Daniel ‘Porky’ Lovett pins Samoan opponent Alofa Solitua with an fierce upper-cut during Saturday night’s bout at Dandenong Basketball Stadium. Pictures: Luke Plummer.
By Paul Pickering
BOXING assumed centre stage at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night, with a stirring seven-act melodrama that not even promoters Barry Michael and Brian Armatruda could have scripted.
Billed as ‘The Return of Porky’, the seven-bout card was destined to be dominated by the appearances of Cranbourne duo Daniel ‘Porky’ Lovett and Shane ‘The Animal’ Brock.
As most expected, the local heroes triumphed to the rapturous applause of the 1200-strong crowd, Brock securing the Australian Flyweight Title and Lovett the WBF Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight crown.
But there was nothing predictable about this tumultuous night at the fights.
Most scandalous was the late withdrawal of Lovett’s scheduled opponent, Kali Jacobus.
The Vanuatuan tested positive for Hepatitis B upon arriving in Australia – at the expense of the promotors – last week.
As an irate Michael explained, Jacobus had been cleared to fight by doctors in his home town.
“We’re not happy about it because I got faxed a copy of his blood test from the hospital in Vanuatu and it said he was clear,” Michael said.
“So, we’re pretty filthy on the whole thing.”
In Jacobus’ absence, Samoan Alofa Solitua was promoted from the undercard – where he was scheduled to fight Pascoe Vale cruiserweight Dylan Goddard.
Concerns that the Jacobus debacle would make a farce of the night’s headline act were quickly allayed by the courageous Samoan.
Profoundly deaf and contesting just his third professional fight, Solitua repeatedly absorbed Lovett’s hefty blows – and landed more than a few of his own – to extend the bout to the eighth round.
Having circled patiently around the ring for much of the first five rounds, Lovett assumed a familiar swagger after a series of explosive upper-cuts drew a torrent of blood from Solitua’s nose in the sixth.
As the chant of ‘Porky, Porky, Porky’ echoed throughout the stadium, Lovett’s power became too much for his battered opponent, with the referee mercifully terminating the fight midway through the eighth round.
While Lovett later admitted he had been distracted by the late change of opponent, he said it was a joy to fight in front of his home crowd again.
“I had a restless night’s sleep (after being notified of the change), but to finally lock it in and put our heads together and box smart,” he said.
Michael was liberal with his praise for both fighters.
“I thought Solitua fought beyond the call of duty, and I thought Porky was absolutely world-class,” he said.
“His stamina was great and he finished the fight without a mark on him.”
In stark contrast to Lovett’s war of attrition, the penultimate bout between Brock and ‘Mad’ Matt Meredith for the vacant Australian Flyweight Title was a rapid-fire demolition.
‘The Animal’ mauled his timid opponent from the opening bell, cornering him on the ropes for a fearful pummelling.
After just 112 seconds of the first round, the referee had seen enough and stepped in to prevent any further carnage.
After the fight, the diminutive pastry chef dedicated the victory to his son Lincoln, 4, and daughter Courtney, 3, saying he hoped they one day could watch the fight and be proud of their father.
With local fight fans satisfied by the contrasting victories of their home-town heroes, Dandenong Basketball Association general manager Peter Roach was delighted to report that the night was “trouble-free”.
Michael and Armatruda are now hoping to promote another card at Dandenong early next year, with a match-up between Lovett and Australian Light Heavyweight champion Tim Bell on the top of their list.
