Fisher ABC’s Caleb Awudi fulfilled his dream of honouring Steve Hiser by winning the Capital Cup Box Championship earlier this month.
In doing so, the eighteen-year-old became the latest star of the boxing club, and Hiser’s final champion ahead of the funeral of the late, great coach.
With just a handful of bouts behind him and experience very much not on his side, Awudi convinced the team to enter him into the competition because he saw winning it as a way to honour Hiser’s 50-year legacy of producing Fisher boxing champions.
Caleb said: “The team told me how hard it would be, but Steve has done so much for me and I wanted to make him proud.”
Awudi defeated Nathan Thomas in the semi-final. It was a blistering start from both fighters, both having a very even style. However, Awudi quickly dominated with his jab, putting Thomas on the back foot throughout the first round and scoring well.
Round two was more tactical from Awudi and Thomas, both fighters attempting to switch variations and throwing big rights to gain the advantage. Knowing he had it all to play for, Awudi threw himself into round three, again with a relentless forward attack, clearly having the measure of his man by now and he romped home to a clear victory.
Awudi faced Joshua Oladipo in the final. With Oladipo having a reputation for being a great counter-puncher, Awudi knew he would have to dig deep into his bag of tricks and use his versatility to win by showing an even higher level of technical thinking.
Round one started slowly with both fighters feeling each other out in an attempt to find their range.
The next round developed into an intense chess match of skill with both fighters scoring sharp jabs and using quick head movements.
Round three saw Awudi throw caution to the wind and stamp his trademark relentless pace on the bout with a mix of skilled footwork and long-range shots, upsetting Oladipo’s game-plan and taking a one-sided round to become the Capital Cup Box champion.
