Ganoy’s class comes through in the end

In what can only be described as a war, Ranee ‘KO Kid’ Ganoy went about winning the hard way last Friday night (Dec. 2nd) in Melbourne on Western Showcase III.

Promoted by Jake Ellis of Team Ellis Promotions, the Western Sydney proud Filipino – Ranee ‘KO Kid’ Ganoy was the co-feature on an exciting, all-action card of boxing and whilst what was a fantastic victory, there were some anxious moments where Ganoy didn’t know what had hit him!

His opponent – Roy Tua Manihuruk of Indonesia and the ‘KO Kid’ – Ganoy at times, literally stood like they were in a phone box and teed off on one another with some of the biggest bombs seen!

In what was easily one of Australian boxing’s fights of the year, both boys can both be very proud of their efforts with fans ringside up on their feet cheering them on in applause.

The fight was back and forth throughout. Ganoy opened proceedings really well and took the 1st and 2nd rds. The jab was working really well for Ganoy and he was getting his shots off nicely. However Manihuruk upped tempo in the 3rd clearly winning. Rds 4 and 5 were simply put, both fighters declaring one another on and not an inch given by either fighter trading power punches. Manihuruk held rd 4 with Ganoy taking rd 5. To make matters worse, an accidental head clash in rd 4 didn’t help proceedings with Ganoy obtaining quite a nasty gash opening vertically above his right eye, up onto his forehead.

Going into the 6th rd, Manihuruk sensed he had Ganoy for the taking as Ranee quite literally gassed, his legs wobbling and was still groggy on his feet from the earlier head clash and went after Ganoy with all he could muster. Out on his feet from the ferocious trades of punches, it was Ganoy’s world-class chin, will and experience that pulled him through. Those same attributes came to the fore coming out for the 7th rd when Ganoy re-balanced and re-focused himself and knocked the game Manihuruk to the canvas with a beautiful right-hand, Manihuruk himself now lucky to survive the ten count and Ganoy winning the rd 10-8 comfortably, thus swinging the momentum firmly back in his favour. The 8th rd was the Ganoy class fans have come to expect and he closed the show, raining down shots on the brave Manihuruk for a convincing win.

The judges’ scorecards (78-74, 79-72, 78-73 – all in Ganoy favour) certainly wasn’t reflective of how good a fight, or for that matter how close it actually was. Again, both boys should be extremely proud of themselves. (Albeit with sore heads for a few days also!)

Now moving to a 32 win resume (28 of those by KO), Ranee and after the fight thanked his sponsors in centre ring– Lonsdale, Heritage Financial Solutions and the Trixle Group.

Ganoy obtained a pretty serious cut from a head clash (required 12 stitches) so not only was it a big effort by him to pull through in such emphatic fashion in the latter rds, but it was an outstanding effort by Ganoy’s corner, especially the cut man – Phil ‘Cuts’ Cropper who performed a mini-miracle holding the cut together so admirably between rds.

Ranee ‘KO Kid’ Ganoy –

“Oh boss that was hard work. Roy fought very hard and I should have kept on him at the start. He hit me with some good shots, but I wasn’t going to get beat, I won’t let him.” “I was surprised he got up in the 7th when I knocked him down, he was a tough boss and it was a good fight for both of us and the supporters.”

Mike Altamura – MJA Boxing and Ganoy Manager –

“Well that’s boxing for you isn’t it?” “How to age 10yrs in one night!” “Ranee gave us some really anxious moments there and to be honest, after six rounds, I thought it could’ve gone either way.” “Both boys should be so proud of the fight they brought the fans tonight, it was easily one of the better slugfests in Australia in 2011.”

“I’ll see how Ranee pulls up next week with the cut, but on face value, there will be rest time as with my experience, and where the cuts positioned, it’s generally a two-month proper healing process.”

“Whilst it was a great ‘fan’ fight, I have to say, I’m both happy and disappointed at the same time. Ranee boxed well early, but he lost his way in the middle stages and his lack of rounds was evident, as Manihuruk really battled his way into the fight. The head clash didn’t help but it was an accident and these things can happen. However to see Ranee give it absolutely everything in the final two rounds when I know he was almost physically spent, and then convincingly take those rounds, that tells me he still has the right hunger to be a fighter.”

“As I said, I’ll sit down and assess where we are at in the next few weeks with the cut, review the performance on tape and map out the 2012 plan.”

“Big thanks also to our corner team led by Graham Shaw. Phil ‘Cuts’ Cropper deserves a special mention for doing such a sterling job with Ranee’s cut and also to our sponsors who are so vital and important to us, thanks so much guys, wish we had more like you!”