JACK ASIS WINS IBO WORLD SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 12 Apr 2015
Jack Asis wins.
Hard-hitting Jack "Tne Assassin" Asis, a Filipino from Davao who fights out of Australia, won the IBO world super featherweight title with a smashing 8th round TKO over undefeated Aussie Kye ?Frenzy? MacKenzie in Newcastle on Saturday night.
The adopted Toowoomba boxer won in an emotionally charged atmosphere as he dedicated the victory to his onetime sparring partner Brayd Smith who died recently after he suffered a brain injury in a fight, with Asis paying tribute to his trainer and father of Brayd, Brendon Smith.
The win capped a remarkable rise for Asis (32-18-5, 17KO) from growing up on the streets in the Philippines to a potential world champion.
The Chronicle newspaper quoted Asis before the fight when he said "I'm very happy about it, the world title fight" Asis, who moved to Toowoomba three years ago said "I'm ready to go. This is my dream. I have worked hard for this."
The fighter who stood in his way was MacKenzie (14-0-0, 12KO), who was regarded as tough to beat since he had won his past 10 fights by knockouts.
Well-known Australian promoter and boxing manager Peter Maniatis told the New Standard/boxingmirror.com yesterday that it was ?a fantastic fight? in which MacKenzie started well and won the first three rounds but Asis was cool and collected and began to ?come on strong despite starting a little slow.?
Maniatis said it was ?an emotional evening as Asis dedicated his win to Brayd Smith whose father trains Asis at Smithy's Gym in Toowoomba.
His trainer-manager Brendon Smith said "It took a long time and credit to Jack. It is a big fight; a very tough fight. Kye MacKenzie is a very good fighter. He is 14-0. With 12 knockouts is a busy fighter. He had eight fights last year. He is on fire but we have a guy who has got his dream shot."
The Chronicle quoted Asis who said "I dream of this chance all my life. I've lived on the streets as a kid, I've lived with nothing, I've begged for food and it's that background that makes me appreciate what I have now. I appreciate the opportunity my team has created for me to fight for this world title and I won't let it go lightly.?
Asis, who is undefeated in his last 12 bouts - including a victory for the WBA Oceania World title ? was the underdog against Mackenzie who was regarded as one of Australia's hottest prospects.
When asked about MacKenzie, Asis said "I have no comment about my opponent. I'll do my best, I'll give it my all and hopefully it's enough to beat Kye Mackenzie and win the belt.?
The Chronicle quoted Asis who said "Kye is obviously a great fighter but I'm just worrying about myself and doing everything I can. I promise it'll be show time on Saturday night. I'm ready."
About 50 Toowoomba people made the trip down to support "The Assassin" in his world title bid as he acknowledged the support of his team saying "I've had a good preparation and great help from my team mates in the gym" even as he acknowledged his late sparring partner Brayd Smith along with guys like Steven Spark who he said ?helped me from day one of camp, as well as sparring partners Darren Askew, Josh Baillie, Sammy Williams and Will Young."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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