Mischa’s Boxing Central 2012 Round Up
October 31, 2012
Our small group of competitive boxers and aspiring fighters have been working hard this year and 2013 is shaping up to be pretty exciting, building on the group we have and turning it into something pretty unique.
Fitness clients and class members alike also got a taste for genuine boxing and hopefully that will continue in the not too distant future.
My oldest client is ‘super nanna’ Cherie who at 66 years old is an inspiration. And my youngest student so far is 15-year-old Lola.
On the competitive front, Sam’s star amateur boxer Luke Bones won the novice title in the 64 kg division at the Calabria Club in only his third fight as well as a trophy for best fighter of the tournament. Luke has been battling injuries for the past couple of months but hopes to get back in the swing of things soon. He’s still training and very much part of the crew, helping beginners and new boxers develop their skills.
Young gun Aaron Masters, also trained by Sam, won his first interclub and drew his second. He’ll be ready to fight in November in his first official amateur bout, showing off that flashy footwork.
Andrew Kavanagh, our newest fighter is now on board and is full of enthusiasm and ready to rumble.
And my heavyweight boxer Daniel Null did superbly well in his first interclub in August and will be ready to give the novice titles a shot on November 25. Dan, a former US Marine, has even been sparring one of Australia’s legends of the sport Pierre Karam, who trained for many years at the iconic Kronk Gym in Detroit with Emmanuel Steward who sadly recently passed away, taking with him a wealth of boxing knowledge. RIP.
Pierre was known to have been Tommy ‘The Hit Man’ Hearns’ sparring partner and legend has it that he once dropped the boxing great with a shot to the body. His snaking jab certainly gave Dan something to think about.
My boxer girls Michaela Ottone and Zoi Georgiou will be ready to fight next year. Both of them have been sparring at the Brizzi’s gym, North Melbourne Boxing and Fitness and at Powerplay Gym in Brunswick where they have had plenty of advice and encouragement from female fighters like WBC bantamweight world champion Susie Ramadan and Sarah Howett as well as top amateurs like Carly Salmon, Bianca Elmir, Simone Baily and kickboxer Jacinta Paskalides and my good friend and owner of AIM Academy in Footscray Kacey Chong (pictured).
I had an interesting and eventful year fighting on many fronts but not in the ring, except for some hectic rounds with Missy, Susie and Luke.
I gave a guest lecture on gender and boxing at Melbourne University and spoke at the Asia Pacific World Sport and Women conference at the MCG.
I profiled Barry Hall and Mike Tyson for the Weekly Review and had several features published in The Age and a preview of the women’s Olympic boxing in Inside Sport. I featured in an ABC television piece on women’s boxing in the lead up to the Olympics and appeared on the cover of the local paper the Maribyrnong Weekly.
I was lucky enough to join the young elite women and had an amazing week at the AIS training, sparring and learning more about coaching (picture). For an old chook I didn’t stand out too much in the group of bright young things and they were warm and welcoming to me and I always felt part of the group.
My book The Sweetest Thing had its Australian launch at the Bella Union in Carlton with a live sparring demo from national and Oceania champion flyweight Bianca Elmir and the 64kg national champion Emily Jans. Ring card boy was MMA champ Nick Mann and there was a slide show of girls with black eyes followed by a Q and A with me and the boxers. The book was launched by the talented Chris Flynn with Karen Pickering as the roving ringside reporter for the Q and A segment.
An amazing book trailer and highlights from the launch was made by up talented and coming film maker Mark Welker.
So as you can see, boxing was central to 2012 and is only likely to be more the case in the new-year with some exciting plans afoot.