Fighter looks beyond bronze

Buoyed by his bronze medal in the junior 60kg grade at the world Muay Thai championships in Thailand last month, Featherston kickboxer Kirk Davis is intent on expanding his horizons.
While in Thailand, Davis was offered the chance to train at one of the leading gymnasiums there and he hopes to take up that invitation towards the end of next year.
Now that former mentor Sue Latta is heading to Singapore, Kirk's mother Kelly Davis is also his coach and she is enthusiastic about the prospect of her son learning from the best in such a hugely competitive environment.
"It doesn't come much better than that, it's something we are really keen to work towards," she said.
After drawing a bye in the first round, Kirk came up against a Ukraine fighter in the quarterfinals at the worlds and, with that country being considered one of the most formidable of the 75 contesting the championships, he was the clear underdog. But after making a slow start and losing the first round on points, Davis picked up his workrate and won the second and third rounds by clear enough margins to advance to the semis.
"It was the toughest fight he had ever had, but once he got over the nerves he did everything we wanted him to do," Kelly said.
"He showed he could step up to another level, that was the big thing."
In the semis Davis met a Jordanian opponent who was simply too good for him on the day, but again he won plaudits for his gutsiness and impressed onlookers with his potential.
Making the winning of a bronze medal more special for the Davis duo was that it helped repay the "truly wonderful" support given them by the Wairarapa community in raising funds for his passage to Thailand.
"It was touch and go he would even get there and we really are indebted to all those who helped out in any way," Kelly said. "It's nice to know he didn't let them down, that he did them proud."