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Sports correspondent & historian with |
Last week I told the tale of Harry Johns who won the Jameson Belt in 1929 at just eighteen years of age.
This got me thinking about the Kiwi boxer who has made the biggest impression on me, since I got involved in New Zealand amateur boxing nearly four decades ago.
David Tua, with Olympic and World Championships bronze medals, and David Nyika's Olympic bronze medallion and two Commonwealth Games titles, stood out above all other contenders.
However my final pick, was originally trained in the far north of the country by larger-than-life Northland coach Bill Woods.
Kahukura Bentson, made his first appearance in the senior ranks at the Nationals in Taupo during 1997, where I made my nationals announcing debut.
His apprenticeship in the senior ranks continued in 1998 and 1999, before Kahukura broke through for his first senior title, at the Christchurch Nationals in 2000. He was also awarded the Jameson Belt.
A return to Taupo in 2001, resulted in the Central Auckland representative winning his second successive light middleweight crown.
The centenary of Boxing New Zealand, in Timaru in 2002, saw Bentson win a third consecutive light middleweight crown and his second Jameson Belt.
While Kahu didn’t box at the 2003 Nationals, he returned in the welterweight division at Invercargill in 2004, to win his fourth national crown.
In my opinion, his 2004 title, entitled the Central Auckland boxer to be ranked with the best of the post war era, as a three-time winner of the Jameson Belt. Not only had Bentson annexed the most scientific senior trophy in 2000, 2002 and 2004, but his National crown in Invercargill was an amazing fourth in succession, having not competed in 2003.
Always competitive, Kahukura was unable to add to his title tallies in the next six BNZ National Championships until he signed in at the 2012 nationals in Auckland.
Chasing his fifth national crown, Bentson booked a berth in the middleweight division.
There was no easy road for the four-time New Zealand titleholder. First up he squeezed past his quarterfinal opponent by just two points.
His semi-final with Tauranga pugilist Joseph Otterman was more of the same close quarter action. In front 10-8 after the first stanza the score was even at 16 points apiece at the end of round two.
The Auckland fighter grabbed a place in the final by way of a paper-thin margin of 24-23.
In the decider, Bentson squared off against Jarrod Westrupp, with the pair having previously met at the 2012 Golden Gloves, where Bentson had won a one-point decision.
At the end of the second round Bentson held a four-point advantage, however, a fantastic third round from Westrupp saw him hit the lead (24-23) with 20 seconds to go.
The crowd stirred at the sight of the 195-bout veteran, who rallied to take out a 25-24 decision, in earning his fifth New Zealand senior crown.
Kahukura Bentson certainly stamped his mark on amateur boxing in our nation, by winning five national titles in three weight divisions and being awarded the Jameson Belt on three occasions.
He wore the New Zealand uniform on numerous occasions, winning two Oceania titles, alongside representing his country at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
At the conclusion of the 2012 National Championships, Boxing New Zealand Chairman, Keith Walker, entered the ring and presented Kahukura with a special award to mark the end of an incredible 22-year amateur career.
