NAMBUCCA Heads’ Mitchell Whitelaw has continued his meteoric rise and bagged his first title belt as a professional boxer after a patient and clinical display at Tweed Heads.
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‘The White Lion’ was up against good mate Adam Stowe at the powerful Seagulls club, with the NSW light heavyweight title up for grabs.
Mitchell and Adam were initially reluctant to meet in the ring, but the case to get it on for both camps was compelling as the match was made.
Trained locally by Ian ‘Sparra’ Stapleton, Mitchell had the better of the opening rounds before Adam zoomed back into the contest on the back of a superior work rate.
“But it was always our plan to finish strongly and Mitchell had plenty left in the tank,” Sparra told the Guardian.
That theory was never tested though as in the sixth of the scheduled eight round bout, Mitchell snuck a straight right that tore Adam’s eye, leading to a TKO.
Watch Mitchell Whitelaw sparring with Mitchel Stapleton here
“All the hard work over the years paid off,” Mitchell said.
“I still have a couple of goals but with time, patience and persistence, I will give myself the best chance of reaching them.”
And he won’t have to wait long – as he’s pitted to meet Conor Wallace in a non-title fight at The Marriott at Surfers Paradise on December 21. Wallace has had just two fights as a pro, winning both by knockout.
“He’s another soutpaw and he’s obviously a bit of a banger,” Sparra said.
From there, Mitchell – whose record has moved to four wins and a draw – will defend his NSW crown at Seagulls against the well-ranked Turkish fighter Benji Dimitroski at Seagulls on March 16.
Meanwhile, two of Sparra’s amateur charges tasted success at the weekend.
Bellingen blaster Peter Conroy won a split decision over Toronto’s Reece Wooldridge at Wangi RSL Club. And that despite he was giving away age, weight and reach – as Peter is just 14 years of age and 75kg compared to his 16-year-old opponent who weighed in at 78.9kg.
“It was a big step up for him (Peter) but he looked good and he now has a two-and-one record,” Sparra said.
The other success story for the Nambucca stable at Wangi came in the form of Chris Ward – the 47-year-old having his first foray inside the ropes for 20 years.
Chris weighed in at 106kg, while his 33-year-old opponent monstered at 120kg – but it was Nambucca all the way as Chris was untroubled in a unanimous points decision after three rounds.