Headline brawl ends in draw

TOE TO TOE: Brayden Maua lands a kick on Earl-Jay Pehi during the fight of the night at the River City Rumble.PHOTOS/DEVYN STAINES 280315WCDSRUM02

RTF Wanganui's Aiden Koroheke fought to a stalemate with MTI Wellington rival Ata Fakalelu in the main event of the River City Rumble at a packed War Memorial Hall on Saturday night.

While the three-round modified Muay Thai fight did not reach the exciting heights of previous years' headliners, it was still a hard-hitting brawl between two heavyweights, with Koroheke getting a measure of parity after two close decision losses in previous encounters.

Winning the showmanship award for his entrance with a hoody and skull face mask, Koroheke came in much heavier than their last fight in December as he did not have to cut weight in training - his now imposing 111kg being 7kg heavier than Fakalelu.

Both men circled in the early exchanges, with Fakalelu getting off more punches, while Koroheke looked to grab his opponent's leg with every front kick, slipping himself at one point before pushing the Wellingtonian off balance into the corner.

Koroheke had to cover up in round two after being doubled over by a vicious knee, before he caught Fakalelu with an inadvertent low kick, which required a long recovery stoppage.

Knowing he needed something big to swing the fight his way, Koroheke opened up the final round with high round kicks, chasing after Fakalelu, who moved away and landed a couple of good counterpunches, eventually pushing the fight to the ropes at the final bell.

The final tally of the three judges had the fighters deadlocked at 86-86, with both of them sharing a wry smile when their hands were raised.

"Better than a loss. Looks like we have to do it again," said Koroheke.

"He came out different this time, waiting for me to attack and taking the outside leg kick."

Confident he couldn't get caught by Fakalelu in the final round, the big Wanganui fighter said he had thrown all energy into his early kicks to swing the decision his way.

Koroheke had loved his first fight in front of a home crowd.

"It was good to get the buzz. Awesome looking out in the crowd and seeing Mum."

The crowd was already spent by the main event after roaring for two 16-year-old Wanganui fighters who stole the show earlier on the card.

Living up to the hype, Wanganui Warriors' Brayden Maua defeated RTF Wanganui's Earl-Jay Pehi by narrow split decision after a three-round war.

Pehi had a great start with heavy kicks and quick head movement, daring Maua to come at him, to which the lighter Maua responded with lightning-quick jabs, which would be his bread and butter to shut Pehi down.

Pehi would need a moment for a low kick, then swept Pehi's leg before eating some more rapid fire jabs. Maua tried to keep the tempo going with both hands in round two as Pehi was forced to tie him up, with both sucking in the air as the pace slowed considerably by the bell.

The crowd was molten by the final minute as both men chased the other from one set of ropes to the other, unloading with shot after shot. Pehi said afterwards he had no regrets about taunting Maua to come at him.

"I didn't want him to hold back. I was just mainly wanting to smash him, not thinking about my technique. The better man takes it, but I'm keen for a rematch."

Maua said he would take that return bout. "My hardest fight. He's a good fighter."