Australia slowly but surely becoming the hottest place in boxing.

Now we need Jarvis-Paro to be a war,get a belt around Skye’s thin waist and get a box off between Ebanie,Neekz and Shannon.
Oh and Tszyu to beat some americanos.

 

What a great night of Australian boxing! Jai delivered the performance that we all hoped to see since he was selected to go to the Olympics as a 16 year old in 2012. He's always been one of our best talents but there was also a question mark over how he would perform at the top level without having fought world class opponents as lead-up fights to his title challenge. Thanks to a combination of his team arranging outstanding sparring for him & securing the fight here in Australia, we found out. The verdict? Australia rules the world in the Cruiserweight division.

The magical powers of the world championship belt will ensure that his jaw heals better than it otherwise would have. I'd like to see Jai defend the belt against worthy opponents from this part of the world when he resumes. The blokes who helped him achieve his dream should be given first shot at achieving theirs. And collecting a decent payday in the attempt. I'd be moving the likes of Jason Whateley & David Light to the top of the batting order. Those are compelling fights that this part of the world deserves to see. David Nyika too if he wants it, although that's a real tough one. Hopefully he stays focused on the amateur stuff for a bit longer. I thought Nyika looked terrific in the second fight of the night last night. Yes, he had his bell rung but what came afterwards showed how much talent he has. I recall thinking to myself watching his fight that if Jai Opetaia has been sparring with him then Mairis Briedis has a serious fight coming on later in the night.

Jai Opetaia's world championship win alone was enough to make it a great night but there were plenty of other outstanding performances. The Sandman_ was pretty happy with Conor Wallace claiming a regional Light Heavy strap. I couldn't believe the odds for that one tbh. I did mention them here beforehand but didn't want to push things too hard in case I got it wrong. Fortunately, I didn't. Light Heavy is going to be a really good division to follow domestically if Foxtel elects to give it the treatment. Conor Wallace, a very good Irishman who is perhaps more talented than blokes who've come out here before him & gone all the way, now sits on top of a very talented bunch. Paulo Aokuso, who we saw on Wednesday night, is a beast while there's plenty of others of varying descriptions who they can sharpen their tools against (no pun intended). Blake Caparello & Reagan Dessaix would be very good opponents for both of them. The Kiwis have a very solid entry at the weight also in young Jerome Pampellone.

Koen Mazoudier showed that his previous win against Joel Camilleri was no fluke by repeating the dose a second time. Both would be good future Nikita Tszyu opponents. Dana Coolwell looked real good at featherweight. He's the best fighter in the country at that weight if he can stay there. The Headsplitter went 'bang' & the other bloke went 'dang'. After he woke up. Taylah Robertson won a youth world title in women's boxing against an opponent who showed just as much courage as what we were to see later in the night. For a lot less money.

In closing, I'd just like to say that Australian boxing ruled the world again last night. Our shows are unique & not to be missed. Yeah, baby!

 

Although I did score the fight for Briedis last night (was a very close fight that could have gone either way), gee, he really did show some ticker getting through that so well done to Opetaia. Sometimes you just gotta dig a little deeper when the going gets tough and find that little bit of something else and Opetaia certainly has the heart of a champion.

I don't think we'll see Opetaia for a while after that and he deserves a rest after that heroic effort and has earned his spot as number 1 in the division. To be the man you gotta beat the man so congratulations to Samoa's new sporting hero and Aussies too haha!

 

What a night of boxing! The main event was absolutely sensational. I saw Jai after the fight and they think his jaw cracked in the 2nd and then busted on both sides in the 11th. He couldn't close his mouth. An incredible performance and Opetaia was the clear winner for mine 8-4, though Briedis certainly had his moments.

Wallace on points was money for jam! Conor boxed well after struggling to find his range in the first.

Was delighted with Coolwell's performance. He's going to be a big strong nasty Featherweight and he made weight easily enough. His record might be 8-2, to my way of thinking it's 10-0, but regardless those two Split points losses (one at Lightweight!) are exceptional for his learning. Whilst his opponent wasn't a world beater, you don't get to 11-2 without being stopped in the Philippines without some ability/durability.

 

What a great night for Aussie boxing.

That will go down in history as one of gutsiest performance by an Aussie fighter ever.
It was a real nailbighter towards the end.

Lesser men would have crumbled under the pressure that Breidis was bringing late in that fight, especially considering the horrific injury Jai was carrying.

Nothing I can really add that hasn't been said already.

Time for Jai to rest, recuperate and bask in the glory of being a world champion.

 

Old man Soliman headlining a card airing worldwide on Fite at this very moment and not a peep.

What, nobody fussed about the former IBF middleweight champ taking on a bloke young enough to be his son and coming off two losses to Wade Ryan?

 

Don't know much about the VAMMA but front my understanding the VABL is an offshoot or related to the Australian Boxing League which broke away from the then Australian Boxing Association for several reasons.

I'm not much up on it now but at the time the ABA was the organisation who was internationally recognised and only fighters under their banner could compete in overseas competitions like the Olympics, World Champs, Commonwealth game etc.

From the sounds of it the ABL has splinter ed off and changed somewhat since the passing of Mick Canavan who instrumental in it's formation.

The ABL and I presume the VABL, differed from the more standardised ABA in that it more akin to pro bouts. And thus was pretty popular for a while because it was in some people's view a better platform to prepare boxers for the transition to the pro ranks. I'm fairly certain it held bouts with 3 mins rounds even when the international norm was still 2mins a round.