Umina boxers qualify for world championships

Two Umina Beach PCYC boxers, Satali Tevi-Fuimaono and Mark Glew, have qualified for the World Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, in August after they both won gold medals at the National Titles in Adelaide.

They were joined on the medal dais by team mates Jason Fawcett who won also gold also in only his third fight, and by Kyle Schneider who missed out on gold after he was ruled out by the doctor for the finals bout.

"For Satali this was to be his third straight Australian Title," said Umina PCYC coach Joel Keegan.

"It was won with the style, flair and power the young man has become renowned for.

"He faced a tough and rugged Queensland opponent Lachie De Santis who could not contain the Brisbane Water High School captain, who raced away to win 17-1, the biggest margin of the entire week of the National Championships.

"His Queensland opponent tried everything he could to compete and upset the rhythm of the Umina boxer, but to no avail as young Satali was clinical, repeatedly landing powerful shots that forced at least one eight count against a very willing opponent.

"It was a near faultless performance from Satali, despite what was a pretty disrupted preparation.

"Qualifying for the World Championships has been a big goal for a while, but we will need to improve another 10 to 20 per cent to be a medal chance.

"This looks like being the biggest World Championships on record, with both Cuban and American representation, as well as the entire European and Asian blocks, so we will be ready.

"Mark Glew, fighting at his first National Titles, had to find something special in two bouts to claim his gold medal and his plane ticket to the Ukraine.

"Coming from behind in both his semi and his final, Glew earnt a reputation as the 'heart-break kid' as the coaching staff were distraught watching him claw back a deficit in the final seconds of both bouts.

"Glew had his hands full in the first semi against Victorian Kade Alexander, whose rangy build and awkward style posed real problems for Mark, and meant Mark had a two-point lead to pull back going in to the final round.

"Digging deep, Glew overwhelmed his opponent and the points that were denied him in the first two rounds started to flow for a very close win.

"The final was a very similar story, with the Tasmanian opponent slipping away to a two-point lead until Glew charged home in the last round.

"In an incredibly close decision, Mark won on count back after the scores had been locked 8-8, and his path to World Championships was secured.

"Young Jason Fawcett, a Woy Woy Rugby League Junior, was given little chance against the highly fancied and undefeated Queensland sharpshooter Theo Rayfield.

"However it was the Peninsula's power puncher who was to prove to be too sharp, landing clean shots with both hands, racking up a big score by the end of the second round.

"The final score was 12-4 and a clear indication of the success Fawcett had enjoyed with some telling punches.

"A silver medal at a national championship is never a bad thing, but it was not a great moment for Kyle Schneider or the team at Umina PCYC when Kyle had to settle for a silver medal, after being ruled out of his gold medal finals bout by the doctor.

"He had suffered what seemed pretty obviously to be sun blistered lips, but was ruled out on the advice of doctors it could possibly be cold sores, and had to cop a very tough decision on the chin.

"Kyle had prepared just as well and as hard as the other team members, and was ideally positioned to win the final," said Keegan.

Jordan Bunder also competed but was bundled out in the first round of the Elite 81kg division, after what was a somewhat flat performance for the three time state champion.

Joel Keegan said: "There is no doubt these results are an indication of how strong the Umina PCYC Boxing program is.

"That strength is based in the quality of the coaches who dedicate their time to help develop these young, motivated boxers.

"People like Sape Fuimaono, Kristan Dowdle, Chris Nixon, Luke Phipps, Luke Johnson, Lance Davies have all worked hard to create a learning culture, a working culture.

"Our strength is based in our mentors," said Keegan.

Email, 12 Mar 2013

Joel Keegan, Umina PCYC