Two Tāneatua Rugby Club members are still buzzing with joy that their efforts in a charity boxing event won the club $10,000.

At Battle of the Clubs on Saturday night in Tauranga, Tamarau Amoroa-Spence went up against Rūātoki’s Neelan (Nelly) Wera Cook and managed to secure the victory in what was dubbed the fight of the night.

His clubmate, Sitiveni Kutalele, who was also taking part, also picked up an impressive win as the pair claimed 42 percent of the votes for top fighters to earn the money for their small Eastern Bay club.

“First of all, I would like to thank the guys behind the scenes, who put this amazing event together,” Amoroa-Spence said.

He said defeating Wera-Cook was a big achievement.

“Winning the fight was a buzz, but to win the 10k caught me by surprise; I’m so grateful and blessed.

“I give it to Nelly, what a top man. We are actually related somewhere along the line as I’m from up the valley as well. He definitely brought it to me and made me work for it. Don’t get me wrong, that man has power, watch out. Mad respect for him.”

Amoroa-Spence put in a lot of hard work to make sure he was ready for the fight.

“The experience was next level. The six-week fight camp of hard work was so worth it in the end. Not only that, but I built huge relationships with a lot of new people in that short time.”

He said it was awesome to see the money heading to a small-town club.
“It’s so good to see it come home to a small grassroots club who really don’t have much in that small town.”

Amoroa-Spence said he’d recommend it to anyone wanting to be part of the event next time.

“I definitely would love to see other lads step up next time; it’s a brilliant idea for our clubs to get amongst, so hopefully next year we see more numbers.”

Fans on the night had to vote for their club and with a large turnout of supporters, Tāneatua came out victorious.

“Taney came in force, and it was so wicked. Me and Sitiveni got like 42 percent of the votes, which is pretty unreal, just shows how much support we had.”

Kutalele may have been a lot smaller than his opponent, but he showed off his potential in the ring and picked up an impressive victory. He was also named fighter of the night, capping off a great event for the Tāneatua pair.

Kutalele said it was an amazing event to be part of.

“It was very surreal. I went in without thinking about the money because Tauranga had the hometown advantage.

“But I guess people can’t deny the fact that I beat somebody almost 50 kilograms heavier; had to be a little impressive but all glory to God, I’m just overly proud of my efforts to get the win and to win that amount of money for such a grassroots club. It was such a super-humbling experience.”

Te Teko’s Keanu Moke won against Rangiuru’s Keanu Latimer, Poroporo pair Tamati Taylor and Caleb Foster were victorious against Liti Uilou and Kelvin Fraser of Katikati and Rangiuru respectively. Rūātoki’s Aymon Te Hauwaho also bagged a win by defeating Eastern Pirates Wiremu Te Rangi.

What the club does with the money is yet to be decided but it’s likely to include a congratulatory koha to the fighters and perhaps some club maintenance and youth development. This will be decided at the club’s next committee meeting.