Spencer Riys Goes For Gold

A young local boxing champion who narrowly missed out on gold in the Australian Title Final came hold with silver and is vying for gold in the next bout.

Spencer Riys is a 15-year-old boxer who fought hard for the title in his recent fight which led to a controversial result.

Spencer’s coach Dean Poppi said it was an amazing fight, and despite the result Spencer should be proud of his efforts.

“I thought Spencer got it and so did a lot of other people. It was a very controversial decision,” said Dean.

“They gave the other guy the decision but a lot of people thought that Spencer won the fight.”

“Spencer put an eight count on his opponent in the third round. An eight count is when the referee stops the fight counts and gives the other guy eight seconds to recover. It’s not a knockout, but it is to recover from being stunned.

“Spencer did really well in the first round, I thought he was pretty dominant. The second round was very close. The other guy came back, but then I told Spencer he had let the second round get too close. So, I said, you have got to take charge of the third round. And he did.”

Spencer has been boxing for less than two years and to be fighting in the Australian Title Final is a huge achievement.

Dean expects that following the result of this year, Spencer will be eyeing up the Gold in next year’s Australian Title.

Dean also said Spencer’s effort and dedication is fantastic.

“The kid backed himself, he went out, got his sponsors, and he did what he did, and worked for it,” said Dean.

“I'd like to give a thanks to him and his parents for putting it all together and the community, for really getting behind us.”

Photos supplied