Bad Intentions 10 was a smash hit at the Gunnedah Town Hall last Saturday night as several hundred people witnessed a series of boxing bouts which produced plenty of thrills and spills.
All six competing members of the Gunnedah-based Black ‘n’ Blue boxing gym tasted victory, including Wade Ryan who featured in the headline bout.
Eleven amateur fights were followed by four professional fights, as competitors came from Gunnedah, Tamworth, Sydney, Moree, Newcastle and Melbourne, as well as Thailand and Fiji.
After the first bout featured three rounds of 90 seconds each, the remaining amateur bouts comprised three or four rounds of two minutes each. The first two professional bouts comprised four rounds of three minutes each before six rounds were scheduled for each of the final two bouts, but neither of the final two fights required six rounds.
There was plenty of cheering, barracking and gasping among the vocal crowd, as spectators were enthralled throughout proceedings while none of the fighters took a backward step.
Two 14-year-olds faced off in the first bout before Gunnedah’s Jonty Raaen won the second bout by knockout as he was in the cruiserweight division.
The fourth fight was the sole female bout of the evening, with Gunnedah’s Emylie Murrell winning an interstate novice title as she defeated Sara Longo in the cruiserweight division.
The third success of the night for Black ‘n’ Blue was Michael Borradaile, who proved too much for Brocke Brown in a NSW bantamweight bout.
Gunnedah’s Matthew Williams overcame an uncertain start to win his super heavyweight title bout with Poasa Telepe, before the final amateur bout featured another two fighters in the super heavyweight division.
Weighing around 125kg, Gunnedah’s Shawn Hanslow defeated a much heavier Fale Paulo.
The third professional bout ended early via a knockout, before Ryan won the headline bout against Kristina Srisang in the fifth round.
Both combatants dished out and received plenty of punishment, with Ryan gradually gaining the upper hand while his opponent never looked like surrendering.
With Gunnedah having hosted an annual boxing night for nearly 20 years, Black ‘n’ Blue boxing coach David ‘Spike’ Syphers said this year’s was “probably the best show yet” and the “most entertaining” while it was “five or six hours of pure entertainment”.
“I felt the amateur fights were very strong and very exciting,” he said.
“The crowd was vocal.
“They were evenly matched fights, and quality fights.
“It’s as good as any fight night in Australia.”
