Local combat sports fans and enthusiasts were treated to a night of sensation as five Junee fighters formed part of a 13-fight Adrenalyn boxing card on December 7 at The Range Function Centre in Wagga Wagga.
The event, which saw 26 fighters take to the ring in front of a sell out crowd, was headlined by a state title fight between Junee’s own Connor Wright and Sydney-based Muay Thai boxer Nicolas Fraietta.
Event organiser and local coach at Adapt Gym Rick Judd said that the event turned out to be a very entertaining one for the many spectators and the fighters alike.
“It was a very action packed night with a lot of close matchups and the venue selling out on the night, which was great,” he said.
“The Gym had sixfighters, three of those were Junee born and bred, including myself Rick as the coach.”
“We also had a few other Junee natives on the cards.”
At the top of the card, Junee product Wright faced Fraietta in a full Muay Thai bout for the NSW title in front of a full house.
“The main event we had Connor Wright who is a Junee boy and now resides in Adelaide and trains out of Adelaide,” Judd said.
“He came over from there and looked dominant in the first two rounds and in the third he got hit with a head kick and got an eight count.
“Speaking with him afterwards he said it was the first round he threw a kick and got checked, that’s where they put their shin up to block the kick and you kick their shin.
“He said he heard a crack and it was later confirmed that he has a busted leg with a fairly decent fracture.
“He felt it in the first round and then when he went into the second and third he felt it again.
“He was checked out and he’s probably pretty lucky that he didn’t have a full snap as some people sometimes see.
“He said that head kick gave him a second to realise how bad his leg was.
“It wasn’t necessarily the head kick that stopped him even though that is what it will be reported as.
“I’ve been in the same position before, I can sympathise with him.
“Unfortunately Junee didn’t come away with the win, but that’s fighting.”
The other co-main event saw another Junee product and rising star Dru Brodin take on a highly-rated metropolitan opponent in a strongly anticipated show-down.
“Dru Brodin, who is my star pupil and a Junee boy, unfortunately got put away in the first round,” Judd said.
“It was right at the end with about ten seconds to go in the first round and he ate a right hand and he didn’t look the same from that point, so I was actually quite happy to see the ref pull that one up when his opponent sat him for the second time.
“Once the opponent from Sydney, who is also undefeated, realised he had him hurt, he came after poor Dru.
“He didn’t look out of sorts, he just got caught, but that’s the fight game.”
Judd said that this is far from the end for the talented youngster, with plans already in place for a return to training in the next few weeks.
“There’s big things on the horizon for Dru, he’s a proper talent and anyone that has seen him spar or go, he’s like the talk of the club from other clubs and other trainers and things that are constantly telling me that he has something special and he does have something special,” he said.
“It was a bit of a setback for him and he let me know that this one hurt him a little bit, but he’s already back and talking positively and keen to go again after the Christmas break.
“It was disappointing from our Club’s side, he was the co-main event of the night.”
It wasn’t all bad news for the Junee crew however, with local tradie Tom Diggins delivering one of the most emphatic victories of the evening.
“Tom Diggins, a local Junee painter, ended up beating his opponent who came all the way from Adelaide in 45 seconds of the first round with a short right hand,” Judd said.
“He put his opponent away in 45 seconds, they only had a couple of exchanges and his opponent looked sharp too, but Tom managed to land one in the right spot and put his opponent down and he didn’t get up past the eight count.
“That was Tom’s third outing and it’s two from two in K1 in kickboxing.
“The other fight he had was in boxing where he lost and he only really lost it because of a points deduction, which was silly on him, just discipline, but he looked like the better fighter in that one.
Earlier in the night, a series of fights on the undercard proved to be better than many expected, with the first being an exhibition bout.
“First up was Jay Butler in a boxing exhibition match that was the second fight of the night, the pair of them put on a very talented, skilled performance,” Judd said.
“Being an exhibition they weren’t going for the knock-out, but it was still very good, even just as the second fight to have it pick up the pace and show people the skill that was going to be on offer for the night.
“Jay and his opponent Dan, who is a Wagga boy, got their hands raised, botho f them, as you do in all exhibition bouts.
Following the friendly bout to open the evening, the serious stuff kicked off, with Judd telling the Independent that there were some good results for the locals involved.
“Next up was young Tommy McDermott for Adapt Gym, my gym,” he said.
“He’s been training for a fair while, even as a young bloke he trained under the same coach as myself, so he is a street alert fighter, and he’s been training with me for the last four years.
“He had a great debut which he got his hand raised by a split decision.
“It was a very back and forth fight, his opponent from Cootamundra had some very good head kicks and Tommy was hanging out at that dangerous range a lot throughout the fight, but he showed a lot of grit and determination and a lot of heart, winning the fight by heart and the clinch.
“He gave his opponent a standing eight count in the last ten seconds or so of the fight which probably just got him over the line.
“It was a very close fight and he ended up winning fight of the night.”
That good start for the local contingent continued when Benny Andrews entered the ring to fight an opponent from Cootamundra.
“Benny Andrews, another of my boys, he put on a very dominant display as well,” Judd said.
“That was also against Cootamundra Club and a lot of people were saying that probably should have been fight of the night.
“While the Cootamundra Club came away with two losses against our boys, they definitely showed up and showed us what it takes to be against some solid opponents in the Muay Thai game and combat sports around here.
“Their coach I worked with at Junee Gaol, so there was a bit of history there too, he’s a Cootamundra boy, Dean Larkin.”
However, there were also some tough losses on the undercard, with one being a battle of attrition according to Judd.
“We also had Jake Crocker-Pryce who is trained by Jay Thomas, he lost in a pretty close one,” he said.
“He won the first round fairly convincingly and his opponent came back in the last two rounds to steal it from him.
“His opponent picked up fighter of the night because of his heart.
“Jake looks good as well, he’s only 17 and is a Wagga boy.”
With an uptick in interest in combat sports following the event, Rick Judd is inviting anyone keen to try Muay Thai or Mixed Martial Arts to Adapt Gym, with the first lesson being free.
-Tallon Smith
