BIG STAGE: Rotovegas Boxing Gym boxers Mike Barker, left, Tyrone Warren and Slade King were unbeaten at The Big Bash 8 in Auckland. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
BIG STAGE: Rotovegas Boxing Gym boxers Mike Barker, left, Tyrone Warren and Slade King were unbeaten at The Big Bash 8 in Auckland. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
A trio of Rotorua boxers stepped into the ring as part of the undercard at The Big Bash 8 in Auckland on Friday and more than held their own.
Tyrone Warren and Mike Barker took on Salo Ben Vui and Ofa Koloamatangi in professional bouts, while Slade King fought JakePulemagafa in a corporate bout.
Warren chose to go ahead with his bout, despite his opponent failing to make weight, and came away with a draw. He remains undefeated in his professional career.
Barker picked up his first professional win in a clash of the titans super heavyweight bout, which boxing promoter Andrew Higgins said was the best fight of the night.
King also took the win in his corporate bout, against a tough opponent.
Rotovegas Boxing Gym owner Aaron Warren, who coaches all three boxers, said it was "awesome" for his boxers to come away with two wins and a draw.
"As far as I'm concerned, I thought Tyrone was a winner because he gave away between six and seven kilos. The guy was over weight but Tyrone still wanted to take the fight, he didn't want to travel all that way for nothing and it was a good, close fight.
"I told him to stay away from the guy and box smart, but the guy had quite a bit of experience, he was very conditioned, very smart and knew how to sit on his punches.
"I'd rather see Tyrone have good, competitive, harder fights than fight old men who are journeymen. Otherwise he's not going to grow and he'll train a lot harder," Warren said.
BIG STAGE: Rotovegas Boxing Gym boxers Mike Barker, left, Tyrone Warren and Slade King were unbeaten at The Big Bash 8 in Auckland. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
He said King also fought an experienced fighter and boxed well.
"He was very strong at hitting the body and stopping the guy coming forward all the time.
"Mike Barker made his pro debut and it was two super heavyweights throwing a punch per second for 12 minutes. It was brilliant," Warren said.
King said his preparation for the fight was not ideal, as he had a pre-booked holiday to Fiji for two weeks prior to the bout. But, he was pleased to get the win.
"I won two rounds and drew one out of the four. There were a couple of times I got caught up in the brawl instead of boxing, but more times than not I stayed composed.
"The big thing from Aaron was just to be busy, which he reminded me after the first round. I think I got busier as the fight went on," King said.
Barker said he had not been in a boxing ring for 20 years.
"I just wanted to see if I've still got it. I won unanimously and they reckon it was the fight of the night.
"It was hard. He was a tough customer, I suppose I just wanted it more and took the fight to him. Everything Aaron said worked," Barker said.
Tyrone Warren said the 60-70 vocal supporters who travelled from Rotorua to the event in Auckland gave him more energy in his bout.
"We're really grateful for that, that they all came up to support us.
"Considering the height and weight difference, I was pretty happy. He was a tough opponent, but I just use it as motivation to go harder in the ring," he said.
