Four fighters from Revill’s Boxing Gym in Pakuranga have brought home two gold medals and two silvers at the 2022 Boxing New Zealand National Championships.
Wendell Stanley, 71kg Elite Male, and Ian Tauaika, 75kg Youth Male, won gold medals while Haransh Singh, 63.5kg Youth Male and Kheva Potatau, 63.5kg Elite Male, clinched silver.
The 2022 Boxing New Zealand National Championships, hosted by the Whanganui Boxing Association on October 5-8, was a significant milestone to the sport of amateur boxing in this country, says gym owner Lance Revill, as it is 120 years since the first New Zealand Boxing Championships were staged in the Theatre Royal in Christchurch, on September 26 and 29, 1902.
This year, Whanganui saw two Nationals being held in the same year as Covid delayed the 2021 Nationals which was held in April.
This time Covid didn’t affect the nationals and 167 boxers from all around New Zealand representing their regional associations, seeing both Male and Female Cadets (12/14 years) Juniors (15/16 years) and Youth (17/18 years) join their elite counterparts, in four days of boxing, which culminated in the 2022 Boxing New Zealand National champions being crowned.
Friday and Saturday (October 7/8), showcased 45 finals spread over the three age-groups and the elite divisions, with 12 female division titles being crowned.
Revills Boxing had four of their boxers selected for the Auckland Boxing team – Haransh Singh, Ian Tauaika, Kheva Potatau with Wendell Stanley (Commonwealth games representative) chosen as team captain.
At only 21-years-old, Wendell was the senior member of the team having first been in 2017. He has been part of the team at the national champs ever since.
The Revill boxers showed their hard work and determination at the gym, located at the Depot in Lloyd Elsmore, with all four reaching their final bouts.
Singh, 18, took the silver medal in his bout against a fellow Auckland teammate, the was a very close final and an exciting bout to watch, in which the split decision went against Singh in the last round.
Tauaika, 17, and a student at Howick College, had two bouts over the course of the week in which he was successful in both to win his second national title in the Youth 75kg division.
This was a back-to-back title for Ian, having won his first in April at the Covid-delayed Nationals.
Potatau is another Revills boxer who has been an Auckland team member since 2018 and a two-time national champion. His final was a technical affair against a Christchurch boxer. He lost in the final to get the silver medal in the 63.5 kg Elite division.
Stanley, had two bouts to win his third New Zealand title, and back-to-back title for the 71kg Elite title.
The lad from Half Moon Bay has had a busy year, with international bouts both home and abroad and reaching the quarter finals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in which he finished fifth overall.
His year will only get busier with the Olympics not too far away in 2024.
Lance Revill and the coaching team couldn’t be prouder of the boxers who were part of a talented Auckland team squad. “I’m absolutely proud of their performances,” said Revill.
“These young lads give it their all inside and outside the gym and they are improving all of the time. There are exciting times ahead.”
The Auckland team had a total of 16 boxers in the squad this year with 15 making the finals, a fantastic result with the final tally being 9 gold and 6 silver for the Auckland contingent.
