Canterbury Bulldogs forward Tevita Pangai Jr has won his debut boxing match, defeating Gerico Cecil via TKO in the second round.
The four-round right looked unlikely to go the distance as Cecil absorbed a lot of blows from the former Panther and Bronco, but still managed to throw a few countershots of his own.
However, it was complete domination from Pangai in the opening minute of the second as the referee repeatedly requested Cecil to engage, but after some more punishment, the bell was rung after just over a minute.
AS IT HAPPENED: Hardman v Stowe, Pangai Jr v Cecil
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Pangai was congraluated by a healthy contingent of fans and members of the NRL community at ringside.
“He did very well for a first time, that’s for sure,” said Jeff Horn after the fight.
“He wasn’t just out there swinging wildly, it looked like he had a bit of boxing ability.”
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould said his new recruit “handled himself very well.”
https://twitter.com/PhilGould15/status/1467050749834121217
Elsewhere on the card, up-and-coming super featherweight Dana Coolwell won the Australian title by defeating Miles Zalewski via KO (although it could have ended earlier if not for a time-keeping error), while veteran Lucas Browne also grabbed a victory.
Browne came into his fight for the WBA heavyweight title against Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu as a massive outsider with the bookies, but came away with a sensational knockout win with just one second left in the seventh round.
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