Hopman battles way to world title

WORLD CHAMP: Masterton kickboxer Zane Hopman (left) took gold on Thursday night in the Senior Men's B-Class heavyweight division at the WMC IFMA World Championships at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Malaysia. Pictured with Hopman is team coach and cornerman Bryce Baron.

Masterton kickboxer Zane Hopman has seized the world heavyweight crown at the WMC IMFA World Championships in Malaysia.

The 22-year-old defeated finals opponent Florent Kaouachi from France to win gold on Thursday night after storming his way through some of the best amateur heavyweight fighters from across the globe at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi this week.

Hopman, who holds the New Zealand WMC Cruiserweight title and remains unbeaten after 15 fights, outfought opponents Mazunov Stanislav from Kazakhstan and Jakob Styben from Germany, who he punched out of the ring in the dying seconds of the final round, on his way to gold.

Hopman was "speechless" after his championship victory but was grateful to each of his sponsors and his family and friends who had supported his campaign.

Hopman had travelled to Malaysia as part of a 40-strong New Zealand squad alongside fellow Masterton fighters Brendan Varty and Jade Williams and team coach Bryce Baron, from Fortitude Thai Boxing Gym in the town.

Baron said the Masterton fighters had each fought to the utmost of their abilities at the event and fully deserved recognition as "tremendous" fighters.

Varty, who holds the NZ WMC professional light middleweight championship belt, fought in the Senior Men's A-Class light middleweight division in Malaysia and Williams in the Junior Male Under 17 years class lightweight division.

Varty took wins against Millad Farzad from Australia and Kirilov Veselinov from Bulgaria. He was stopped by Masaoud Minaei from Iran.

Williams was eliminated after losing to Jiar Ali from Denmark.

"Brendan had to fight three world champions and he beat two of them. The guy he met in the quarters was a six-time world champion who fights in the Glory World Series and it was a very close fight.

"Jade fought well in his bout and while he didn't come away with the win, it was a great experience for him that he will learn from," Baron said.

The gold medal bout for Hopman showcased the commitment and courage of the young Masterton kickboxer, who would next fight at the King in the Ring on June 20 in Auckland, which will be televised live on Sky. Varty next fights for a title in Australia in August, Baron said.

"We have a very special fighter in Zane. He got an eight count against him at the end of the first round and had to dig deep. He showed courage and fortitude to come back and monster the guy and get the decision and now Zane is an IFMA world champion," Baron said.

"It's fantastic to see the boys fighting on the world stage and winning. The sacrifice each and every member of the team puts in is huge. It's one person in the ring but it takes a good team to help them achieve their goals."

Baron's partner Kylie Baron, New Zealand WMC vice-president, said the New Zealand squad had scored a haul of wins and placings at Langkawi including four bronze, three silver and four gold medals.

Hopman is also a Senior Sports Personality finalist in the 2014 Wairarapa Times-Age Wairarapa Sports Awards.