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Jack Brubaker controversially edges Tyrone Nurse

THE terms controversial and Australian boxing almost seem to go hand-in-hand.

On a night that should’ve been a celebration of the sports depth domestically, the vast majority of the sporting public have been left lamenting the disappointing officiating from the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales.

As expected, the fight played out in the form of a classic boxer versus puncher match-up.

Brubaker (now 14-2-1, 7 KOs) elected to force the more experienced and better schooled Nurse (now 35-4-2, 7 KOs) into a phone booth fight. Surprisingly, the Englishman obliged, accepting Brubaker’s invitation to trade from inside the pocket.

The popular Australian wasn’t particularly effective for large stretches, but may have been favoured due to his superior work-rate and willingness to chase Nurse across the ring.

The Britain’s shoulder-roll tactic appeared to work handsomely, until a momentary lapse in concentration allowed Brubaker to break through with his signature right-hand. After an unsuccessful attempt to head-hunt for the remaining minute, Brubaker began to work Nurse’s body.

By the time he opted for a change in direction, Nurse appeared to have found himself.

From that point onwards, normal service looked to have resumed with Nurse dictating the pace from distance while rarely forcing Brubaker backwards.

Perhaps sensing the momentum shift, the 26-year-old local upped his aggression and caught Nurse resting on his laurels in the eleventh. Due to the contrasting styles along with the proactive approach from Brubaker, it seems likely that the three ringside judges dismissed anything outside of outright aggressive.

The rounds that Brubaker won looked clear to most in attendance and to a portion of those viewing the event through the online stream hosting by Epicentre, with the fifth and sixth stanzas accompanied by the championship rounds looking like his best work.

Nurse was poised and proved difficult to hit, and on this particular night, he was deemed to have been unanimously outscored with Brubaker given a clear decision by margins of 115-113 and 116-112 twice.

“It was a tough, gruelling fight. Tyrone is a world-class [and] tough opponent,” said Brubaker in his post-fight interview with Rick Powell.

“I think in the past, I’m always an aggressive come forward fighter. I learned the hard way with Kris George, I did the same thing. I hurt him in round six – I was getting over the top of him – I lost my composure and rushed in,”

“You can get caught against these good opponents and unfortunately in my last fight I got cut. I kept my composure [tonight] and listened to my corner… I’ve got the dream team baby.”

Based on the reaction from Twitter, the verdict appeared to be widely unpopular:

In the feature attraction of the evening, Ben Savva finally put his long-running feud with social media entertainer Kyron Dryden to rest.

Despite mutual ill-feeling, the fight will be remembered for the laughable performance of referee Mick Heafey, who missed several infringements from both fighters.

The blundering nature of Heafey’s officiating was highlighted when he allowed both fighters to trade shots unattended in centre ring when looking for Dryden’s wayward mouthpiece.

Photo: Louie Abigail

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