Better late than never... there was so much happening during this tournament that we've only been able to put together a full report of the first half of day 3 now that we are home again in NZ.
Day 3 was a loooong day, they started the action bang on 8.30am and finished shortly after 10.30pm – we arrived back at the hostel past 11pm.
Sparring:
Mark Hanna vs Canada – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
The match is moments from starting and Mark is ready to bow in to the ring, but there is no sign of the Canadian. It looks as though they are ready to disqualify him but eventually he appears. He quickly realises he is late and hastily puts on all his gear (including dropping his pants to put on his groin guard) beside the ring. Round one starts – The bigger Canadian quickly dominates, Mark is pushed out of the ring several times. The Canadian likes to charge in with his hands, he manages to get a couple of points landing solid punches and the referee fouls him for excessive contact. Mark scores a few body turning kicks but the bigger Canadian continues to barge through these and push him out of the ring. Round 2 is much the same and the Canadian is once again fouled for excessive contact. End of round 2, Mark has a couple of minus points due to getting warned for leaving the ring – but the Canadian has two deductions also from excessive contact. Loss.
Ross Black vs Spain – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
Ross starts strong by landing some solid side kicks, quickly establishing control over the ring. The Spaniard walks into more sidekicks as the match goes on. A strong performance by Ross. Win
Ross Black vs USA – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
Again Ross starts strong and starts to control his opponent well with his strong side kick. The USA fighter is strong and manages to push through a couple of times and lands some good points of his own. Ross backs off a little and the American takes advantages and charges Ross out of the ring. Round 2 – Ross comes back stronger in the second round; the match seems to be fairly even. Loss. USA goes on to meet the Pole in the final, wins a silver medal.
Johs van Pierce vs Australia – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
The Australian starts off confidant and is good with his legs, he pops out turning kicks at different heights off his lead leg a lot, Johs shrugs off his kicks and pops out straight punches to the face. The Aussie’s confidence level immediately drops and he is on the back foot for the rest of the fight. Johs continues to score clean, straight punches as he pushes past the Australian’s kicks, contact escalates and Johs gets two fouls from excessive contact. Bout ends. Win
Johs van Pierce vs Romania – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
Didn’t see much off this fight but it looks like Johs is dominating – again managing to fluster his opponent by pushing through his kicks and scoring with clean punches to the head and body. Win
Johs van Pierce vs Poland – junior male hyper-weight sparring:
The Pole is big, he’s quick for his size too. Johs spends the match on the outside of the ring, he finds it difficult to stop the Pole when he charges in because he always leads with a kick and rolls into punches as he gets into range. A good fight from both sides. Loss – Pole goes on to win gold.
Kane vs Australia – senior male light-weight sparring:
Kane fought this guy a couple of years back at the Ocianias and lost – so is a little nervous going in. The fight starts off pretty slow but towards the end of round one it begins to get scrappy – both scoring points but Kane’s are clearer. Round 2 – both fighters go at it the entire round, without a break, no bouncing, no time outs – just sparring, kick for kick, punch for punch. Both are tired towards the end, but Kane manages to capitalise – he throws the clearer kicks and punches and is working well using angles. Win
Kane vs Columbia – senior male light-weight sparring:
Didn’t catch this fight. I hear Kane dominated both rounds. Win
Kane vs Argentina – senior male light-weight sparring:
Quarterfinals; Kane’s opponent is the light weight junior world champion from last year’s world champs in Honduras. Both fighters start off slow – both waiting for a chance to counter attack. Kane throws a couple of side kicks, the Argentinean moves around the kicks. Kane tries again and the Argentinean jumps in lands some punches, and lightning quick, he’s out again. The same thing happens a couple more times but Kane adapts and lands some punches of his own. Round 2 is better for Kane, he lands some clear points with hands and feet – he manages to keep his agile opponent away effectively with pushing kicks and side kicks. Loss
Cori-Jean Topia vs Argentina – junior female heavy-weight sparring:
Cori dominates both rounds, the Argentinean is good, very strong. Both manage to snap each others heads back with strong punches on more than one occasion. Cori scores well with her longer legs. Win
Cori-Jean Topia vs Poland – junior female heavy-weight sparring:
Quarterfinals; this fight is similar to Cori’s previous match against Argentina. Cori dominates with her legs and both have strong hands. Cori gets a few warnings for falling over when she gets in close range. Cori looks like she’s ahead. Loss
Sam Couling vs Argentina – junior female micro-weight sparring:
Sam is up against the vice-world champion from Argentina. Both competitors start strong, Sam pumps out some nice side kicks and scores well with her hands – the Argentinean works the ring well. Both rounds look close. Loss
Courtney Meleisea vs Poland – junior female middle-weight sparring:
The Pole is the reigning European champion for this weight class and is very experienced. Courtney struggles in the first round as the Pole is very quick at getting in and out and moving around the ring, the Pole gets a few surprises as she walks into some massive punches from Courtney. Courtney manages to come back in the second round – both are fighting hard and Courtney collects a couple of head kicks when she stays in for too long. Courtney still manages to connect with stronger punches and body kicks. A close match against a very good fighter. Loss
Mark Trotter vs Canada – senior male micro-weight sparring:
The entire stadium surrounds the ring, the roar is deafening! The kiwis do a haka for Mark as the two fighters bow in. The first round is intense – both fighters try to fake out an attack from the other, Mark launches a couple of quick turning kicks but the Canadian dodges, Mark comes close but the Canadian lands a clean side kick. Mark now has to play ‘catch up’. The Canadian knows this and waits and waits for his counter attack. Mark throws some lightning turning kicks, downward kicks and reverse turning kicks – but the Canadian picks his moments well and places clear side kicks in the gaps. Round 2 is better for Mark, he lands some clear points of his own and it’s amazing to watch. The stadium is shaking from the crowd. Loss – the Canadian is the reigning world cup champion Maxime Bujold – it’s a pity the two had to meet in the first round as they were arguably the best two fighters in the division – could have easily been a final. Canadian goes on to win gold.
Christine Topia vs Canada – junior female middle-weight sparring:
The Canadian is fast, Christine manages to cut her off well though and scores with her long arms and legs effectively. Win
Christine Topia vs Germany – junior female middle-weight sparring:
Both fighters clash legs a lot when they try to move in. Christine scores well with her turning kick on her way out. She dominates with her hands and takes advantage of her height advantage. Really close round. Draw Round three is much the same as the first two rounds, Christine looks as though she is slightly ahead on points by the end, but again – it’ll be close. Draw Sudden death. This round goes for about 5 minutes. Both start slow – not wanting to give anything away. A couple of short flurries follow but the referee doesn’t want to go to the flags just yet. After about three minutes the referee still hasn’t stopped the match. The German comes in with a sidekick, Christine moves to the side and scores with a jab – finally the referee stops the match – 2 flags for Christine – match continues. Another couple of scoring flurries go unnoticed by the referee and towards the end the match had become regular free sparring. After a long round, the German is awarded three flags. Loss
Alisa Parker vs Germany – junior female middle-weight sparring:
The German is good, her older sister is the vice-world champion. Alisa puts up a huge fight – the action is very fast, and both are hitting hard. Both rounds seem pretty even. Loss
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