In front of an exclusive and black-tie member’s only crowd at the Tattersalls Club in Brisbane the very first WBF title bout on Australian soil took place last Friday evening. In the main event for the vacant WBF Asia Pacific light heavyweight title, local hero Manny Vlamis scored a sixth round technical knockout over countryman Mark Flanagan.
It was an all-action, high paced and closely fought affair. Both athletes had their moments and both wanted to make a statement in the ring. Coming off a loss, Flanagan tried to get back on winning streak and get himself in position for a bigger title opportunity.The 20-years young fighter had a better start into the bout and was ahead on two of the three judge’s scorecards before being stopped by referee Cyril Cairns in the sixth.
With the victory, Vlamis moves to 8-2 with 5 knockouts. He might return to the ring in early July to fight for an Australian national title. Flanagan on the other hand falls to 6-3, losing two bouts in a row and just 14 days apart. Before his technical knockout loss to Vlamis on Friday, he was defeated by unbeaten Ben McCulloch just two weeks earlier by unanimous decision.
