Boxing: Fight night for duo off to Tahiti

The challenge has been laid to the Whangarei public to support our local boxers this Saturday as Kensington Stadium transforms into a boxing stadium for the night.

The night, organised by the Whangarei Boxing Gym, sees more than 15 fights take place to raise funds for Northlanders Deanne Carpenter and Josh Bowman before they head to Tahiti for a quadrangular boxing competition.

Whangarei Boxing Gym owner Tim Bowman said the evening of boxing, starting at 6pm, was a good chance to see some of Northland's top boxers take on others from outside the region.

"There's definitely a good interest in it [boxing in Whangarei]," Bowman said. "Our crowds from Whangarei have also really got stuck in and they don't just get stuck in for the people from the north, they get stuck in for people all round."

Bowman said amongst the 15-plus fights scheduled for Saturday, both Carpenter and Josh would take to the ring, with Josh's fight expected to be the main event.

Carpenter and Josh have each earned the right to fight in Tahiti by being a New Zealand champion in their weight class, or in Josh's case, be a runner-up to the title.

There will be fighters on the card aged between 11 and 30; some with considerable experience. "There are many experienced fighters in there who are like 12-13 [years old]," Bowman said. "People would not realise how many fights they've actually had. Some of them have had 30-40 fights so it's a real credit to them."

Tickets for Saturday's fight night are available at the door, with kids gaining entry for $5 and adults $20.