Matt Crawford had ''Manawatu'' next to his name but the promising young boxer burst with Otago pride when he won a national title at the weekend.
Crawford (19) put his name next to some of the province's great fighters when he claimed the New Zealand amateur featherweight title in Auckland.
The southpaw bested Ivan Pavich (Kirikiriroa) by unanimous decision to claim the first national title by an Otago-based man since 1978.
It was also a good tournament for fellow Otago Boxing Academy representatives Cherine Henry and Bridget Sefton. Henry won the women's featherweight belt unopposed - her opponent did not make weight - and Sefton showed ability to claim the women's light-heavyweight title.
The three boxers technically represented Manawatu, following a dispute with the Otago association.
Coach Ryan Henry was delighted with the performance of his fighters. He said Crawford struck an extremely tough opponent in Pavich, but the young Otago man showed courage to dominate the important rounds.
''Matt had some good rips to the body and started to break him down,'' Henry said.
''It was a fairly even first round. Then Matt picked up the pace over the next two rounds.''
Crawford's performance was impressive, considering he had just had a protective cast removed from his left arm.
''Matt fought six weeks ago in Christchurch and broke a bone in his left thumb. He kept training every day, with his cast on, just working the good hand.
''The cast just came off in time because he may have missed the champs. He said he wanted to go because he's been working two years for it.
''Matt's a kid who is just absolutely dedicated. He's skinny. He'd blow away in a good wind. But he just works really hard.''
Crawford was also awarded the George Aldridge Memorial Cup, for the best bantamweight fighter, despite fighting at featherweight level.
He was the first Otago-based boxer to win an elite New Zealand men's amateur title since Ray Smith won the lightweight belt in 1978, Henry believed.
There was also excitement over the performance of Sefton, who beat Manawatu fighter Lisa Wamoana by majority decision in the women's 81kg final.
''It was really an excellent performance by Bridget,'' Henry said.
''She put a count on in the first round, which did us a big favour. Lisa was very tough but Bridget did really well.''
Sefton's win was the first by an Otago woman since Dawn Chalmers in 2003.
The other Otago Boxing Academy fighter, Cameron Yung, struck eventual lightweight champion Leroy Hindley in the semifinals and was beaten.
The event was a qualifier for the Oceania Games, so Crawford and the two women will be considered for selection.
The Dunedin-based fighters helped Manawatu win the overall points trophy, again highlighting a situation that neutrals would like to see resolved before next year.
''We'd love to have worn Otago colours. We definitely want to sort things out with Otago,'' Henry said.
