Box: Kane heads Australia's bid for triple gold
By Paul Mulvey
MANCHESTER, Aug 1 AAP - Feisty bantamweight Justin Kane leads Australia's charge towardits best boxing performance in Commonwealth Games history with typical fightin' talk.
"I've come here for gold and that's what I'm gettin'," the 20-year-old declared afterwinning today's semi-final against local boy Mark Moran and a vocal home crowd.
Joining Kane in the finals on Saturday are fellow Sydney Olympians Paul Miller andDaniel Geale as they bid to better Australia's 1962 Commonwealth performance of two goldand two bronze.
Kane has been Australia's most aggressive and consistent boxer in Manchester.
But he faces another of the standout fighters of the tournament in Canadian AndrewKooner in what should be one of the best fights of the Games.
He vowed to make up for his immature attitude and quarter final loss in Sydney withgold in Manchester and believed his semi was a tougher hurdle than the final simply becauseof the home crowd.
He admitted he was worried the judges were being influenced late in the fight as Moraninched his way back with the crowd cheering every punch he threw.
"The Canadian is looking good, but that was a harder fight tonight just because ofhome crowd decision," Kane said.
"It was harder to score points than it will be against the Canadian."
Even so, he won't be changing his charging, attacking approach which has so far earnedhim two early stoppages and tonight's 26-24 win.
"I won't change my fight plan, it's worked this far," the Maroochydore concreter said.
"I've got one of the strongest punches in the 54kg division, I try using my power andsome of my skills, it always seems to work."
Just as Kane did against Moran, middleweight Miller knows he must beat the crowd asmuch as England's Steven Birch on Saturday.
"The coach says whenever you fight someone in their backyard, you have to do more thanwin, you have to win well, so I've got it all against me," he said.
Miller snuck into the 75kg final after Canadian Michael Walchuk threw a desperate lastpunch with two seconds left to level their semi final at 25-25 after four rounds.
The 23-year-old Queenslander then had an excruciating wait in the referee's hands beforehe was given the decision 92-84 on countback.
Geale had the most convincing passage into the final when he extended his record overNew Zealander Daniel Codling to 3-0 with a 27-13 win.
But the mild mannered Launceston welterweight again took a couple of rounds to warmup before coming home strongly in the final two rounds, a habit he can't afford to continueon the final against South African Kwanele Zulu.
"I'm going to have to have a look at that," he said.
"But I've come home in the last couple of fights which is what I've needed to do andit's proved the fitness is there.
"In the next one, I might have to do four hard rounds instead of two or three. He'sa tough, hard strong boxer and very fit for the four rounds."
Light heavyweight Ben McEachran couldn't make it four Australian finalists when helost his semi today to pick up the bronze.
AAP pmu/daw/nh
KEYWORD: GAMES BOX NIGHTLEAD
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