KICKBOXING: Fighters book seats on the plane

HINERANGI VAIMOSO
There was maximum bruising, plenty of blood and one sensational knockout at the national muay thai kickboxing championship on Saturday.
More than 60 fighters from around the country came head to head at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Taradale as they battled for a spot on the national team set to head to Thailand for the World Muay Thai Games in December.
There was only room for about 25 fighters, however, so the daytime session chiselled out the contenders who went through to the evening finals.
Event organiser Andrew Banham was thrilled with the results which showed Hawke's Bay will have a strong presence at the games in Thailand.
"Our clubs did very well so we're just stoked," said Banham. "It was definitely a good weekend for Hawke's Bay."
About 600 people turned out to see the action in the evening when 32 fighters fought for their seat on the plane to Thailand.
They weren't disappointed when Jeff Taylor of Taradale's Zero Tolerance fought Rowan Samson of New Plymouth, the gold medallist from last year's world games.
Samson came out of the blocks the sharpest using his strong kicks but Taylor had a few tricks up his sleeve with a strong left jab.
Samson drew first blood, Taylor's claret spilling on to the ringside crowd.
While Taylor's crowd support boosted his enthusiasm, Samson's clean shots had him looking favourable with the judges.
Taylor's stability in the fourth and final round wasn't enough to take the judges' decision or but his brave efforts were appreciated by the crowd.
Pumipi Ngaronoa, of Hastings, was a stand-out competitor whose strength had his opponent William Rewi, of Wairoa, on the floor for much of the time.
A few cheeky gestures showing Ngaronoa's confidence added to his victory in the 63.5kg section.
Tim Fairweather of Zero Tolerance provided the only knockout on the night, a swift right hook leaving the very tall Josh Kilkelly of Nelson seeing stars.
Local lads, Shannon Wilson of the Jackals and Todd Wilson from Putanga Gym in Hastings, who are unrelated, had the crowd split on support but Shannon's determination proved too much for Todd.
Shannon had Todd on the ropes with a few consistent combinations and once on the ropes, Shannon used the elbow and a few overhand punches to seal the deal.
There was no hard feelings, however, as the pair hugged once the fight was over. Shannon was named the winner.