Boxing: RotoVegas fight in friend's honour

Pictured is, clockwise from back left, Joe Dorset, Tammy Nicholls, Jared Gray and Te Aroha Wihapi. Photo / Ben Fraser

When Joe Dorset steps into the ring at Rotorua Girls' High School he will do more than tick a box on his bucket list.

Dorset will honour his good friend Damian Hoskin.

Dorset is one of 26 fighters taking part in the RotoVegas World Championships corporate fight night in Rotorua tomorrow, organised by the RotoVegas Boxing Gym.

Most of the fighters are first timers in the ring and have signed up for an array of reasons. But for Dorset the main reason was always to honour his best mate.

"For me it was just a wake up call. I had a mate that died suddenly a couple of months ago," he said. "He had encouraged me to get in the ring, so most of this is dedicated to him."

Dorset said his best mate Hoskin was a keen boxer, kick boxer and martial arts fighter and often encouraged him to have a go at boxing.

However, Dorset said commitments and excuses had always got in the way.

"But no excuse was going to get in the way this time ... I'm doing this to honour his memory."

Dorset owns a couple of Fish n Chip shops in Rotorua and will compete under the name of Joe "Batter Bean" Dorset during his first ever fight.

"Not only do I batter fish during the day but I will try and batter my opponent in the ring," he said with a laugh.

Dorset has dropped about 15kg for the fight following an intensive seven weeks of training at the RotoVegas Boxing Gym, which saw each fighter attend training four times a week.

He said, to fight the nerves, he was just looking at the fight as another sporting event.

"It is a sport that has a referee and a crowd and I have been involved with that sort of thing before, with rugby and league and American football. So I am treating it as a sport."

New Zealand boxing legend David Tua will be a special guest at the event tomorrow.

He is bringing down a fighter from his gym in Auckland for the main event against Rotorua's Jared Gray.

Gray said he was not too worried about taking on one of Tua's fighters. "Na, I'll just watch out for his left hook."

About 1000 people are expected to attend the fight tomorrow. All the tables have been sold and a small number of upstairs seats are still available on www.ticketmaster.co.nz or at the gate if any are left. Tickets are $35.

Money raised through table sales and general admission will go towards the new RotoVegas Boxing and Fitness Centre on Te Ngae Rd, which is currently being built.

The RotoVegas Boxing Gym, currently on Lancewood Cres in Owhata, helps many children in the community with free after-school programmes. The gym also run the Champion Made programme in local schools.

The new gym is on track to be opened in February. Title belts have also been made for six of the fights tomorrow.

RotoVegas World Championships corporate fight night, Rotorua Girls' High School Arena, tomorrow, first fight 6.30pm

Fight card (in order): Aaron Morrison v Sililo Levae; Racheal Hatcher v Maylene Mereoiti; Graham Black v Karl John; Tammy Nicholls v Te Aroha Wihapi; Elle Reid v Olivia Adams; George Gilmore v Regan Feek; Lisa Duff v Ashleigh Gray; Vickey Eggleton v Nicole Harvey; Joe Dorset v Carl Gage; Ryan Petch v Nathan Toi; Aubrey Rikihana v Denton Grimes; Slade King v Ra Wiki; Alex Fa'anunu v Jared Gray.