It was a blisteringly hot on February 27th, despite being allegedly the second to last day of Summer, adding to the heat inside Crank’s Bar in Albany, north of Auckland.
With all doors and windows of the venue open, the bar’s darkened interior, along with the absence of a ring, only added to the atmosphere of the fights.
There were fifteen novice and amateur fights overall, and despite an engagement back in Auckland City to cover the the MMA (above), I faced the two-way gridlock on the Auckland Harbour Bridge to at least get this fast-paced fight. The novice fights are supposed to be “friendly” matches, during which fighters aren’t supposed to be trying to knock each other out, but the pace and ferocity of these two caused promoter, head coach and, on the day, ring announcer, to give at least one of them a stern warning. It’s the first time I’ve heard fighters being told off by the ring announcer. More pictures after the jump …
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