03-01-2020, 01:01 PM
Auckland boxer and mother of two wins super lightweight title
Leighton Keith
11:52, Mar 01 2020
Tarn "The Terminator" Reid and Karen Te Ruki-Pasene at the weight in before their bout for the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title on Saturday night. Te Ruki-Pasene won the fight in a split decision.
Tarn "The Terminator" Reid and Karen Te Ruki-Pasene at the weight in before their bout for the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title on Saturday night. Te Ruki-Pasene won the fight in a split decision.
Auckland's Karen Te Ruki-Pasene has claimed the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title by narrowly beating Taranaki's Tarn "The Terminator" Reid.
The fight went the distance with Te Ruki-Pasene winning by a judges' split decision following eight rounds of high energy boxing at Auckland's Cordis Hotel on Saturday night, with both fighters giving no ground and not afraid to stand toe to toe trading blows in the centre of the ring.
Reid had stepped up a weight class for the fight, which was her second crack at winning the belt after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Quinita Hatu in 2018
However, Te Ruki-Pasene, who won her debut bout in 2018 by TKO and had a win and a lose from her two pro fights, gained momentum as the fight went on and continued to move forward while maintaining control of the centre of the ring to claim the victory.
Two judges scored the fight 77-75 in favour of Te Ruki-Pasene while the third scored it 77-75 for Reid in the "The Fight to Glory" Glozier Boxing event, which included 14 corporate and four pro bouts.
Te Ruki-Pasene, who was born and raised in Otara and joined the Navy straight after school, said she felt comfortable throughout the fight.
"I was just getting my feelers out in the first couple of rounds and then it was just listening to my corner and sticking to the plan," the 29-year-old said.
The mother of two, who had the home town advantage and a large number of supporters in the crowd, said she felt privileged to have won the belt and was excited about the future prospects it could bring.
"It still feels unreal at the moment, I need it to sink in a little bit.
"My biggest goal was to see how far this could take me and my team."
While the split decision went Te Ruki-Pasene's way this time it hadn't in 2019 after her bout with Gentiana Lupi and she said she wanted a chance to set the record straight.
"I definitely want a rematch."
The result was a bit of an anticlimax for Reid, who in November made history when she became the first New Zealand female boxer to claim the Australian National Boxing Federation's Australasian Lightweight title after defeating Australia's Rachel Loder.
In the other professional bouts Joe Ageli knocked out Kurt Lakisoe in 34 seconds of the first round, Australia's Elli Reynolds defeated Kiwi Holly McMath, who had also moved up a weight class, by a majority judges decision after the fight went the distance while Australian Clay Waterman claimed victory over New Zealand's Ethan Andrell after his corner threw in the towel following the first round.
Stuff
Leighton Keith
11:52, Mar 01 2020
Tarn "The Terminator" Reid and Karen Te Ruki-Pasene at the weight in before their bout for the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title on Saturday night. Te Ruki-Pasene won the fight in a split decision.
Tarn "The Terminator" Reid and Karen Te Ruki-Pasene at the weight in before their bout for the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title on Saturday night. Te Ruki-Pasene won the fight in a split decision.
Auckland's Karen Te Ruki-Pasene has claimed the vacant PBCNZ Super Lightweight title by narrowly beating Taranaki's Tarn "The Terminator" Reid.
The fight went the distance with Te Ruki-Pasene winning by a judges' split decision following eight rounds of high energy boxing at Auckland's Cordis Hotel on Saturday night, with both fighters giving no ground and not afraid to stand toe to toe trading blows in the centre of the ring.
Reid had stepped up a weight class for the fight, which was her second crack at winning the belt after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Quinita Hatu in 2018
However, Te Ruki-Pasene, who won her debut bout in 2018 by TKO and had a win and a lose from her two pro fights, gained momentum as the fight went on and continued to move forward while maintaining control of the centre of the ring to claim the victory.
Two judges scored the fight 77-75 in favour of Te Ruki-Pasene while the third scored it 77-75 for Reid in the "The Fight to Glory" Glozier Boxing event, which included 14 corporate and four pro bouts.
Te Ruki-Pasene, who was born and raised in Otara and joined the Navy straight after school, said she felt comfortable throughout the fight.
"I was just getting my feelers out in the first couple of rounds and then it was just listening to my corner and sticking to the plan," the 29-year-old said.
The mother of two, who had the home town advantage and a large number of supporters in the crowd, said she felt privileged to have won the belt and was excited about the future prospects it could bring.
"It still feels unreal at the moment, I need it to sink in a little bit.
"My biggest goal was to see how far this could take me and my team."
While the split decision went Te Ruki-Pasene's way this time it hadn't in 2019 after her bout with Gentiana Lupi and she said she wanted a chance to set the record straight.
"I definitely want a rematch."
The result was a bit of an anticlimax for Reid, who in November made history when she became the first New Zealand female boxer to claim the Australian National Boxing Federation's Australasian Lightweight title after defeating Australia's Rachel Loder.
In the other professional bouts Joe Ageli knocked out Kurt Lakisoe in 34 seconds of the first round, Australia's Elli Reynolds defeated Kiwi Holly McMath, who had also moved up a weight class, by a majority judges decision after the fight went the distance while Australian Clay Waterman claimed victory over New Zealand's Ethan Andrell after his corner threw in the towel following the first round.
Stuff