Gallen still pushing for 3min rounds after Opetaia called the 8 x 2mins soft hopefully SBW mans up and agrees This content is protected
Watched the national selection trials last week for the World Boxing amateur world championships that take place in September. Callum Peters was the only male Olympian who qualified. Monique Suraci & Marissa Pohlman Williamson both qualified in the women's at Flyweight & Welterweight respectively. Caitlin Parker didn't compete nor did most of last year's Olympians. We've got a couple of very good young blokes coming through in Jye Dixon at Bantamweight & Jacob Cassar at Lightweight. Not sure they're good enough to medal at senior world championship level just yet but with another three years of world class experience under their belts between now & the next Olympics, they will be. We're a bit light on in the big man department. There's no Teremoana's, Justis Huni's or Jai Opetaia's amongst the current crop. In terms of strengthening the team between now & the Olympics, I'm wondering if the guy who fought at Flyweight in the Olympics, Yusuf Chothia, can still make that weight. He lost to Jye Dixon at Bantamweight but is still one of the best amateurs in the country. The women's team looks pretty good. The girl who went to the junior world championships last year & medaled didn't compete - Ciara Storch. I think she would have made it had she contested lightweight. Welterweight, where she has most recently campaigned, is a stronger division in the local women's ranks. If the professional careers of any of our big men fizzle out, perhaps they could be recruited to the team? Likewise, if Skye Nicolson wished to resume in the amateurs it would significantly boost the stocks of the women's ranks. Another bloke who didn't make the team but who boxed very well was Riek Chuol. He won the first round clear against Jye Dixon in the Bantamweight final, fought him very close in the second & lost the third eventually losing a 3:2 split decision. High quality fight. There's no Featherweight division internationally any more so he will likely be in competition with Jye Dixon for national Bantamweight honours for a while. Would be good if we were able to accommodate both boys b/c along with Yusuf Chothia they are clearly among the best amateurs in the country. It's kind of a shame to be leaving any of those three at home for a big tournament let alone two of the three.
The amateur women at the Australian selection trials were fighting 3-minute rounds. $BW & Channel Nein (Stan) are FLEECING boxing fans around the country by only fighting 2-minute rounds. If amateur women can fight 3-minute rounds, so should Sonny Bill.
The three BIG DRAGONS of Australian boxing take flight this weekend. Not since Game of Thrones finished have we seen three dragons this menacing threaten to conquer the world. The first dragon, called 'Justis', has been sent north over the wall to lay siege to the remnants of British heavyweight boxing. We've sent him up there to torch the hopes & dreams of one of their up & coming 'talents' (I use that word loosely). If successful, we may keep him up there to sort out various other pretenders that happen to inhabit those lands. Our second BIG DRAGON, known locally as 'Jai', will be defending his Cruiserweight world championship at home against a European plodder. Points to the Euro for getting off his pampered backside & coming down here but I expect him to be roasted alive before being consumed whole during the middle rounds. Our third BIG DRAGON, the biggest of them all, will make an appearance on Jai's undercard in a four-rounder against a bloke who I could have sworn works at the local 7-eleven. Let's hope all our BIG DRAGONS emerge victorious & that none of them have to be dragged out of a lake after getting downed.