Zac Guildford v Bachelor Art Green. Photo / www.photosport.nz
Bachelor Art Green stunned rugby star Zac Guildford as he outfoxed and outboxed him to win their bout in tonight's Fight for Life.
Guildford launched a flurry of punches at Green over the three two minute rounds.
But his ferocious attack failed to land any meaningful blows and towards the end of each round Green connected with some heavy fists.
One head shot left Guildford reeling and facing a standing eight-count before the referee would let him continue.
Judges awarded the fight to the TV star in a unanimous decision.
The event at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton had earlier seen former Silver Fern Irene van Dyk earned a first-round technical knockout in her boxing debut, stopping Napier accountant Belinda Summerville after unleashing a furious succession of big blows.
Van Dyk, one of the greatest Silver Ferns in history, adjusted pretty quickly to the switch in sports, attacking Summerville from the opening bell and showing no mercy after a couple of brief stoppages.
The fight lasted only one minute and seven seconds, with a sheepish van Dyk in an apologetic mood once the the referee stepped in.
"I think adrenaline just takes over and you just lose you head," she said. "[I saw] a lot of red mist."
Van Dyk said her fight plan was to "jab, jab, jab" but, once she stepped into the ring such a sedate plan was eschewed in favour of aggression once her heard the opening bell.
"It hurts when you hurt someone," she smiled.
Summerville, meanwhile, enjoyed the experience but hadn't expected such power from her opponent.
"Not quite that hard," she said. "It was pretty full on."
The evening kicked off with a one-sided battle between Shelton Woolright and Jesse Peach.
Woolright, a former Blindspott drummer and X-Factor judge, dished out plenty of punishment to Peach en-route to a second-round technical knockout.
Peach was knocked down earlier in the fight with a strong right hook to the jaw and, after he copped a few more sturdy blows, the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Woolright, who trained every day for three months, "enjoyed every minute" of the fight.
"It's pretty exciting and quite an intense feeling, to be honest," he said. "Sorry Jesse, but I wanted to keep going."
Peach, a reporter for Newsworthy, also sported a smile after his brave effort but revealed the beating didn't quite meet his pre-fight expectations.
"It was quite hard, actually. I was expecting it to be a lot easier," he laughed. "But I've had such a great time training."
Peach confirmed that would be his last foray into the ring, while Woolright took the opportunity to call out friend and The Rock DJ Bryce Casey for a further fight.
Usyk won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 116-112.