Man sentenced over 'cowardly' king-hit

The man was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on one charge of injuring with intent to injure. Photo / File

A 23-year-old boxing fan who king-hit a man in a Ponsonby bar - knocking him out for five minutes and damaging an eye - has been ordered to cough up more than $4000.

Dylan Meek was sentenced in the Auckland District Court today on one charge of injuring with intent to injure. The sentencing was put off twice earlier this year.

A victim impact statement from May this year detailed how Meek and the victim were at a Ponsonby bar when an unknown person assaulted one of Meek's associates.

Judge Christopher said Meek believed the victim was the perpetrator and struck him in the face with the type of punch known as a "king hit".

The man was unconscious for five minutes and suffered "very significant injuries" including a fractured eye socket and damaged eye.

He had to miss work for three weeks and estimated he had lost more than $3600 in wages since the incident, police prosecutor Sergeant Mark Osborne said.

Judge Field said the young man was "justifiably" upset about the incident.

"The feelings of anger and frustration, at what I have to say was a cowardly attack, are still with him," Judge Field said.

"This has been with the victim now for many months since it occurred.

"You're a young man with the rest of your life ahead of you as indeed, of course, was your victim."

Meek had undergone anger management courses since the incident and was due to finish a counselling course this month.

But Judge Field still had misgivings about Meek posting about his "fighting skills" on Facebook in the past.

A number of posts on a Facebook page understood to be operated by Meek shows he is a fan of boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Defence lawyer Peter Dean said Meek had not posted about his prowess since the incident.

"That was a matter of some controversy but certainly not after the event," Mr Dean said.

"Mr Meek very much regrets his behaviour on this occasion and he's remorseful...his words to me were 'I am really, super sorry for what happened, it didn't need to happen'."

Meek was a former drainlayer and labourer who left school at 15 and had not worked since he required surgery in 2014.

At an earlier sentencing date, Judge Stan Thorburn said the king-hit was "a serious, deliberate throw, designed to injure".

Meek was "a good bloke, but the bravado, the alcohol, and the rush of blood to the head" contributed to the attack, he said.

"In a nano-second, a life can be changed," Judge Thorburn said.

Meek has written a letter of apology and was ordered to pay a total of $4656 in weekly $30 instalments to the victim.

He was also sentenced to five months of community detention as well as 15 months of intensive supervision.