Enja Prest claimed the NSW super-welterweight title and the second win of her career on Saturday night against formerly undefeated Pam McClelland.
Prest, was attempting to shake off the disappointment of her controversial defeat to Ella Boot at the Star Casino in December last year.
Saturday’s victory marks a step in the right direction for Prest’s development, proving to be a strong figure in Australian women’s boxing.
BRUTAL: Enja Prest lands a straight right hand during her unanimous decision NSW super-welterweight title victory against Pam McClelland on Saturday night. PHOTO: Bridget Bartlett Photography.
“The loss was hard to take but we took a lot from it,” Prest said to the Gunnedah Times.
“We did a lot of work throughout this last camp on things I needed to improve on and I felt I executed that on Saturday night and it’s always good to get a win in front of the home crowd.”
While Prest has no plans on defending the NSW title won on Saturday, she has sights on claiming another title by the end of the year as she plans to move back to welterweight.
“Now we have the NSW title, the next one on the radar is definitely the Australian or Australasian title,” Prest said.
“My next fight will definitely be at welterweight and this fight was pretty much at that weight anyway.”
The fight against McClelland saw Prest compete for the first time in a six-round bout and the local boxer was pleased with her fitness.
“It was good to experience the six rounds and I felt a lot better for it,” she said.
“Spike has always said that I go better as the rounds go on and my fitness felt fantastic so I could have easily done two more rounds.
“Not every fight you are going to say you can do more rounds, it’s what is presented in front of you but according to Saturday night I felt my fitness held up well.”
Prest’s corner, consisting of IBO international champion – Wade Ryan, head trainer David (Spike) Syphers and Todd Makelim who once fought Manny Pacquiao were adamant about starting on the right foot.
“I made sure that I started strong, Wade kept saying to make sure I was first to the punch and I needed to stay away from Pam’s southpaw left hand,” Prest said.
“We did a lot of work on my footwork this camp and staying light on my feet and it paid off on Saturday.”
Now that Prest has returned to the winner’s circle, she is bullish about her chances in the future with hopes of securing at least two more wins by the end of the year.
“I’m trying to stay active for the rest of the year,” Prest said.
“I don’t really care what sort of card I’m on, but it’d be great to get back on a No Limit card.”
Prest admitted a rematch with Boot from her December loss in Sydney isn’t likely in the near future but would be more than willing to take on the opportunity if it was to present itself.
“I honestly don’t know whether they would take the fight again,” Prest said.
“She weighed in at 64 kilos so that might show that she belongs in the division below mine at super-lightweight.
“I’m not sure where they’re aiming but I’d be more than happy if they are up for it.”
ACCURACY: Prest throwing a straight right.
But for now, Prest is focused on recharging her batteries, as she looks for new challenges in her professional career.
Like fellow training partner Albert Nolan, who also prevailed on Saturday night, Prest could feature on June 11. Without any confirmation on who she could fight, Prest is already knocking on the door of the big fights in the women’s division.
Meanwhile, on the undercard amateur fights, two of Prest’s sparring partners Lucy Lane and Mace Eveleigh succumbed to decision losses.
Lane was vying for the Novice NSW title against Elodie Minhinnick from Littlefield Boxing in Orange and while she was impressive throughout the four two-minute rounds, it wasn’t enough to win over the three judges.
For Eveleigh, he came up against an experienced Jack Tresidder from Boxcamp in Lake Macquarie. He was unable to claim the North East title.
To order photos from this page click here
