By Marcus Uhe
The stocks of Pakenham Boxing prodigy Riek Chuol continue to soar on the back of a successful trip to the Australian Club Championships with the Doveton Boxing Club, culminating in silverware and the potential for something even bigger.
Chuol headed to Adelaide with a goal of coming home with a belt around his waist, and he did just that by winning the final of the 57-kilogram Elite Open category.
He overcame last year’s national champion, Nicolas Geracitano in the semi final before dominating professional boxer James Winter in the final, with the fight stopped after just 90 seconds.
“He landed a couple of early heavy shots, and the kid didn’t recover,” Chuol’s coach, Ryan Wilson said.
“He came out pretty cautious, as normal, but he landed a really nice left hook early that rattled his opponent and went on.
“He gave a standing eight count, came in again (and there was) another standing eight count straight away, then another punch and they stopped it, within a minute and a half.
“He didn’t give his opponent a chance to really have a look.”
Chuol said the adjustment to fighting men for the first time was one that took some time to wrap his head around, and forced a slight change in approach, before finishing the weekend with the coveted championship belt around his waist.
“There were some nerves going into the fights because now I’m fighting grown men,” he said.
“I had to adjust and not try to bully too much.
“I used to fight kids all the time, and these (fighters) know what they’re doing, so I had to think a bit smarter, not stress too much about it and overthink it.
“I always dreamed about actually winning a belt and in the future I want to win more belts.
“Even though it’s an amatuer belt, it still means a lot.
“I really hope a world belt is around my waist.”
Adding to the occasion was the support of Hawthorn footballers Connor MacDonald, Mabior Chol, Changkuoth Jiath and Nick Watson in the crowd to watch the fight.
MacDonald is a product of the Doveton Football Club and his father was a former amatuer boxer himself.
“They all came and supported and that really motivated me for my final fight,” Chuol said.
“I wanted to show out.”
As a result of all his successes in the last 24 months since first stepping into the ring, Chuol has been invited to the Australian Institute of Sport to participate in a training camp at the combat sports high performance centre in late June.
He said the prospect of going to Canberra excites him, despite feeling a touch surreal.
“It doesn’t feel real sometimes, but I understand that I really put the work in, so I should expect it.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity and I’m happy to go and represent Doveton, Australia, my family.
“I can’t wait.”
Wilson said he’s made an irresistible case for his selection.
“They can’t ignore him now because he’s winning all the time, and winning quite easily now too,” Wilson said.
“They know his talents.”
Doveton’s other competitors impressed at the championships to maintain the club’s strong reputation in the Australian Boxing community.
Mehrab Aghajanzadeh lost a semi final in the heavily-contested 75-kilogram Elite Open category on a narrow points decision, and Barham Mohammadi won a silver medal in the 54 kilogram junior novice category.
“In (Mohammadi)’s first bout he lost the first two rounds and we called on him to stop the kid, and he did in the third round,” Wilson said.
“In the final he fought another local kid and there was probably only one or two punches in it, that was it.
“The kid he fought was quite decent so he did really well to get a silver medal on his third fight.”
Wilson was proud of what his young talents displayed on a big stage and hopes the club can come back even stronger in 2025.
“We’re always very competitive and wherever we go in Australia, everyone knows our club’s there to fight,” he said.
“Hopefully we can attack this with a bigger team.”
