Sweetest victory

By Kirra Livingstone

IN AN international debut to remember, Beerwah’s Dana ‘Deadly’ Coolwell dismantled his prevously undefeated opponent in Dubai over the weekend to re-establish his mark in the featherweight division and set the scene for a great year ahead.

Dana was at his nicknamed-best against hometown opponennt Hasibullah Ahmadi as he used distance and control to dictate the entire eight rounds at the Agenda Arena.

The one-sided battle was reflected in the final judges’ scores of 79-73, 79-73 and 80-72 , with Dana telling GC&M News he always felt in control.

“I felt I out-boxed him and out-landed the whole fight and to get the win I kept a great mixture over distance control, outpunching and overall boxing IQ to get the win,” he said.

Dana, who is now enjoying a few days holidays in the emirates, said it had been a strong lead-up to the fight, with the team from Hinterland Boxing spending an entire week in Dubai to acclimatise.

“The week in the lead-up was great… I kept a good balance of weight cutting, staying sharp and mentally preparing for the fight,” he said.

Speaking in commentary, former light heavyweight world chamption heaped praise on Dana saying it was an impressive outing and he would happily watch him fight any time.

Reflecting on the win, his first overseas and after an up and down 2022, Dana said he hoped the compelling result left an impression.

win in my international debut… especially over the hometown favourite, I came here to put on a show and great performance which I believe I did,” he said.

Coolwell has now won four of his last five bouts, three of which were by KO, and is now looking forward to what his international win will bring him in the future of his career.

“Thank you to everyone back home who stayed up to watch the fight, appreciate all the support,” Dana said.