HKA’s first Fight Night on Saturday produced every bit of action and excitement as had been expected by a full house at the Phoenix Arts Centre.
In the first fight of the night, 9 year old Lauren Baker (Pegasus Kickboxing) took on Phoebe Chumiskey (Star), who is of the same age, in a battle over Prestige Junior ICO Southern Area title. The first of the one minute rounds got to a fiery start as both girls put everything they had in the fight, by the second round Phoebe started to use her legs to her advantage and gained initiative in the fight. Lauren made sure that Phoebe had to work hard, but in the end Phoebe won the fight and title unanimously.
Fight number two pitted Marley Davis (CKA) against JJ Kelly (Scorpion) in a fight for another Prestige Junior ICO Southern Area title. JJ staged a strong start and in the second round, he forced Marley to the ropes. However, that did not stop Marley, and although his feet slipped in the third round so that he fell on the canvas, he scored a hit in JJ’s head with a roundhouse in the fourth round. JJ replied with a powerful spinning kick in the fifth and final round.
JJ won this fight on majority decision: But after the event it was discovered to be a mistake with the paper work and the decision has not yet been over turned.
The third fight of the night brought Will Cummings of (BG) to the ring against HKA’ Nathan Smith. Will was the taller one of the fighters and he used his long legs well. Nathan scored a headshot at Will towards the end of the first round and balanced the books otherwise too. Headshots became Nathan’s trademark in the fight, while Will continued to use his legs well throughout the fight. In the end, it was very even and the judges returned a verdict of a draw.
Fight number four saw Liam Kirk (Versatile) to take on Daniel Pascon (Mantis). The first round started with Liam attacking with almost incredible force: he fired punches at machine gun like rate of fire that forced Daniel on the defence. Towards the end of the round, Liam had run out of steam a bit so that Daniel got off the hook.
The second round was a reversal of the first one: now it was Daniel’s turn to stage massive attack that turned Liam to the underdog and he received a number of shots and kicks from Daniel, including two powerful roundhouses. In the third round, Liam reversed the roles again and forced Daniel to take count to eight towards the end of it. Liam won the fight with unanimous decision; a win deserved thanks to his vigour and skill.
The fifth fight of the night saw Dena Adams (Billericay Dragons) take on Alex Hughes (ESMA). The fight started with a steady exchange of punches and kicks, but as the round progressed, it was Alex who gained the initiative and attacked more. This brought her a deserved unanimous victory in the three-round fight.
Fight number six was one of the most anticipated of the night: Dillon Moss (Force 1) against HKA’s Gee Denne in a Southern Area title fight. From the start, it was obvious that both are highly skilled fighters; Dillon used his legs fantastically well, but Gee made sure that Dillon had to aim at a mobile target, so that scoring a hit would by no means be sure. This was a high octane fight from the start to the end with lots of action and both fighters showed lots of skill. In the end, the judges awarded victory to Dillon in a majority decision: it was he that attacked more.
The following fight brought Elvis Cooper (Tiger Freestyle) to the ring against HKA’s Gavin Broomfield. Both staged a strong start with lots of action in the first round; in the second round Gavin scored good headshots at Elvis, who replied to the fire, but it was Gavin that was gaining the upper hand. In the third round, Elvis used his elbow and was reprimanded for this by the ref; just before the end of the round Gavin swept Elvis off his feet. Gavin won the fight on majority decision.
Fight number eight pitted Dave Sanbrock (Tiger Freestyle) against Mark Britton of HKA in a light contact match. Mark started very strongly; he landed a spectacular spinning kick at Dave, who was swept off his feet. In the second round, Dave started to use more kicks too, but Mark remained well in charge and sent Dave to the canvas for a second time. In the third and final round, Dave was running out of steam and Mark retained convincing control of the events in the ring, so that in the end he won the fight with unanimous decision.
The ninth fight of the night saw Rob Platt (Tiger Freestyle) to take on Elvis Cooper of the same club after Rob’s intended opponent decided not to fight at the last minute. Elvis did well, given the fact that Rob was both taller and heavier, but it was Rob who scored victory in the light contact contest of three rounds.
The final fight saw Henri Burnham (Fighting Tigers Gym) take on Dave Alfrey (Animal). The first round started with high rate of fire from both sides and Dave used his legs well to deliver a number of impressive roundhouses. The second round saw more of the same, high intensity battle continued with Dave perhaps attacking a bit more. In the final round, both fighters were probably a bit tired as they used punches more than kicks less than in the previous two rounds. Henri fought well in this round and balanced the books, so that the judges returned a verdict of a draw.
For the first Fight night Hastings Kickboxing has put together it was a night that won’t be forgotten for a long time, and is now awaiting FIGHT NIGHT 2 – Coming soon.
