Great Lakes College student Adam Koutts has emerged victorious from his first outing in the boxing ring.
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The 17-year-old travelled to Marks Point Sports Club at Lake Macquarie for the Box Camp Fight Night on Saturday, August 3, joined by trainer Shane Nielsen and fellow Great Lakes' boxers Ben Pascoe and Shant Nercessian, who were all representing Forster's Deliver Sportz gym.
Fighting first-time Maitland boxer Khye Heron over three two-minute rounds, Koutts showed quick hands and movement to outpoint his opponent and get the nod from the judges.
Nielsen said it was an impressive showing from his young prospect.
"He went really well," he said.
"It was all flowing easy."
With his first win behind him, Nielsen said they'd look to carry that momentum forward and try to line him up another fight soon.
"He's super keen," he said.
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Unfortunately, neither Pascoe or Nercessian enjoyed the same success on the night.
With 40-year-old Pascoe fighting his first bout in 10 years against a much younger, more experienced boxer, it was never going to be easy for him to get the win.
Nielsen believed he started the fight in great form and followed their game plan to the letter, but ran out of steam in the the final round.
"I was really happy with Benny's fight," he said.
"Everything we did in training he did."
He believed it was important for Pascoe to get the fight out of the way as it would help him build his ring fitness for future bouts.
He also acknowledged the class of Pascoe's opponent, who was a former NSW title winner.
"It was a great fight," Nielsen said.
"He (Pascoe) was matching it with him."
It was intense. The whole crowd was against us.
- Shane Nielsen
Nielsen's prized heavyweight, Shant Nercessian, was stopped in the third round of his professional debut.
Fighting undefeated Belmont boxer Jake Snowden in front of a vocal hometown crowd, Nielsen said Nercessian was treated to some dirty tactics from Snowden that eventually took their toll.
"He copped a few headbutts," he said.
"I didn't expect him to headbutt him."
Nielsen said Nercessian also fought too much of Snowden's fight, trying to out-punch the bigger fighter instead of using his jab and his boxing skills to keep him at bay.
The fight was eventually stopped by the ref late in the third round when Snowden trapped Nercessian against the ropes and unloaded a barrage of punches.
Although Nielsen believed Nercessian could've survived this attack and come back strong in the last round, he was nonetheless proud of all his fighters regardless of the results.
"They're in there, blowing the rust off and getting that first fight out of the way," he said.
"They'll be back better than ever now."
For Nielsen, his first time in the corner as a fully-fledged trainer was a dream come true.
"I loved it," he said.
"I wished I was in there fighting again."
Neither him or his fighters have any plans of slowing down either, with the boys getting straight back into the gym this week and Nielsen hoping to organise some fights in the local area in the future.
Chief among them will hopefully be a rematch between Nercessian and Snowden, once Nercessian has had a couple more professional fights.
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