Justice Boxing’s Steven Schenk (second from right) with the super middleweight G.L.L.B.I Australian title belt, won at the recent Apex Predator boxing tournament in Newcastle.
Three boxers from Justice Boxing in Echuca recently fought at the Apex Predator boxing tournament in Newcastle, with prodigy Steven Schenk taking out the main event.
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Schenk won the 78kg Australian League title by unanimous decision against local fighter David Dargin Jr.
Dargin Jr was set to be a formidable opponent, having also won a national championship at the Australian Amateur Boxing League national titles last year.
But Schenk rose to the challenge to dominate across the four two-minute rounds.
Dargin Jr was hit with a standing eight count in the third round, such was the precision and power displayed by the Echuca-trained boxer.
Schenk’s trainer Kris Burns said the referee was close to stopping the fight in the fourth round, given the damage the Bendigo product had inflicted upon his opponent.
With the win, Schenk now holds the super middleweight G.L.L.B.I Australian title belt.
Justice Boxing’s Kris Burns and Steven Schenk and David Dargin Jr with his trainer Shane Hunt.
But the road to victory in this fight wasn’t without its challenges, with the rowdy crowd of about 400 primarily supporting Dargin Jr.
The more significant obstacle was Schenk dropping a weight division to compete against the Newcastle boxer.
“It was very, very draining for Steven to be able to make that weight; very, very bad, and it's not something we’d do again,” Burns said.
“We just did it for the quality of the opposition, there's not many guys in Australia that are as good as Dave Dargin, and Steven really likes to challenge himself, so we were able to make that fight happen.
“Steven got the weight off, but probably the biggest fight was with the scales for that fight, to be honest.”
Schenk usually boxes at 81kg, cutting from 85kg, but for this fight he had to come all the way down to 78kg.
Burns said the significant weight reduction made the bout Schenk’s toughest to date.
Before the Newcastle bout, Schenk fought in another main event in Tasmania, also winning that bout by unanimous decision.
The young boxer continues to tick off major milestones.
The recent wins follow him taking out the Victorian elite belt at the Showdown at the Allies event in March, and a national championship at the Australian Amateur Boxing League national titles in 2025.
“Steven's a very special athlete,” Burns said.
“I’ve trained fighters for a lot of years and been privileged enough to train some very, very good ones, and compete at some very high levels, and Steven's as special as any athlete you’d be involved with.”
Schenk’s next fight is on Saturday, July 4 in Tamworth, where he faces Zac Brown in an elite bout, his opponent having represented Australia last year at the International Boxing Association’s men’s world boxing championships.
Justice Boxing also had two other boxers compete in Newcastle alongside Schenk.
Thor Burns lost on a split decision to Marcel Jajo from the SOLBOX boxing gym in the 55-60kg division, with the junior boxer opting to proceed with the fight despite being under the weather.
Elsewhere, Jamie Marek competed in the 75-80kg division, where he also lost on a split decision to Jesse Meiforth from Newcastle’s Boxcamp.
Marek has been adapting his style over the past six months, Burns stating that the two-time national champion needed to box smarter and more defensively as he was “going to war all the time”.
The trainer was pleased with Marek’s performance in the Newcastle bout, even if the result didn’t follow.
“He boxed the best he's ever boxed and he boxed against a top elite guy from the top gym in Newcastle,” Burns said.
“The guy he fought (Meiforth) was a top-level guy too, he's been a multiple Australian champion and all of that, and we thought Jamie did enough to win it, but it definitely wasn't a robbery, it was a close contest.
“I thought Jamie edged the first, lost the second and dominated the last.”
Marek, Schenk and Thor Burns will fly the flag for Justice Boxing again on July 19, each boxer competing at the Australian National Amateur Boxing Association’s Night of Mayhem event in Melbourne.
Schenk will look to win again when he competes for the 80-85kg title against Dan Hoolahan, while Burns is set to move up a weight division for his bout.
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