Josh Bowman's punching power key to victory

In his first bout of the season, Whangarei's Josh Bowman took down Tahitian rival Heiarii Ai in the Tahiti versus New Zealand fight night at Hora Hora Rugby Club.

Bowman trains out of the club which hosted the event, Whangarei Boxing Gym. His and Ai's middleweight bout was the main feature on Saturday night's 16-card meeting.

The pair fought it out over three rounds in front of a crowd of 400 people who packed out the rugby club, but Bowman came out on top on a points decision.

"It was a very close bout, but Josh's strength and power got him through," Whangarei coach and event organiser Tim Bowman said. "Ai has a really good style and is a very strong boxer, but Josh's power punching was too efficient."

As expected, Whangarei's Kaylah Munday's time in the ring also had the crowd enthralled.

Munday was fighting Tahitian tourist Zamora Nena in the 70kg plus class - a rematch of their bout last year in Tahiti.

Again the bout lasted three rounds, and Munday lost on a majority points decision, but it was a tight contest. The Tahitian had a 5kg advantage giving her an edge over Munday and she powered her way around the ring. Nena also defeated Munday in Tahiti in 2011 and while the pair would not usually be matched due to their weight difference, they were to give them a bout at the tournament, Tim Bowman explained.

Also fighting from Whangarei was Jeff Hesley, who stopped his middleweight fight in round three. Contesting his first tournament, Hesley impressed Tim Bowman. Gymmate Ross Malthus did not fight as he was not matched.

"There was a lot of good boxing on show. The standard of boxing is quite high among the young people coming through - we had two 10-year-old girls from Auckland fighting and there seems to be some growth in the sport," Tim Bowman said.

Whangarei Boxing Gym members now look forward to monthly Auckland Boxing Association events.