Azzaoui makes heavy work of latest win

Kerikeri's Mohamed Azzaoui was made to fight for his win against Junior Pati in the top billing of the Oakura Boxing Club's fight night at Kensington Stadium on Saturday.
Hundreds of spectators, who had watched the 19 previous bouts, were instantly concerned for the Northland cruiserweight after he was in trouble early in the first round of the four-round fight against the Auckland heavyweight.
Pati, who was at least 20kg heavier, showed contempt for Azzaoui's punching and started to move inside his more experienced opponent, forcing the former Algerian boxer to stay on his toes to avoid his heavier shots.
"That's the risk you take when you take on a heavyweight, your punches aren't as effective and barely make him hesitate," Azzaoui's manager Anthony Murray said
"In the end we were lucky to win it, especially in a unanimous decision.
"I thought Junior deserved to win the first round but in the end Mohamed won and it was a good fight for us to prepare for our next bout," he said.
Azzaoui needed a win to set up his next fight in Auckland on August 28 against Alori Mensah, and he got it but he'll need to sharpen up if he wants to beat Mensah.
The rest of the night's entertainment were all amateur bouts and according to organiser Tim Bowman, they were a lot easier to judge. "The youngsters all had a great time and the money we raised will go a long way to sending the kids off to more tournaments throughout the rest of the year," he said.
Bowman estimated the crowd at over 500, and perhaps as many as 600.
The club will send four or five boxers down to the Auckland Championships next month and if they perform well, they will earn a trip down to the nationals in Rotorua in October.
Bowman's son Josh, who fights for Whangarei's United Gym, defended his Peter Gilbert Trophy belt against Waikato's Patrick Whalley with a third-round stoppage.
Pushed hard for a favorite moment, Bowman Snr chose the club's Deanne Carpenter, who won her first-ever bout against Auckland's Eisha Maka.