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Pakenham boxing sensation Riek Chuol is set to lead a trio of the Doveton Boxing Club’s finest and fiercest competitors on the national stage in South Australia this weekend.
Chuol, Mehrab Aghajanzadeh and Barham Mohammadi are heading to Adelaide for the National Club Championships on May 17 to 19 where they’ll don the green and black of Doveton colours in a points event.
Chuol will participate in the 57kg Elite Open class, Aghajanzadeh in the 75kg Elite Open and Mohammadi in the 54kg Junior Novice class with the eyes of the boxing community watching their every hook, jab and duck.
Competing in the elite category opens the door for Chuol and Aghajanzadeh to wrap a championship belt around their waist, should they take out their respective categories.
It will be a new frontier for Chuol, rapidly rising through the ranks of the boxing world after less than two years training at the Lace Street gym.
In 2023 he was crowned ‘Best Boxer’ and won the final of the Victorian 54-57kg Youth Male division at the Under 19 and Elite Victorian State Titles in May, and in July won the Under 57kg Youth Division National Championship at the Australian School’s Boxing Championships.
But now for the first time, Chuol will fight adults, having turned 18 earlier this year.
Stepping into the ring with people more experienced and older than him won’t be an entirely new experience, however, having honed his craft against adults while training at Doveton.
“It doesn’t alter anything, I just view them as a normal opponent,” Chuol said of his approach to fighting men compared to teenagers.
“When I first came to the gym I was sparring adults, I still spar adults now.”
While the field is yet to be determined, Chuol could find himself in the opposite corner to Charlie Senior, who will wear the green and gold in Paris having qualified for the Australian Olympic team.
Senior fought at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, but fell in a narrow loss to a Canadian fighter in the round of 16.
“If he’s there, I’m willing to fight, but it doesn’t matter who the opponents are, I just want to fight,” Chuol said of the prospect.
“It’s really exciting just going in the ring, because I know I’m going to give it my all, no matter what.
“If that happens, I’ll be ready.
“I’m really excited to get back into a tournament again.
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve been in a tournament, I’m happy to be back in the ring.”
Aghajanzadeh is young in his boxing journey, having stepped away from his first entry to Doveton when he was a teenager.
He lost a semi final fight at last year’s State Championships, but this Club Championships will be the biggest stage he has competed on to date.
The 22-year-old has been boxing for three years, having returned to the club as a 19-year-old on the recommendation from a friend.
He first entered the club as a 16-year-old, but did not last long in his first tenure.
“I missed it,” he said of his time away from the club.
“I used to go to the gym, then I started hitting the bags and that was enough for me.
“It makes me feel alive, it makes me feel good.”
Standing comfortably over six feet tall, the southpaw describes himself as an ”awkward” fighter, with long arms and a rangey reach.
He trains six times a week, while juggling life as an electrician.
Mohammadi, meanwhile, is the youngest of the three, competing in the novice category.
Despite lacking in experience, coach Ryan Wilson is impressed with the teenager’s temperament.
“He’s very tough and aggressive,” Wilson said.
“He boxes very composed for a kid who’s had one fight.
“That’s why we’re taking him – he boxes out of his experience, so I can put him with more experienced boxers.”
With each fighter having been born overseas – Chuol in Ethiopia, Aghajanzadeh in Iran and Mohammadi in Afghanistan – the trio will represent the cross section of diverse cultures that lie within the broader Doveton community.
Aghajanzadeh described Doveton Boxing Club as “family” and Wilson said he is “very proud” of the trio and what they have each overcome to get to where they are today.
“Doveton has changed and people have moved out to different suburbs and people have migrated here, and they’re doing the place proud, for their own communities as well (as) their own families,” Wilson said.
“The local community, they follow it religiously, what we do, and they’ve adopted these kids.
“Because they’re (here) every day and boxing is such a personal sport, that happens – they gravitate towards that and you’ve got to provide that set up for them.”
As for their chances at the Club Championships next week, Wilson believes strongly in their ability to capture silverware.
“We’ve got quite a few other boxers and I only take the ones that I think will win,” Wilson said
“I don’t take them over just to compete – we want to win, we don’t do that.
“They’re (at the club) five or six days a week.
“People drop off, that’s a big thing with boxing but these guys want it a bit more.
“They want to prove something, whether it’s for themselves or their family, just to show that people can do it from where they’ve come from.”
