Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE Pahlawan Amateur Boxing Competition 2017 concluded last night with 11 local champions crowned at the Sungai Kebun Sports Complex in Lumapas.
Ariff Razali of Pahlawan Boxing Club headlined the event edging Aaron Lim from Project Mayhem in the final of the light welterweight division.
Local Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom Ahmad Faez (Eazy) Anuar of Khalifa MMA proved his class in the light heavyweight division with a clean sweep, forcing all his opponents to retirement including last night's final match against Kevin Lim Chee Chong of ATIM Boxing.
Eazy (R) in action in the final of the light heavyweight division last night. Picture: Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
Wolfpack also made their presence felt at the tournament when their bantam weight boxer Mohd Firdaus Hj Abdul Kadir bagged the crown, while local MMA rising star Mohd Adib Pehin Sulaiman and Mohd Rohzeinee Hj Muhd Nendaroh claimed bronze in light welter and middleweight divisions respectively.
Pg Joehani won the heavyweight division after beating Jeremy Joint Riong of ATIM Boxing in the final, meanwhile, Rudy Yussof of Nak Muay defeated Jee Sing Haw of ATIM Boxing in a very close super heavyweight class bout.
018 MMA’s Wan Farhan Wan Hj Ibrahim and Mohd Saifuddin Abdul Rahim took the crown in the middle and welterweight classes respectively
Earlier in the day, Hjh Nureen Nur Hj Muhammad of 018 MMA was the first to have her hand raised for victory after defeating Candy Wee from Project Mayhem to take the gold medal in the women's bantamweight.
Another 018 MMA fighter Zulfa Aztyanee Ahmad took gold in the women's light welterweight division after defeating Carrie Ann Emran from Khalifa MMA in the final.
Meanwhile, the junior category saw Ak Md Abdul Malik Nuriman Pg Abdul Rahman of Abdul Rahman Boxing beat Mohd Saifuddin Hj Mat Salleh from Chainblock Gym on Saturday.
Mohd Saifudddin in action in the welterweight division yesterday. Picture: Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
The vice-president of the National Boxing Association Hj Abu Bakar Hj Piut hoped that boxing will be given the chance and support to develop in the country.
"Boxing as a sport should be given the equal chance and support to grow in this country and we hope to see more and more younger athletes to get into the sport and start training," Hj Abu Bakar told BruSports News.
"I am very glad that we all managed to organise this tournament successfully despite a lot of challenges.
"We identified four to five boxers that have potential to go further from this competition, so we hope to have more tournaments next year to scout for more talents," he added.
Sanctioned by the Brunei Amateur Boxing Association the tournament was supported by the Department of Youth and Sports (JBS), Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
