DELISLE, DARCHINIAN AND ROWSELL IMPRESS!
By Tony Nobbs
16.12 - A refreshed looking Jason "The Nailer" Delisle (10-1-2, 4 KO) retained his Australian Lt Heavyweight Title with an impressive but hard fought decision over Peter "Pit Buill" Manasis (6-1, 0KO) at the Rosehill Garden's Racecourse in Sydney on Friday night. After a couple of sub par performances in September, Delisle lifted a gear and with his Australian title on the line against opponent fancied Team Fenech opponent. Delisle,30, controlled the early going and scored Manasis with several clean right hands, one scoring a knockdown in round two. Manasis came back late in the fight, knocking an off balance Delisle down in round eleven.
The action throughout was great for the fans and the fight was yet another terrific stoush to be shown on Jeff Fenech's Foxsports fight nights this year, incuding Delisle's Title winning victory over Kenyan Olympian Peter Kariuki in August. The decision was split, scores of 117-112 and 116-115 for the Champion and 117-10 for Manasis, whose battle back from obesity and drugs attracted good media coverage prior to the fight.
Delisle, who trains with Dino Bilinghurst at Kostya Tszyu's Boxing Academy in Sydney, holds an amateur victort over IBF Pan Pacific Super Middleweight Champion Danny Green and is hopeful for a chance to do it again in 2003.
Another home-grown grudge match that is brewing for next year is Nathan Sting v Vic Darchinian. Armenian Olympian Darchinian (15-0, 12 KO) retained his IBF Pan Pacific Flyweight Belt with an easy three round stoppage of outclassed Thai Ran Thomgprakan (18-9, 5 KO) in the main support. Darchinian's Team Fenech connections are very confident Darchinian can move up to Bantamweight and beat the IBF # 14 Sting for his Australian 118 lb Title. The talented Sting (23-6-1,11 KO) is willing to fight "but not for peanuts" and with negotiations still under way, interest is sure to grow.
PABA Cruiserweight Champion "Dangerous" Daniel Rowsell (20-2-1,9 KO) scored a one round knockout of once promising Justin Clements (23-7-2, 6 KO) in a scheduled eight rounder. Body shots did the damage. WBA #11 Rowsell defends his PABA belt against Tosca Petridis in Perth on
January 11.
Heavily hyped Ercument Aslan (2-0,1 KO) won a tougher than expected decision over late sub Craig Eden (1-2-1) from Melbourne in a Super Middleweight six rounder. Promising southpaw Gary Comer took his record to 4-0, 0 KO with a six round shutout of game Dale Hawke (5-5-2, 5 KO). The 29 year old Hawke, a roof tiler from Tweed Heads in Northern NSW, literally jumped of the roof at 1 pm fight day to take the fight at short notice and gave away seven pounds to his neat boxing former Newcastle school mate who scaled in at Super Welter. Promoter Jeff Fenech, Matchmaker Angelo Hyder.
