An extra incentive has been given the powerful home town contingent to make a huge impact at the Pheddy Style Muay Thai Club's "Rumble in the 'Rapa 4" kickboxing tournament to be held in Featherston's Anzac Hall tomorrow night.
As the name would suggest, it's the fourth "rumble" staged by the
club in recent times and, for prime organiser and head coach Sue Latta, it will almost certainly be the last as she will soon leave to spend at least a year in Singapore. Latta, a former Muay Thai world champion, is confident her squad will take the limelight during a tourney involving at least 15 bouts.
Foremost among them should be Kirk Davis, who will turn 17 tomorrow and will be having his final rehearsal before heading to the world Muay Thai championships in Thailand in about a fortnight. He will be up against an experienced opponent some 13 years older, but Latta doesn't see that as a problem. "He (Davis) will relish the challenge. He's fit and ready to go," she said.
A newcomer to kickboxing is Reuben Friend, who has already made a name for himself as an artist. He will be having only his second bout. At the time these notes were penned his wife was due to give birth.
Another talented artist in the Featherston line-up is Frankie Leota, who has shown considerable promise in a brief career spanning just three bouts to date. She is in the novice grade, as is Tyrone Pitt, a 17-year-old, who has impressed with his determination in his two fights to date.
Also impressively determined is Andre Irwin, a novice who uses kickboxing as a means of relief from the pressures of studying criminology at Victoria University, while Callum Perry, who also shines in tae kwon do, has the record to suggest he should take some beating as well.
Masterton kickboxer Cody Tomuri will come out of retirement for tomorrow night's tourney and will face formidable opposition from James O'Connor, a Wellington fighter who has only once in his career tasted defeat.
They will compete under full Muay Thai rules, which means knees and elbows to the head are legal.
Tomuri operates his own gymnasium in Masterton and two of his young fighters, Wipuhara Kapene and Cody Heffernan, will also be seen in action.
