Pitt and Fletcher were the

Golden Boys  at the Games

By Joe Bridges

Saturday afternoon on March 25 and our Commonwealth Games boxing team of eleven had been reduced to two, Jarrod Fletcher and Brad Pitt, both dangerous punching southpaws.

Brad had already probably fought the real final when he drew heavyweight favourite, Englishman, Daniel Price, a towering giant on the very first day of the tournament and came through with a well deserved victory.

Brad, nicknamed ‘Hollywood’ for obvious reasons, had reached the final with some good wins, as had his opponent from India, Harpreet Singh who had scored some stunning KO’s on the way to his meeting with Pitt.

In amateur boxing the goal is to win the bout, unlike the pro game where to make it you must not only win the bout, you must please the crowd. In this bout, Brad pleased the crowd because they wanted him to win the gold medal and even though Singh looked dangerous, Pitt plastered him with rights to the head before moving out of harm’s way, leaving the Indian falling short with his sleep producing left hand.

Singh lumbered away, but Brad kept out of harm’s way as he built a lead round by round. First round for Pitt, 6/1; 2nd 11/3;  3rd 18/5 and the last round after the Indian boxer made a desperate effort to catch the Victorian, 25/10. Brad was egged on by a foot stomping, cheering, partisan packed stadium, warmed up by Fletcher’s great win in the previous bout.

Pitt, a house painter by trade, had been attending the Australian Institute of Sport and competing overseas, so work and income had gone out the window. At 24, he is at the crossroads. Competing at his level nowadays, being the only Australian heavyweight to win a Commonwealth Games title, he is faced with a choice of taking a gamble on a pro career or remaining amateur for a chance of further fame.

 Good looking, personable and popular, he needs a sponsor such as the Queensland duo, Kidd and Fletcher and the ACT pair, O’Mahoney and Rudic. His parents who run a newsagency on the Mornington Peninsular were both present for his final win, although it is painful for his mother to watch him in action as she alternated between hiding her head and stealing looks. She didn’t have to be too concerned. Brad Pitt can certainly look after himself.

Middleweight, Jarrod Fletcher, at 22 years of age has been boxing for 11 years and boxed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester as a light- welterweight.

A veteran of well over 100 bouts, he has been trained by his father, David, when not at the Institute of Sport in Canberra. Boxing his way to the final, Jarrod found himself up against Canadian, Adonis Stevenson, another hard punching southpaw.

Jarrod won the first round 8/5 and seemed as though he had the Canadian’s measure when he forced an eight count on him early in the second. Fletcher was countering brilliantly with rights to the jaw when suddenly he walked onto a hard jolting short left to his jaw and went down near the end of the round.

Luckily the bell went to end the round before the Canadian had a chance to follow up and Jarrod recovered well during the minute’s break. From then on he boxed well and carefully to lead 26/13 going into the last round. Fletcher still scored with his right hands against the ever trying southpaw and finished the bout 34/18 after giving us that scare.

Jarrod praised the home town crowd, saying they lifted him with their fantastic support, then said he would take a short break while thinking over his future plans

 He also said he was looking forward to his first beer in six months.

During the afternoon session, I feel the crowd were a bit shortchanged with only four bouts held as one boxer had to withdraw with an ear injury from the 64kg final. Luckily the Aussie Gold medal wins eased the pain for those who had paid $125 for their ringside seats. Splitting the finals into two sessions meant coughing up $250 a head to see the ten bouts from ringside. Plenty did it though as the evening session was also packed out.

In the opening afternoon bout English Flyweight Don Broadhurst prove to good for tall Republic of South African, Jackson Chauke and stopped him in the third round, employing good combinations and plenty of body blows on his way to victory with the whistle stopping the bout, 25/5. The gold medal was presented by Prince Edward.

Another English boxer, featherweight, Steven Smith knelt in prayer before his bout with Pakastani, Lassi Mehrullah and the prayer may have been answered as he went on to a comfortable win, 20/10, even resorting to showboating in the final round.

English Light welter, James Russan won his Gold on a walkover when Moses Kopo had suffered an ear injury in the previous bout.

Basketballer Rudic becomes accidental boxer

Basketball has always been Canberra-born Steve Rudic's first love.
Which probably explains his surprise at making the Australian boxing team for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Since the age of eight, Rudic was never far from a basketball - but all that changed four years ago.
It should have been a career high making his NBL debut for the Canberra Cannons in the 2002-03 season.
Instead it signalled the end of his professional basketball days.
Rudic, a 195cm forward, had just returned from a successful four-year American college stint when he answered an SOS from an injury-hit Cannons.
But just as he was finding his feet in the national league, the financially-strapped Cannons folded - and with it went Rudic's NBL dreams.
"I was thinking I am 26 and I still have a chance of getting onto another roster but I couldn't go and put all my eggs in one basket again," Rudic said.
"There were a lot of players younger and taller than me out there.
"When the Cannons went down, that was the turning point for me."
So Rudic stayed in hometown Canberra to further his teaching and new "hobby" boxing.
His only previous boxing experience was three months of "Mickey Mouse" training seven years earlier.
But Rudic picked up quickly on his new pastime and started training one night a week which eventually became five then six sessions.
He was introduced to English trainer Garry Hamilton and Russian-born sparring partner Alexi Mukhin and before Rudic knew it, he had a budding boxing career.
Barely three years of competitive boxing later, Rudic suddenly found himself with a national heavyweight title and a Commonwealth Games team berth.
"I definitely think it is fate," said Rudic who has had just 26 fights with 18 wins.
"I think if I was put into any other situation with any other coach or sparring partner I don't think I would have progressed as quickly."
But basketball will always be his first love.
"Because I have done it pretty much all my life I back myself more in basketball," he said.
"In boxing I am only a beginner. I don't go into fights with that arrogance that you need.
"But I don't go into the ring thinking I am going to lose. I am learning quickly."
Rudic backed himself to "at least" medal in the 91kg-plus division at Melbourne - thanks to his basketball skills.
"Boxing has a lot to do with footwork and basketball defence has the same footwork where you shuffle your feet rather than bounce around," he said.
"(So) I will be disappointed if I don't get at least a bronze."
The accidental boxer hopes to turn professional but only if he completes his "main goal" of competing at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.