Geraldton boxers fight hard but go down in points losses at Kimberly Championships in Broome

Local fighters may not have come home with the wins but nonetheless impressed in the ring as Broome Boxing Club hosted the 2022 Kimberly Championships. Two fighters from Jake Peacock’s gym with Eric “EJ” Kyanga and 14-year-old “Little Babe” Kyson Crudeli made the trip up to Broome with Crudeli making his debut to make an extra special birthday. Kyanga, 18, was up in bout 20 in what was an action-packed card up in Broome facing off against senior State champion and national semifinalist Luke Kent in the first four-round fight of his career. The first round was fairly even with both fighters working to find their range and probe the defences of their opponents. Kyanga landed a few body shots while Kent finished strong with a jab slip through Kyanga’s defences just before the end of the round. Kent was controlling the centre of the ring with Kyanga often forced into the corner but was still managing to land enough shots to hang in the contest. In the final round, Kyanga — who was down on the scorecards — came out swinging and challenged Kent’s centre ring posture managing to land a lovely right to dislodge Kent’s mouthguard. Kent responded with a flurry of punches to have Kyanga trapped in a corner and bring out a seven-count for the Geraldton fighter. Kyanga recovered but was immediately put back in the corner bringing out another count before the bell rang to finish the fight. Kent was awarded victory by unanimous points decision. Peacock called Kyanga’s fight one of his best by far in spite of the loss. “Kyanga worked on things we’d discussed and he showed more punch variety landing on Kent’s head and body,” he said. “This was a competitive fight all the way and I’m excited for what this young man will do in the future.” Earlier in the night Crudeli was up in fight two up against 13-year-old Solei Arnott from Broome also on debut with both fighters coming in at 40kg across three 90-second rounds. Fighting in the blue corner he was on the back foot early struggling with Arnott’s reach who had a slight height advantage over the Geraldton young gun. But he managed to fight his way out of the corner and land a few good shots as he worked his way into the fight in the opening round. Crudeli continued to look for opportunities to work inside targeting the body but he copped a big right jab drawing an eight-count from the referee just before the end of the second round. To his credit, Crudeli came out swinging in the third knowing he was behind on points and never gave up in the unanimous points loss. Coach Jake Peacock was impressed with what he saw despite the loss. “He fought his heart out, landed some good body shots and battled hard until the end,” he said. “’Little Babe’ has the ability and drive to go further.” “Travelling and fighting in opponents backyards are part of the job for regional boxers and it’s these experiences that help build resilience, and the mental strength to go further in the sport.”