Above left: Cranbourne champion Shane ‘The Animal’ Brock destroyed Queenslander Matt Meredith in their bout for the vacant Australian Flyweight Title at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night. Inset: Brock dedicated his victory to his children, Lincoln, 4, and Courtney, 3.By Marc McGowan
IN just one minute and 52 seconds, Cranbourne boxing star Shane ‘The Animal’ Brock achieved his life-long dream of being an Australian champion at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
Fellow Cranbourne strongman Daniel ‘Porky’ Lovett (15 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws, 9 knockouts) also enjoyed success on the seven-fight card after a controversial lead-up.
Brock, 28, started at a hectic pace in the Australian Flyweight Title match-up, throwing all he had at Queenslander Matt Meredith.
A bevy of left-right combinations from Brock backed Meredith onto the ropes and the pastry cook had knocked his bloodied opponent out moments later, without a second round being required.
“We thought we’d be a bit stronger than him, so we tried from the word go and we kept working up to him,” Brock said moments after the fight.
“I thought he’d throw a bit more punches. He was a bit tentative and when I hit him with a few he didn’t like it and went back into his shell.”
The victory moved Brock’s record to nine wins, two losses, one draw and six knockouts, with the pair of defeats coming outside the flyweight division.
Brock revealed his inspiration for the significant triumph was his children, Lincoln, 4, and Courtney, 3.
“They are the most important things in my life and hopefully if I fight a day show they can watch me and be proud of me,” he said.
“Boxing is everything to me – it’s not just a sport. You know you’re not just sitting there, you are striving for something in your life and I’m very proud.”
Brock’s trainer Steve Kerr was ecstatic at his boxer’s accomplishment.
“He deserved it so much. He’ll wake up tomorrow morning as the Australian champ and that means a lot,” he said.
A week’s break awaits Brock before he ramps up for his next challenge against Cameroon’s Omari Kimwrea in Adelaide on 15 December.
With Brock’s demolition job complete, the crowd’s attention turned to Lovett, 24, and the spine-tingling chants of ‘Porky, Porky, Porky’ erupted around the arena.
Lovett watched as several opponents pulled out over the past few months and finally thought he had found a combatant in Kali Jacobus.
But the Vanuatuan brute, who had faxed through hospital documents from his country stating he was medically healthy, tested positive for Hepatitis B after promoter Barry Michael forced him to be checked by a local doctor.
With another prospective adversary ruled out, Lovett endured a restless Friday night before Alofa Solitua, who is deaf and was supposed to be battling Dylan Goddard on the undercard, was locked in on Saturday.
Solitua, 36, was an awkward proposition for Lovett as his 91-kilogram frame dwarfed the latter’s 78.9kg body.
Lovett began conservatively at the first bell before lifting his punch rate in the ensuing rounds and gradually getting on top.
Solitua, in just his third professional boxing fight after switching from kickboxing, was not in the physical shape of his younger opponent and tended to save himself for one short burst each round.
By the fourth round, the Cranbourne ball of muscle was punishing his Samoan challenger, with his lethal upper cut doing much of the damage.
Despite the slow-moving Solitua becoming increasingly battered, the fight went on, and Lovett raised a glove to the crowd at the end of the seventh round.
It was all over in the next, with Solitua’s corner throwing in the towel after another period of domination from Lovett.
“I was always confident because I knew I did all the work in training to fight anyone,” Lovett said.
“I did everything the corner asked. I boxed and didn’t get sucked in. I maybe sat on the ropes a bit much, but I saw his punches coming, so that didn’t faze me too much.”
Lovett’s mentor Jim Slatter praised his fighter and said it was a great preparation for either his Australian Light Heavyweight Title match with Tim Bell or a rematch with Nader Hamdan.
“Porky was awesome tonight,” he said.
“He couldn’t afford to make a mistake because if the other guy got a really clean hit with that weight it doesn’t matter if it’s a real lob one or a quick one – it can knock you over.”
Lovett will now wait to see whether rival promoters Keith Ellis, who looks after Bell, and Barry Michael can come to terms on a title bout.
With his first son due next month, Lovett will take some time off to look after his fiancee Chanel.
“It has changed the way I think already. It won’t change my life in boxing,” he said.
“Chanel has always been a big support for me and has been right behind me.”
