Bairnsdale boxing is alive.
The sellout event saw 1500 people fill the venue while a further 1000 tuned into the Aus Boxing Facebook live stream, all witnessing a Bairnsdale domination with all local fighters victorious, aside from Bayden Ashwood, who had to settle for a draw in his bout with Brodie Zara.
Headliner, Jason “Warrior” Whateley, ended the show with a stunning second round knockout of Alejandro Valari, immediately calling for an Australian cruiserweight title shot.
Co-headliner, Blake “Bomber” Wells, outpointed Mark Smith over six rounds, while fellow locals Max Reeves, Roy Siania, Kade Alexander and Peter Jenner all scored victories in their professional debuts.
A town with a strong fighting background was on show on Saturday night with former super featherweight world champion, “Wild” Will Tomlinson, putting on an epic Wildfighter show at a packed Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre (BARC).
Event promoter, Tomlinson, said he was excited to bring his show to his former stomping ground and a venue where he scored a professional victory back in 2011.
“It’s been a good adventure, the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic, but it’s all paid off,” he said on the live broadcast.
“We’ve got a great turnout, around 1500 to 1600 people here, everyone is having a good night, there’s been some cracking fights.
“The boys have all put the work in, they’ve trained like true professionals. Bayden Ashwood and Brodie Zara was an absolute cracking fight, I’d love to see that again, hopefully we can make it happen again on my next show on December 14.
“Jason Whateley is now the mandatory challenger for the Australian cruiserweight title. He’ s ready to fight any cruiserweight in the country. The current champion is Daniel Russell from Queensland, Jason really wants to take the title from a champion and I’m willing to do whatever I have to do as a promoter to make that happen.”
Whateley closed the show with a second round stoppage of Argentinian journeyman, Valari.
It was a cautious opening round from both fighters as Whateley got his feet moving and his jab into range. Valari loaded up on a few shots, however was unable to capitalise with anything significant.
Whateley slipped an overhand right before immediately finding his range with both hands and it didn’t take long for the final blow to come with a straight right below the ear dropping the Argentinian.
Whateley said he was thrilled to be back on home soil headlining Will Tomlinson’s promotion.
“It’ s unbelievable, I had my first fight here many years ago now and to be back here, the support I’ve always had in Gippsland has been amazing, so to be able to put on a show in front of my friends and family has been amazing,” Whateley said.
Wells – having missed weight by a significant margin, which saw the fight move from the scheduled super middleweight Victorian title to above light heavyweight – edged a game Mark Smith in a unanimous decision 57-56, 57-56, 58-55.
Wells, who was clearly the bigger fighter, showed great patience in his fourth professional fight. Known for his power left hand, Wells showed his knockout ability with a short left hand earning a third round knockdown.
During an exchange in the fifth, a Wells left hand sent Smith’s mouthguard flying.
Smith kept coming, however Wells was strong on the counter and used his jab effectively throughout the six rounds, the pair going toe-to-toe in the final 30 seconds of the bout.
Up and coming prospect, Victor Nagbe, won a unanimous decision over six rounds against Fano Kori, the southpaw fighter using his crisp footwork and clean head movement to outpoint his opponent.
Bayden Ashwood and Brodie Zara – in what Tomlinson predicted would be fight of the night – certainly lived up to expectations, going the four-round distance ending in a majority draw. Ashwood had the favour of one judge 39-37, however the two other judges scored the bout 38-38.
With only 12 minutes of action, the fighters showed tremendous physical shape, maintaining a solid pace throughout. Ashwood got better as the fight wore on, becoming more accurate and throwing with more volume, however Zara did not stop pushing forward and using his strength to get Ashwood onto the ropes.
In what was phone booth fighting, Zara immediately pushed Ashwood into the corner, where the two slugged it out with their foreheads together.
Ashwood was successful in the close range as Zara worked the body on the ropes. The latter landed with an overhand right which pushed Ashwood back midway through the opening round as he edged the Bairnsdale fighter.
Ashwood responded with strong right hand of his own the open the second round as he began to fight from the centre of the ring. Zara was able to push Ashwood back onto the ropes in the final minute, however it Ashwood was more productive and successful in the opening two minutes.
The Bairnsdale fighter was finding more ways to push off the ropes in the third, however both men were successful in the range. Ashwood came with a great combination on the ropes shortly before the end of the round as the crowd began to get involved.
Heading into the final round, the bout was on a knife’s edge.
Ashwood was leading the cleaner punches in the final round, however Zara continued to walk forward, the bout ending with the fighters embracing and the crowd lifting to their feet.
In the battle of the debutants, 19-year-old Max Reeves outpointed a wild Lawrence Knsop to win by first round stoppage following a body shot.
Knosp came out all guns blazing, emptying his gas tank in the opening 90 seconds as Reeves showed composure and worked into his game plan, ending the fight with a huge left body shot with 15 seconds remaining in the opening round.
Roy Siania won his professional debut in stunning fashion with a third round stoppage of Callum Butcher.
The local came out with a flurry, pushing Butcher onto the ropes as he unleashed with big shots. Siania worked the body superbly, ending the opening round with a stiff left jab.
Butcher was largely covering up as Siania – who was warned for punching behind the head – landed a big body shot and uppercut combination in the corner midway through the second in what was another dominant round.
Siania kept a solid pace in the third, continuing his body assault mixed with uppercuts, earning the victory with Butcher unable to find an answer.
Pete Jenner started the card with a second round stoppage of Ed Hughes, while Kade Alexander claimed a unanimous points decision victory over Mark Arquiza.
PICTURED: Bayden Ashwood and Brodie Zara put in a epic fight of the night performance at Wildfighter Rnd 3 on Saturday night. 1500 people filled Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre to see a local domination at “Wild” Will Tomlinson’s third promotional event.