From New Zealand Boxrec Editor – Benjamin Watt:
Long vs Meleisea II ends in a DRAW
A very exciting fight between Sarah Long and Alrie Meleisea as these two exciting boxers reenter the rind to fight each other for the second time in a 4 rounder, However, the fight ended in a controversial draw with the judges large split.
This is the first time for Alrie Meleisea has competed in a boxing ring in nearly 2 years since her New Zealand title win over Sarah Long. however, this is also the first time Sarah Long first competed in a boxing ring in almost a year since her New Zealand title against Ashley Campbell. Both girls had something to prove as they try to go one step further towards a world title.
There is no denying the fight was a close fight, the first round was a classic feeling out stage between the two boxers, however, after the first round, there was a little pause while the doctor check on a previous fight injures. After a couple of minutes passed the doctor returned and the fight continued guns blazing between the two boxers. In the final round, both boxers were extremely tired as exhaust kicked in. Lots of holding and tosing happened before ending a fight of the night performance.
After the fight, there was a long pause before announcing the result which is generally a sign of a split of some sort. But the split was controversial from the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) judges. Judge 1 Adrian Bently who was acting as Supervisor of the night and the more experienced judge on the panel, had the card 40 – 36 to Alrie Meleisea. Judge 2 Kendall Cooper had the card 38 – 38 which was probably the most accurate score out of the judges. And finally, Judge 3 Smita Tailor who is the least experienced judge out of the panel had the scores 40 – 36 to Sarah Long.
The draw probably was the most deserving result of the fight, especially how close the fight was, however, it caused a lot of confusion after the fight with how different the judge’s scorecards are.
So what will happen next to the two boxers? A rematch between the two should happen before the end of the year. Possible for an 8 or 10 round fight for a title of some sort. What will also be interesting is to see what the boxrec rankings will produce with a draw, with Alrie most likely going down very so slightly and Sarah going up.
Press Release - New Zealand
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