Several Mount Isa fighters will be heading to Charters Towers this weekend to participate in the Glencore Great Western Games boxing event.
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Fighters from both Derricks Boxing and Golden Oaks Boxing and Fitness Club will make the trip east.
Head coaches of Derrick's Boxing, James and Kerry Derrick, said it was a fantastic commitment from Mount Isa to have several fighters registered with support from friends and family.
Travel is something James and Kerry know too well, driving 15,000km this year taking their team to tournaments interstate to the NT, and across Queensland including Cairns, Townsville and Middlemount, with more tournaments to come.
There is only one sanctioned fight with Boxing Queensland a year in Mount Isa, and this year that is my event in September, so to stay competitive, its necessary to travel out of Mount Isa with the team to compete, James said.
James said his fighters were competing this weekend range across different age categories and weight divisions at Charters Towers.
"Livai Savuro is our youngest competitor on this trip at 13 years old and enters the Games with a record of five fights, four wins," he said.
Livai Savuro is our youngest competitor on this trip
- James Derrick
"Then our oldest competitor in the Masters division is Sunny Raitava who is in impeccable form with 10 fights, nine wins."
James said Livai has had three fights this year in Cairns, Middlemount and Cloncurry and his technique, strength and confidence in the ring was improving with each fight.
"Sunny has also had three fights this year in Townsville, Alice Springs and Cairns and for his 42 years of age, his power in the ring is formidable for most his opponents recently who have succumbed to total knock-out and in the last fight in Cairns, the ref made the call to stop the fight," he said.
The Great Western Games is a multi sport event held biennially between Charters Towers and Mount Isa.
Athletes, officials and supporters have the opportunity to participate in this unique event while discovering Outback Queensland.
When asked of any plans outside of boxing on the weekend, James said that a few of the team are talking about going along to the Charters Towers Tors Drive-In picture theatre in the evening.
"Some of the kids haven't been to something like that and it's a way of supporting local business," he said.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
