Boxing champs a prelude to Olympics

Hamilton boxer Eske Dost will know as little about her opponents as they will about her at next week's world championships, but that plays right into her tightly wrapped hands.

Dost, 31, heads to Barbados today as part of a six-strong New Zealand women's team and though she doesn't know who she will be fighting against, or their calibre, she expects her 60kg weight class to be filled with talent.

"Since it's been confirmed that women have been allowed to compete at the Olympics in 2012, I imagine a lot of girls will converge in the 60kg division, as well as the 48 and 75 divisions," Dost said.

"They're going to be the biggest divisions."

There will be upwards of 12 divisions at the world champs, but only three weight classes will be contested at the Olympics so Dost expects fighters to be gravitating towards those classes already to prepare for the Games, making her competition next week in Barbados even harder. However, the increased competition isn't being seen as a negative – quite the opposite.

"I think it's a great thing," she said. "The harder it is, the more adversity I have to overcome, the better a fighter I will be."

And because she doesn't know the other fighters, the focus during preparation has all been about making sure she is in tip-top shape.

If she could stick to her game plan, Dost said, the rest would take care of itself and regardless of results, the tournament would be beneficial. Dost – New Zealand's top 60kg fighter – is confident she and coach Rick Ellis have done all the work they can.

"For me, physically, that's not a nice place to be, but we've done a lot of work and we're well prepared," Dost said.

She is using the tournament as a barometer to see where she fits in on the world stage.

If she goes well, she knows her anonymity will be gone and other fighters will try to work her out, and if she doesn't, at least the nutritionist will know what she has to work on; food for thought if you will.

Nerves would play a part, she said, but working with a sports psychologist and sticking to a rigid routine would go some way to keeping those under wraps, she said.

The Olympics are Dost's big dream and something she has been working towards even before it was officially announced women's amateur boxing would be included in the London Games in 2012.

But a world championship is right up there too and Dost is hoping to perform well in the Caribbean to kick-start her shot at the Games.

Performing well in Barbados won't mean a ticket directly to London – that has to be earned closer to the time.

But it will help show Dost and Ellis the hours of hard work, and the sacrifice, were all worth it.

- © Fairfax NZ News