KICKING OFF

LOCAL fighters stood out when a huge crowd was given a night of full-on kickboxing and Muay Thai action at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

A near-capacity crowd turned up for the Total Havoc Kickboxing Fight Night, headlined by two South Pacific and one Australia Muay Thai titles.

While the title fights were the night’s main drawcard, it was clear most members of the large crowd turned out to see the local fighters in action.

Huge crowds greeted fighters from the Southern Fitness and Martial Arts Centre in Bomaderry as they entered the ring, and most were successful.

Of the 11 local fighters on the undercard six were successful, with Dale Gronow and Dave Freeman-Smith both completely dominating their opponents to score strong victories.

Chad McGillick took on a difficult opponent in Nathan Parfoot and came away with a victory, while Aaron Thompson was impressive in disposing on Nick Elker.

The youngest of the local fighters, Jay Ellard, took on an older and more experienced opponent in Josh Field and still came away with a good win, while Shane Gardner was also impressive in getting the judges’ verdict.

The local fighters defeated on the night - Shane George, Ian “Froggy” Aulsebrook, Chris McLaughlan, Dane Lloyd and Nick De Ruyter - all did well and were far from disgraced.

Of the title fights Serin Murray retained her national belt after a tough five-rounder against Canberra’s Bianca Elmir, South Pacific featherweight champion Jacob Marks won over Brett Crain-White when the fight was stopped just before the end of the fourth round, and light heavyweight champ Jared Botha knocked out New Zealander Daniel Kerr in the third.