Having her preparation interrupted by a bad bout of 'flu didn't stop Featherston kick boxer Sue Latta from scoring a unanimous decision in her national middleweight title bout in Taupo on Saturday.
Latta went into the fight against Mary Herlihy of Porirua concerned that having her "peaking time" reduced from the
usual three weeks to just 10 days by her sickness could take its toll from a physical viewpoint late in the five-round contest but she needn't have worried.
She always had the edge on Herlihy - who lived for a time in Masterton - and was confident of victory a long way out.
"I actually knew by the end of the first round that I could do it???I got a few decent blows in and she was on the back foot," she said. "It was just a matter of keeping the pressure on and I was able to do that."
It was the third time Latta and Herlihy had met with the first two bouts being well over a decade ago.
It was Herlihy who had come out on top in both those fights and Latta, who won a world welterweight title in November 2002, was determined to turn the tables this time round.
"I really wanted this one," she said. "She (Herlihy) is a tough opponent and I knew I had to be ready for her."
Latta picked up a number of points during the five rounds with what she described as a low round kick to the outside leg, a tactic which she had tried before in previous fights only to find that she usually hurt herself more than she did her rival.
"It's one of those kicks which can be difficult to pull off but it worked ok for me on Saturday," Latta said.
While well beaten Herlihy won praise from Latta for the manner in which she stuck to her task.
"There were a couple of times when we traded blows and she got a couple of good kicks in but generally she was on the defensive," Latta said. "She never threw the towel in though?.she kept coming back for more."
Latta's next major assignment could come in Auckland in October when the Muay Thai kick boxing organisation will celebrate 30 years of competition in New Zealand. A major tournament is being planned as the focus of those celebrations and Latta is hopeful of a bout being organised for her there.
She is hopeful too of competing at the next world kick boxing championships in Thailand. They were originally scheduled for August of this year but have been deferred to March 2006 .
