Queenstown Winter Festival-goers getting ready to rumble

The countdown is on – only four weeks to go before a select group of Kiwi celebrities and Queenstown locals square off at the Winter Festival’s spectacular new charity boxing event.

Featuring 11 three-round bouts in front of a 1200-strong crowd at Queenstown Events Centre, the highly anticipated Mountain Scene “Thriller in the Chiller” on Sunday 27 June is expected to be a real knockout.

TV2 Lotto presenter Russell Harrison won’t be pulling any punches in his celebrity match up with former Kiwi rugby league hero Tawera Nikau after Nikau went one up in their Rotorua bout last year.

Another celebrity encounter will see TV3 Sports Tonight presenter Howard “Dobbo” Dobson go head to head with Times FM radio presenter Clint Brown.

Festival Director Simon Green says excitement is already building for the local bouts which will see representatives of Queenstown’s various business industries put their pride on the line for charity.

“These guys have worked really hard for the past four months to be match-ready and it’s been quite a life-changing experience for them. They’ve had huge support from the community and the atmosphere on the night is going to be electric. It’ll be a great night out and it’s all for a good cause,” he says.

The contenders are now into their final weeks of preparation after four months of training with Braden Lee and Darryl Giddens of Fight Science Gym.

All Thriller in the Chiller boxing bouts will be under the tight control of the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association. The bouts, in no particular order, include:
• Harcourts’ Richie 'The Assassin' Anderson and Albert 'The Velvet Sledgehammer' Voschezang from Bayleys. Real estate agents by day, the usually mild-mannered pair are vowing to put their best fist forward for their companies.
• The knives will be out when the Bathhouse’s Dugi 'Duganaught' Anderson and Sombreros Mexican Cantina’s Drew 'Hot Jalapeno' Harmer duke it out on behalf of their restaurants. The two heavyweights are fairly evenly matched so expect plenty of guts and glory.
• The battle of the bars - longtime Chico’s owner Grant 'The Brain Eraser' Murphy will take on Revolver’s Jono 'The Stampeding Southpaw' Stapleton. Both have been training hard and are raring to go.
• Local sparky Lee 'Lights Out' Exell and stonemason Scott 'The Golden Bear' Winter will test each other’s mettle in the “Trade Off”.
• There’ll be swinging and swirling as golf enthusiast Ben 'Bandy The Basher' O’Malley from Millbrook Resort takes on wine buff Tom 'Tommy Tiger' Macaulay from Amisfield Winery.
• Entertainers Shaun 'The Mantis' Vining and Shay 'The Muss' Muddle will show the crowd a good time.
• It’ll be a mighty matchup between Queenstown’s media magnates Richard 'Ginga Stinger' Thomas from Mountain Scene newspaper and local Radioworks boss Tim 'The Rock' Lockhart.
• Will money talk when it comes to the Blue collar versus White Collar bout? ANZ Bank’s Elliot 'The Money Shot' Daniel takes on Stewart Motors mechanic Luke 'The Smasher' Smeets.
• It’s all about Girlpower as new recruit Justine ‘Quick Draw’ McCall from SKYCITY Casino takes on AJ Hackett Bungy’s Vicki ‘Pow Pow’ Zadrozny after her original opponent retired through injury. While Ms McCall is at a training – and height – disadvantage, she’s more than happy to take it on the chin for charity.

Mr Green recommends Thriller in the Chiller attendees bring plenty of money along with them because there will be some “amazing items” up for grabs at the charity auction. All proceeds will go to the Festival’s official charity, the Wakatipu-based Bruce Grant Youth Trust which helps local youth achieve their dreams.

Tickets are still available from $39.

The American Express Queenstown Winter Festival runs from 25 June to 4 July 2010. For more information or for a programme please phone 0800 FESTIVAL (03 441 2453) or visit the Festival website www.winterfestival.co.nz.