| Blood, sweat and tears were dished up in bucket-loads last night (30 June) as 22 local aspiring boxers stepped into the ring to showcase 16 weeks of gruelling training at the Mountain Scene Thriller in the Chiller Charity Boxing Night – a sell-out American Express Queenstown Winter Festival event.
Cheered on by a 1,300-strong crowd of roaring supporters, the contestants gave ‘knock out’ performances to help raise money for the Queenstown Coastguard.
Standing ovations were given to the most intense matches – those between Alice ‘The Ginger Crunch’ Cournane and Joanna ‘Jo’s a Fiend’, Wells, Steven ‘The Warrior’ Walsh and Jason ‘Hooligan’ Hughes, and ‘Ice Crusher’ Mackey and Jason ‘Machine Gun’ Mills.
In fight order, winners of the three-round boxing bouts were:
• Skyline’s Adam ‘The Hitman’ Hindson v Richard ‘Scarface’ Hadlow from Queenstown Gymnastics. Winner: Richard ‘Scarface’ Hadlow
• Oaks Shores Resort’s Claire ‘Breaking Bones’ Jones v Di ‘The Detonator’ Reid from Queenstown i-SITE. Winner: Claire ‘Breaking Bones’ Jones
• RBJ Builder Dallas ‘Rocky Dalboa’ Moffat v Nathan ‘The Dog’ Turner from Magic Memories. Winner: Dallas ‘Rocky Dalboa’ Moffat
• Queenstown Primary’s Alice ‘Big Gun’ Cannan v Jessica ‘The Ripper’ Ryan from the Copthorne Lakefront Hotel. Winner: Alice ‘Big Gun’ Cannan
• Swordfox’s Graham ‘The Diamond Cutter’ McLellan v Cesar ‘C-Bomb’ Piotto from NZSki. Winner: Cesar ‘C-Bomb’ Piotto
• Probation officer Alice ‘The Ginger Crunch’ Cournane v Joanna ‘Jo’s a Fiend’ Wells, a bartender and DJ. Winner: Alice ‘The Ginger Crunch’ Cournane
• Commercial Property Manager Johnny ‘Roast of the Day’ Stevenson v Paddy ‘Hurricane’ Kluts from Bardeaux. Winner: Paddy ‘Hurricane’ Kluts
• Michael Hill Jewellers’ Ann ‘Annimal’ Coombes v Michelle ‘No Mercy’ Percy, a student. Winner: Michelle ‘No Mercy’ Percy
• Crowne Plaza Hotel’s Steven ‘The Warrior’ Walsh v Jason ‘Hooligan’ Hughes from Motortrade Finances. Winner: Steven ‘The Warrior’ Walsh
• Bungy operator Lewis ‘Young Buck’ Benseman v Richie ‘Rampage’ Evans, a concrete grinder. Winner: Richie ‘Rampage’ Evans
• Cowboy’s bartender Jesse ‘Ice Crusher’ Mackey v Jason ‘Machine Gun’ Mills, a bathroom installer. Winner: Jason ‘Machine Gun’ Mills
Festival Director Simon Green congratulated all of the contestants and praised their hard work.
“It was great to see everyone’s hard work put to use this evening. The contestants have all worked so hard and been extremely committed over the last 16 weeks. It’s fantastic to see a sell-out crowd supporting them,” Mr Green said.
The festival fun concludes today with action-packed line-up of events. The Auckland Airport Lantern Making Workshops will be held at the Queenstown Memorial Hall from 11am until 4pm, the Quiksilver Slopestyle Invitational kicks off at The Remarkables ski area at 11am, followed by The Kingston Flyer Steam Powered Party departing Kingston Station at 11.30am, and the Wakatipu Grill Jazz Brunch at the Hilton Queenstown, which also starts at 11.30am. The One Square Meal Cyclocross Series begins at 2pm at Remarkables Park and The Life of Pinot with Peter Thornley gets underway at the Hilton Queenstown’s Wakatipu Grill at 6pm. A big crowd is expected for the Festival finale, the spectacular Auckland Airport International Mardi Gras, which will kick off in the streets of downtown Queenstown at 4pm.
Photo caption: 1) Jason Mills giving Jesse Mackey a Heavy hit in the final round during the Mountain Scene’s Thriller in the Chiller at American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.
Photo caption: 2) Battle of the women between Alice Cournane (left) and Joanna Wells at the Mountain Scenes Thriller in the Chiller at American Express Queenstown Winter festival. |
