By Marcus Uhe
Doveton Boxing Club is beaming with pride over the latest successes of club prodigy Riek Chuol.
The 17-year-old Pakenham local was crowned ‘Best Boxer’ at the Under 19 and Elite Victorian State Titles 2023, held over the weekend of 27-28 May, and won the final of the Victorian 54-57kg Youth Male division.
Having qualified for the final on Saturday by defeating his opponent in the semi finals, the bout against the more experienced William Bardsley was stopped by the referee in the third round.
Chuol said he had to overcome some early-bout anxieties to claim the title.
“I felt really nervous at first, because that boxer was way more experienced than me, and anything could happen,” Chuol said.
“But I kept composed and I fought, because I knew my mum and my sister weren’t going to be there, because they’re in Africa at the moment.
“I fought my heart out, put it all in the ring and ended up having it stopped in the third round.”
It’s the latest step on a whirlwind journey for Chuol, who only took up boxing a little over 12 months ago.
Chuol tried his hand at other sports when he was younger, including football and basketball, but nothing grabbed his emotions quite like the one-on-one nature of boxing.
“I like how there’s no easy way out, you’ve got to practice hard and train hard to become the best,” he said.
Chuol makes the trek from Pakenham to Doveton five-to-six times a week to train under the guidance of his coach Ryan Wilson.
Wilson is excited for what the future holds for Chuol, who he described as an aggressive, strong and explosive fighter with a competitive thirst and determination to improve.
“He will do whatever he has to to win, he puts it all out there,” Wilson said.
“He doesn’t go half-hearted.
“He’s stopped probably more than half of his opponents which shows his style, because as an amateur boxer there’s not a lot of stoppages due to the big gloves and head guards.
“He’s long, he’s very big for his weight category, which is due to the build he has.
“A lot of boxers compete for these titles and they’re very hard titles to come by.
“He’s gone to the top very quickly, which is very hard.”
The result means he has qualified to fight for national titles in Adelaide later this year.
Chuol hasn’t set any benchmark on where he wants to get to, but is keeping his ambitions simple as he climbs the Australian ranks.
“(My goal is) to become the best boxer I can,” he said.
“If that is to become a world champion, or a professional, that’s where I want to take my talents in the sport.”
Wilson said he can see the potential in the young star.
“He’s only so green too, he’s got so much to learn…he’ll go a long way, this kid, if he can stick at it.”
