COOKTOWN teenager Samuel Kenny, best known in the gym as Kenny, is stepping through the ropes in Cairns this weekend for his second muaythai fight.
The 14-year-old began training at Cooktown Full Boar Thai Boxing Club under coach Vince Parkes and assistant coach Oliver Hanson earlier this year and impressed the team with his first bout in May.
“He’d only done 15 lessons and I said he wasn’t quite ready so we didn’t put his name down, but then they put a call out to fill a late pull out and we thought why not?” Parkes said.
“Kenny took the fight with three days’ notice and we really didn’t expect him to pull off a win, but he jumped in and just took the fight to the other kid and won convincingly.”
With a full three weeks of twice-daily fight training in preparation for this bout, assistant coach Oliver Hanson said he was confident Kenny would perform well.
“He’s fighting Steele Day from Nukzu, which is a tough gym in Cairns, and Steele’s had four fights for three wins,” Hanson said.
“But Kenny is fit and strong and well prepared.
“We’re really impressed with the effort he’s put into his training and looking forward to a good hard fight on Saturday.”
Visit www.fullboar.org for more information about the Full Boar Gym or head along to watch or join in open classes, which are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm at 17 Boundary Street, Cooktown.
