Local fighters impress

Otago Daily Times

09-05-2025

Hurto Gym owner Rob Horrocks, left, with winning fighters Marcel Main and Otis Clairbrough, and Moki Larsson-Allen, at last weekend's Tory Fight Night 2 in Wellington. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Two young Queenstown fighters have returned from Wellington with wins under their belts following impressive performances at the Tory Fight Night 2.
Representing Rob Horrocks' Hurto Gym, Otis Clairbrough, 16, had a tough battle against Ahmad Faizi, of host Kruchain Muay Thai, starting fast in the first round landing some heavy shots.
Horrocks says his young charge did a great job of keeping his composure and picking his shots, managing to put his opponent down for an eight-count towards the end of the first round.
"The second and third rounds were very competitive, with Otis finding the cleaner, more effective shots, leading to a unanimous points victory."
Queenstown's Marcel Main, 19, then faced Kruchain's Sam Woodburn, who Horrocks says "came out strong from the first bell".
After heavy kicks and punches through the first round, Marcel eventually scored two knockdowns at the end of the round.
"In the second round, Marcel's opponent knew he had some ground to make up and came out hot, exchanging hard," Horrocks says.
"Marcel weathered the storm until he finished the fight with a high kick, followed by a barrage of punches causing the referee to call an end to the fight, earning him the TKO victory in round two."
Meantime Horrocks, who opened Hurto Gym in Arthurs Point's The Hangar co-working space earlier this year, is moving into a bigger space at the same site in a couple of weeks, meaning he can open up new membership availability.
He's also starting a Muay Thai basics three-week fundamentals course, from May 19, which will lead into The Gladiator eight-week training camp, running from June 16, and on to a fight night, for those wanting to test themselves under amateur Muay Thai rules.
Horrocks is planning to hold the show on August 9.
For more info, visit hurtogym.com