Mike Makatea-Leylander celebrates with his supporters after winning the IKBF New Zealand light middleweight title at Night of Assassins in Springvale Stadium on Saturday night.
He would have been sore yesterday morning, but Mike Makatea-Leylander has the New Zealand amateur title he always coveted after the Assassins Muay Thai fighter claimed the IKBF light middleweight belt at Springvale Stadium on Saturday night.
In front of a raucous crowd for the inaugural Night of Assassins show, Makatea-Leylander won a narrow split decision over a tough and skilled Aaron Cole from Porirua after a dynamic five-round main event.
It capped a great evening for the local and expat Whanganui fighters during the 12-fight event, with all five of them winning the main card matchups, which included a couple of devastating stoppages.
Makatea-Leylander had the perfect start as a one-two jab combination in the opening exchange caught Cole right on the forehead and then side of the ear, dropping him to his haunches and laying open a cut on top of the head which would bleed for the remainder of the bout.
After the standing eight count, Makatea-Leylander came flying in with roundhouse hooks, trying for the stoppage and expending a lot of energy, but Cole calmly tied him up and got some separation with leg kicks and jabs, recovering and then pressing forward himself.
Makatea-Leylander was straight back to work in Round 2 as he walked through a Cole leg kick to land another vicious one-two combination to drop Cole again, although he popped straight back up and took the standing eight count.
But the Porirua fighter wasn't done, throwing Makatea-Leylander down after they grappled into the ropes, and connecting with some elbows and punch combinations, while the home time fighter tried everything from slugging to spinning back fists to try and put him away.
Having cut a fast pace, the intensity only increased over the next two rounds as a pattern of brutal trade negotiations ensued - Makatea-Leylander coming in head down and unloading, while Cole would reply in earnest by knotting up his right leg with constant low kicks.
The fourth round was a battle of wills as Makatea-Leylander rocked Cole with elbows, the blood pouring down his face, while Cole would reply with more stiff kicks and drove the Assassin back into the ropes.
Makatea-Leylander needed a respite after an accidental low blow kick early in round five, and after the break, Cole poured on the pressure with ferocious punches and knees into the Whanganui fighter's abdomen and ribs - pounding non-stop and leaving him hunched over in the ropes and hanging on as the bell rang.
The late rally all but swung the result in Cole's favour, as the judges scored it 48-46 47-48 and 47-46 for Makatea-Leylander, with the early knockdowns proving the deciding factor.
"It's been a long time coming," the young man said after he had been mobbed by friends and family in the ring.
Makatea-Leylander said after he cut Cole, the forehead had been his target going forward, although he had to slow up after checking so many leg kicks.
"I was trying to preserve energy, trying to recover, I knew I was winning the fight.
"Just elbows every day."
He wanted to thank Awa Kings Muay Thai, in particular Lee Ashford, his "No1 from Day 1" - Assassins trainer and event organiser Kyle Gallacher - as well as the crowd who had come to support the show.
"Everyone knows. Everyone calling me the champ for this night."
Makatea-Leylander said first order of business was offering a title shot to Hawke's Bay Deej Edwards, who had vacated the belt when he pulled out of the show with injury.
Other Whanganui fighters had no interest in finding out what the judges thought as Assassin Corey-Lee Robertson dropped Feilding's Nathaniel Fagg with a hard punch coming right behind a leg sweep for a first round knock out.
Robertson swept Fagg's leg immediately, and while he got up and tried to come back with kicks, the Whanganui fighter just smashed him into the ropes, getting a standing eight count.
Another kick with the punch hidden behind it and Fagg crumbled face down on the canvas for the fight to be called.
"I was just listening to my corner and just focused on him," Robertson said.
"It's great [feeling] - home town."
Auckland-based Yassin Yass (Dynamite MT) enjoyed his homecoming as he rebounded from a couple of recent losses by hammering Masterton's Brent Surgre (Fortitude Thai Boxing), with the refereeing ending the punishment in the first round.
While Surgre began hopefully with hard leg kicks and knees, Yass lined him up and like Robertson was able to disguise a devastating punch behind a leg kick, knocking his opponent flat.
Surgre took the standing eight but Yass chased him and tagged him with blow after blow, hitting repeated knees and round house punches before the official had seen enough.
Yass had loved the chance for Whanganui to see him at his best.
"It was quite nerve wracking though, being home town and first time family seeing me fight.
"I was coming in mentally strong."
Even after dropping Surgre the first time, Yass said he knew he couldn't be reckless with his attack and followed his corner's instructions to again set the punches up with leg kicks.
"I wasn't looking for the shot that dropped him.
"A couple more punches, and seeing his eyes roll back."
A video of the live stream of the main event is available on the Wanganui Chronicle Facebook page.
Results
Kodi Huffman Eltham (CYFC Hydas) bt Treigh Dombroski (Spartans) by unanimous decision; Virtue Maea Oliver (MMA South) bt Ami Williams (CYFC Hydas) by unanimous decision; Corey-Lee Robinson (Assassins Muay Thai) bt Nathaniel Fagg (Feilding MT) by knockout; Tom Darce (Spartan) bt Anton McIntosh (J's Gym) by unanimous decision; Yassin Yass (Dynamite MT) bt Brent Surgre (Fortitude Thai Boxing) by TKO (ref stoppage); Che Barlow (Rivercity Martial Arts) bt Henry Burns (CKB) by unanimous decision; Brendon Wallace (Assassins Muay Thai) bt Rangi Haggie by majority decision.
IKBF NZ Lightweight title: Connor Mooney (J's Gym) bt Eden Phillips (CKB) by unanimous decision.
IKBF NZ Light-middleweight title: Mike Makatea-Leylander (Assassins Muay Thai) bt Aaron Cole (Alpha MT) by split decision.