Two young Central Hawke's Bay boxers are making their mark on the national stage, returning from the national championships in Rotorua two weeks ago with gold and silver medals under their belts.
CHB Boxing Club member Tyler Kopua, 15, picked up the gold in the junior (54kg) division where he was up against two-times national champ Joel Hill from Timaru.
The pair faced off in a battle of three, two-minute rounds, each of which Tyler won convincingly, says trainer Sam Fuller.
Tyler had already faced his competitor about four weeks ago and lost, but was not too daunted about fronting up to him again, he says.
"I put the pressure on in the first round and thought I would be okay going into the next two rounds, and the judges were unanimous."
A southpaw who has been boxing for about three years, this was his second national competition. His first was last year when he went down in the final to Darrius Tregaworth, of Feilding.