Paul Whatuira (left) has defeated former All Black Carlos Spencer at Fight for Life.
It’s been a rough week for All Blacks fans and it was made even tougher by a main event defeat in the cross-code battle at Fight for Life.
Two-time NRL premiership winner Paul Whatuira made a fast and brutal start to defeat former All Black Carlos Spencer by unanimous decision in an eventful three-round donnybrook for a good cause.
Whatuira rocked Spencer badly with a sharp combination in the opening round that saw the Blues great undergo a standing eight count as the charity event made its return at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore on Thursday night.
Round two was more even but Spencer still looked flustered by Whatuira’s brutal start in the opening round.
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* ‘She thinks I’m a bloody idiot’: Carlos Spencer on convincing his wife to let him fight again
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* Boxer Jerome Pampellone’s big break
Both men seemingly ran out of gas in the third and final round but gave the crowd an entertaining contest until the final bell.
The charity night, which lost its main event between Keven Mealamu and former Warriors player Wairangi Koopu when a pre-fight medical detected a heart issue for the former All Blacks hooker, was raising funds for Mike King’s youth mental health and suicide prevention organisation I Am Hope.
Former All Black Liam Messam did get a win on the board earlier in the night for the rugby faithful.
Messam proved way too classy for former Warrior James Gavet over three rounds.
Messam, who will retire from pro-rugby at the end of Waikato’s national provincial championship season, revealed he has another fight next weekend.
Unbeaten as a pro, Messam, 3-0 takes on the winless Tussi Asafo (0-5) in Hamilton on July 30.
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Ex-All Black Liam Messam scored a win over former Warrior James Gavet at Fight for Life.
In the only female fight on the card, former Kiwi Ferns captain Honey Hireme-Smiler needed less than a round to defeat radio personality Tegan Yorwarth in a complete mismatch.
Hireme-Smiler wobbled Yorwarth with an overhand right before dropping her with a jab.
Yorwarth’s corner thankfully threw in the towel when she was badly rocked again by another big right hand.
Radio jocks Tammy Davis and Jay Reeve got the night underway with a three-round slugfest that saw Reeve take the win via a unanimous decision.
In the professional fights, undefeated middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich (19-0, KOs) continued his run of victories but with a much tougher-than-expected win over fellow Kiwi Francis Waitai (6-2).
A rising star in this part of the world, Mikhailovich’s last three fights have been in Australia where he is signed to promotional company D&L Events.
Mikhailovich, who is ranked in the top 15 with the WBO and IBF, didn’t have things his own way against the tricky southpaw in his unanimous decision victory.
Oddly, the judges’ scorecards weren’t revealed post-fight, just the verdict.
Mikhailovich told the SKY Arena broadcast he was unhappy with his performance but paid tribute to Waita’s game plan.
Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
Andrei Mikhailovich was made to work hard for this victory over Francis Waitai.
Waitai, who lost a dubious decision against Jack Gipp in Australia last month – his first defeat – described the judge’s verdict in Thursday night’s fight as a “bit stink”.
Earlier, Mikhailovich’s stablemate at Peach Boxing, Jerome Pampellone, (13-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Joshua Francis in a one-sided cruiserweight contest that will likely earn him a top 15 ranking with the IBF via winning the IBF Australasian Cruiserweight belt.
Pampellone, who is a natural light heavyweight, has been stepping up in weight in a bid to gain fights and stopped Francis with a thundering left hook in round six.
Following the expected victory, Pampellone said he would happily fight Australian Jai Opetaia for the IBF world title he won when he defeated Mairis Briedis earlier this month.
Dean Lonergan, who promotes both Pampellone and Opetaia has looked to create some hype around the unlikely fight but the reality is the Australian will be out of the ring for a long time with a badly broken jaw and he will likely have bigger fish to fry on his return.
However, Pampellone remains one of New Zealand’s very brightest professional prospects at his natural weight of light heavy.
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