Britomart Gets Ready To Rumble

MEDIA RELEASE
JULY 26, 2007

Britomart Gets Ready To Rumble

Light hearted sparring between boxing mad Britomart tenants has led to the first ever Crown for Downtown at Britomart charity boxing event to be held next Thursday, August 2.

It all started with banter between boxing fitness fanatics, Burton ‘The Real Deal‘ Worth, from Aveia Gallery and Bar in the Britomart Levy Building, and Luke ‘The Shore Thing’ Shore from Northern Steamship’s Brew Bar, who both train with New Zealand welterweight champion, Justin Potter at City Boxing, also based at Britomart.

Justin suggested that instead of mucking around, the duo should face up to a genuine ‘spar’ for a good cause. Bluewater Management soon came on board with assistance for the venue, the Britomart Pavilion, and with event management.

Leigh Williams, from Insight Creative at Sofrana House in the Britomart precinct, is a weekly volunteer at Ronald McDonald House, so as a consequence of her involvement, half of the evening’s proceeds will go towards a gym for families to use while staying at Ronald McDonald House, Auckland.

The other half of the funds raised will go to Central Auckland Boxing to help cover the costs of sending a select team to the Queensland Golden Gloves Title in Brisbane in August, a pre-trainer to the New Zealand championships in September.

It’s expected that up to 300 people will fill the Britomart Pavilion to watch the nine bout boxing extravaganza next week. Even before the 18 boxers discard their everyday attire and don their gloves and trunks, corporate tables at the event have been snatched up, although there is room for more general admission.

The nine fights will all have three two minutes rounds and MCs for the boxing bonanza will be television personality, Miriama Kamo and former Shortland Street star, Blair Strang.

And while our local boys are not aiming or professing to be Olympic contenders, those in the audience wanting to see some world class boxing action (with a bit of Trans-Tasman rivalry thrown in), will not be disappointed, with a bout between Sabrina Ostawari, who is the current Australian woman’s featherweight champion, and Alexis Pritchard, the New Zealand featherweight champion, hotting up the evening.

Local boxing champions, Te Kauenga Lee and Ruan Koetze will also enter the ring to showcase their skills.
All the fighters have had medical examinations and a doctor will be present ringside to oversee all bouts. The boxing contest has been sanctioned by the Central Auckland Boxing Association, under licence from Boxing New Zealand Incorporated.

Burton ‘The Real Deal’ Worth, who has been boxing for around 16 weeks, admits he is nervous about getting into the ring. “I’m keen but I also think I am really stupid.” He is taking the fight very seriously and is confident that he will win, but his wife is not too fond of his new found sporting interest, as the couple has a wedding to attend the day after his maiden fight. “This is my first fight ever. I’ve never even been in a bar brawl or a scrap at school.”

His opponent and friend, Luke ‘The Shore Thing’ Shore, who began boxing training around 10 weeks ago, says he’s confident that he’ll win the fight, despite the fact he has been training a full six weeks less than his rival. Says Luke: “Burton doesn’t stand a chance.” While Luke says that the pair are quite evenly matched he believes that he holds an advantage over Burton. “Burton’s got the fitness, but I’ve got the power.”

Luke has stepped up his training regime in preparation for the bout. He admits it’s been a challenge: “My trainer Cameron Todd has really been pushing me and I’ve been training really hard. I’m completely knackered training four days a week while at the same time trying to run a bar.”

Luke admits finding people to fight in his team was also a challenge: “We have around 500 staff and we could only find one person who was willing to give it a go. It makes me wonder…”

The organisers hope the event will become an annual charity affair, which certainly has the backing and support of Bluewater Management.

Bluewater Management spokeswoman Sarah Hull says:

“We are really glad to see the spirit of community developing at Britomart. Britomart is not just about buildings. It is about people and community.”

Doors open at 6.45pm, with the first bout beginning at 7.05pm.

General admission tickets to the Crown for Downtown at Britomart charity boxing event can be purchased for $35 and are available from the Northern Steamship Brew Bar (Corner Quay and Gore Street, Downtown Auckland) and Aveia (20 Customs Street East, Downtown Auckland). Visit www.britomart.org for further information.

- Ends –

The contenders for the title of Crown for Downtown at Britomart are:

Team Northern Steamship Brew Bar Team Aveia
Bout One: Peter De Nys vs Boyd Wason

Bout Two: John Walters vs Mark Strang

Bout Three: Michael Wood vs Elwin Stafford-Brown

Bout Four: Sarah Shawell Van Der Niet vs Jasmine Barkway

Bout Five
(Amateur): Te Kauenga Lee vs Ruan Koetze

Bout Six: Alexis Pritchard vs Sabrina Ostawari
(NZ woman’s featherweight champ) (AUS featherweight champ)

Bout Seven: Kris Gaut vs Jeremy Holmes

Bout Eight: Luke Shore vs Burton Worth

Bout Nine: Christian Hurzeler vs Michael Dreaver

ENDS

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