One of Australia’s greatest every heavyweight kickboxers, Steve McKinnon journeys down to Melbourne on Saturday night to face English fighter Joe Boobyer in what is sure to be an exciting main event to headline Powerplay 35.
McKinnon comes to the bout with an impressive 58 fight record (for an amazing 37 knockouts), while Boobyer represents somewhat of an unknown quantity to local fans in what will be his debut fight on Australian soil since moving to the country only a matter of months ago.
After being largely inactive from 2014 to 2016, McKinnon has revived his fight career with two wins this year, including a decision victory over Chinese fighter Su Zhihao back in June on the WLF 2017: Australia vs China show. Known for his aggressive and powerful style, McKinnon will likely go into the fight with a strategy to overwhelm Boobyer and land some heavy shots early on. Having previously competed in major global promotions such as Glory Kickboxing and faced some of Australia’s top muay thai stars in Thor Hoopman, Paul Slowinski and Nathan Corbett, McKinnon will be sure to draw on his big fight experience when taking on the new arrival.
Having only recently come to Australia before linking up with the strong team out of Absolute MMA in Melbourne, Boobyer will be a fresh face in a heavyweight division that has lacked a lot of dominant stars for a period of time now. He comes to the bout after living and training out of Thailand for the past few years and will have a tough task ahead of him if he is to dethrone one of the best the country has seen. In perhaps one of the biggest fights of his career, Boobyer will be looking to put on a show and really make a name for himself in the Australia fight scene with an impressive result over McKinnon. One of the major watch outs for Boobyer will be how quickly he can switch it on in the ring, having not fought since December of last year
In one of the main supporting bouts of the evening, two of the strongest young middleweight fighters in Australia will be squaring off over five rounds. The match-up between Huss Al Mansouri and Nathan Robson is sure to be one of the highlight fights of the night as both fighters come with impressive records and resumes.
The Bulldog Gym-trained fighter Robson, is proficient in different standup rule sets with many of his bouts on international promotions having been under K1 rules. Robson last fought back in July on the innovative ‘Tag Team Championship’ show in Queensland, where he and partner Jay Tonkin were able to overcome strong Queensland fighters Jake Moulden and Jonathan Aiulu to capture the Tag Team title.
His opponent, Al Mansouri returns to Melbourne after a short stint in Thailand living and training out of the strong Phuket Top Team gym. Having fought on top Chinese promotions Kunlun Fight and Wu Lin Feng (WLF), Al Mansouri is no stranger to fights on the big stage and will relish the opportunity to throw down with one of the division’s top rising stars. With both fighters holding Australian titles, the matchup represents a real opportunity for fans to see who is one of the strongest fighters in the weight division right now.
Also featured on the card is an exciting matchup between two currently undefeated fighters for the International Kickboxing Federation (IKBF) Victorian title. Both Mini Nachar and Jayden Wright will enter the ring on Saturday night with impressively clean records, but only one will walk out as the champion and with the loss column still empty. Wright will be stepping up in weight to take the opportunity and with both fighters winning their bouts more often than not with a stoppage, this is sure to be an exciting brawl for the fans in attendance.
The 35th edition of Powerplay takes place on Saturday night from the home of fight sports in Victoria, the Melbourne Pavillion. The show will also be streamed live via FiteTV.
Fight Card:
- Steve McKinnon vs. Joe Boobyer
- Huss Al Mansouri vs. Nathan Robson
- Jonathan Aiulu vs. Elliot Glenister
- Mini Nachar vs. Jayden Wright – WKBF Victorian title
- Tyrone Russell vs. Cory Barrett
- Jacob O’Connor vs Thomas Wilkins
