We've qualified 12 fighters (6 blokes, 6 women) for the Paris Olympics. Congratulations to the young men & women of the finest boxing nation on Earth. Today's finals should be on SBS Viceland later this afternoon for those interested in taking a look. AUSTRALIAN BOXING BLING BOX - CURRENT HOLDINGS: Men's Jai Opetaia ( This content is protected ) Tim Tszyu ( This content is protected ) Jason Moloney ( This content is protected ) George Kambosos Jr ( This content is protected ) Teremoana Jr Teremoana ( This content is protected ) Callum Peters ( This content is protected ) Shannan Davey ( This content is protected ) Harry Garside ( This content is protected ) Charlie Senior ( This content is protected ) Yusuf Chothia ( This content is protected ) Women's Ebanie Bridges ( This content is protected ) Skye Nicholson ( This content is protected ) Caitlin Parker ( This content is protected & This content is protected ) Tina Rahimi ( This content is protected ) Monique Suraci ( This content is protected ) Tiana Echegaray ( This content is protected ) Marissa Williamson Pohlman ( This content is protected ) Tyla McDonald ( This content is protected ) Kaye Scott ( This content is protected ) Emma-Sue Greentree ( This content is protected ) Rebecca Hawker ( This content is protected ) Susie Ramadan ( This content is protected ) Jasmine Parr ( This content is protected )
Looking forward to seeing that new hot ring girl in about 2 weeks time. She may have been on before in past promotions actually, from No Limit. Not looking forward to - That ****wit Liutenant Dan Hennessy. Absolute ****wit of the highest order.
Remiss of me not to offer commiserations to New Zealand boxing fans. Zero boxers qualified for the Paris Olympics, men or women. Fear not though my fine feathered friends, the quality of this Australian team will represent the region with honour & distinction. In the event of a Gold medal, you may however wish to brush up on the words to Advance Australia Fair so you can sing along with the rest of us.
Don't worry, Kiwi Lani Daniels just became a 2 weight world champion tonight. Outstanding achievement.
I have to take my hat off to the amateur boxing officials in this country for their contribution to the above results. I gave up on amateur boxing back in 2004 when we qualified a big team for the Olympics. Only problem was none of them had a snowflake's chance in hell of winning a medal. We did have one bloke capable of winning a medal back then who had gone to the Sydney Olympics & had continued on in the amateurs for another four years in an attempt to win one. He lost to a Kiwi at the Oceania championships so we couldn't take him. All of our fighters were subsequently eliminated from the Olympic competition in the first two preliminary rounds. It was like flushing taxpayer money down the toilet. That's not the case this time around. The officials have made some very smart, pragmatic decisions that have brought about the results we saw yesterday. First of all, they've made sure there's some genuine talent in the team. Bringing a bloke like Teremoana into the national team after we lost Justis Huni to the professional ranks was a masterstroke. Also getting Harry Garside back. His style of fighting is far more suited to the amateurs. Secondly, they've sent the fighters we've got to major international tournaments on the opposite side of the world, including this year's IBA World Championships. All western nations boycotted the IBA World Championships in both the men's & women's except us. That was a smart, pragmatic move in the best interests of the boxers. They needed that experience if they were to be any chance of winning a medal at next year's Olympics. Caitlin Parker made the final of that tournament & should have won gold but for the scoring. Callum Peters made the quarter finals & was very unlucky not to medal (although not outright robbed). Teremoana had the experience of facing Jalolov in Uzbekistan. There's no tougher assignment in amateur boxing than that. He'll also have a much better idea of how to pace himself against Jalolov should they meet again. After those tournaments were over, then we pulled out of the IBA. There's no guarantee of any medals in Paris where we can expect the European nations to be strong, but some of the decisions made by officialdom in recent years have ensured our competitors at least have a fighting chance. That's what I expect for our taxpayer dollars.
Big chance Loma going to Perth a few blokes reckon. Winwood is a couple fights away from a World Title shot too? Shoulda had it in Melbourne. I woulda gone. Not going to that sh1t hole.
I have some mates in Melbourne so definitely would have considered going. Can't really justify going all the way to the wild wild west. I dont know anybody there.