BOXING: Sons of Unicorns make Dads proud

SHANE HURNDELL
The sons of former Hawke's Bay Unicorns rugby league centres Karl Broughton and Fa Salusi won North Island Golden Gloves boxing titles in Taupo at the weekend.
Salusi's son Reuben Young-Salusi won the 32-34kg class title unopposed and stepped up to the 36kg class to get a fight. He was beaten by the eventual class winner Steven Nicol of Rotorua.
Broughton's son Justis, a Napier Boxing Club clubmate of Salusi's beat Mitchell Te Ngahue of Hastings in the final of the under-32kg junior novice division which was his first fight.
Te Ngahue had stepped up a division after taking the 29kg class title unopposed.
Adela Markova was the other Napier boxer to win a title when she beat Tauranga's Nettie Dillon in the final of the female novice 66kg class. She is the club's first female fighter since Naomi Alexander who retired in 2005.
Te Ngahue was one of four Hastings fighters to win titles. Ryan Oman-Salisbury, who is unbeaten in his nine-bout career, won the under-36kg class unopposed and the under-38kg class title with a win against Waipukurau's Jacob Ross in the final.
Haami Harmer won the under-50kg class title and David Loye the under-44kg class title.
Connor Mooney beat Napier's Beau O'Brien in their under-64kg class fight before going on to lose in the final against Julian Ngatai of Rotorua.
Napier's senior 75kg class fighter Sharn Piper lost a close fight to the eventual class winner.