Mandurah Boxing Club fighters Danny Heyes and Harry “H Bomb” Suter have returned from a pair of national tournaments in South Australia with success draped around their necks.
Heyes boxed his way to a gold medal in a knockout tournament, earning the right to represent Australia at the Oceania championships this June, while Suter picked up a silver to be named runner-up in the under 19 Australian titles.
Both boxed in three fights across four days, including working their way to finals bouts.
Heyes, a 100-fight veteran, said it was one of the toughest challenges of his boxing career.
“It was just so draining mentally. Physically it was tough too, but staying in it mentally was the hardest part,” he said.
“You fight three fights across the four days – it’s just a huge challenge to stay focussed.”
But the gold medalist, who was WA’s only winner at the event, said he was proud to represent the Mandurah Boxing Club on the national stage.
“It was awesome to get the win. I loved every minute of it,” he said.
“To be able to go over there and compete was an honour in itself, but to get the win was just bit a of a shock at first, really.
“It’s sort of sunk in now but at the time I was just happy to be boxing there.”
Suter fought hard in his three bouts, overcoming fatigue to make the final for the under 19s title.
“I was just really tired and physically drained after the first fight. It took so much out of me,” he said.
“Luckily I was able to recover and get the win in the second fight.
“Unfortunately I went down in the third. I thought I fought quite well and got some good punches in, but overall I just missed out.
“I was just stoked to be in the final, though. To go that far was awesome so hopefully I can do better next time around.”
The duo will now hit the ring back at the Billy Dower Youth Centre to train for the upcoming Kings of the Ring tournament in Sydney in a fortnight.
Coach John Florenca said the pair were in good shape ahead of the contest.
“They’ve had a couple days resting after the national tournaments and are in good preparations now,” he said.
“We were really proud of the way they fought in South Australia. To have two boxers selected is an achievement in itself but to have two medals come home is outstanding.”