A trio of Masterton kickboxers have been fighting their way to victory in recent weeks.
Since early November, Brendan Varty, Zane Hopman and Brent Sugrue, fighting out of Fortitude Kickboxing in Masterton, have won in Melbourne, Wellington and Auckland respectively, says Fortitude Kickboxing head trainer Bryce Baron.
Varty, who turned pro this year after an amateur career that netted him five championship belts, scored a unanimous points win after five three-minute rounds against former European champion Nikos Gjika at the Brute Force 21 Clash of the Titans at Coburg City Hall in Melbourne on November 18. Gjika fights out of the Galatsi fight club and has a record of 24 wins from 30 outings.
Baron, who was Varty's corner man at the Melbourne fight, said the bout was fought under K1 rules, with no grappling, elbows or knees. The Masterton fighter, who has a record of 15 wins from 19 fights, overwhelmed his opponent in Melbourne with a superior number of scoring blows and a higher work rate.
Varty took control in the second round after a "very busy" opener in the first and was relentless, Baron said.
"Brendan came on even stronger in the third and dominated from there on. Most other fighters would have folded but I couldn't believe how tough Nikos was to stay in there," Baron said.
"It was a big step up for Brendan, fighting in Australia and fighting one of the best in Europe, and he'll be eyeing up a South Pacific title next year."
Hopman is another Fortitude fighter who is looking to consolidate his amateur record of six wins from six outings next year after he defeated Feilding Wing Chun fighter Joel Harding in a heavyweight bout at the Deadly Debut 19 in Lower Hutt on December 8.
Hopman, who has stepped up a weight class, stopped his opponent in the second round and won by TKO after Harding refused to come out for the third round. Hopman fought back from a standing eight count in the first round after receiving a wild knee to the groin and had battered his opponent in the second round.
"Zane's been working hard getting his power sorted and he's managed to maintain his speed while gaining more power and weight."
Fellow Fortitude fighter Sugrue also came up a winner on the same card in Lower Hutt after earlier winning against Daniel Harris, fighting out of the South Auckland Martial Arts Club, in the F1 extreme fight night in Auckland on December 1.
"He had good hands and feet and totally dominated his opponent."
In Lower Hutt, Sugrue felled David Turpin, from Muay Thai Institute, with a devastating left hook in the second round and controlled the fight from there, Baron said.
Also in Auckland, Baron was recognised as one of the top national judges in the country by the World Muaythai Council, while his wife, Kylie, and Hopman completed their Level 1 judges course, which allows the pair to judge amateur fights.