Monty Betham
Encyclopedia
Monty Betham is a professional boxer
and former rugby league
footballer and junior world karate
champion. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football for the New Zealand Warriors
of the National Rugby League
and for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
of Super League
.
Betham was runner-up on Season 4 of NZ Dancing With The Stars
in 2008.
He is considering a return to rugby league
with the New Zealand Warriors
.
junior and represented New Zealand in eight tests and also played for Samoa at the 2000 World Cup
. His position of choice was at Loose forward/Lock but he also played at hooker. On the field Betham was known for his aggressive style of play. He was once voted the player that the opposition players least want to pick a fight with during a nrl players poll.
in order to pursue a career in boxing
. Betham will start out in the cruiserweight division and hopes to work his way down to light heavyweight
.
Betham's father, also called Monty
, had 53 professional fights as a middleweight
or light heavyweight
from 1973-1982.
Betham is trained by Danny Codling and managed by Mick Watson
.
His first fight took place in Samoa
on the 31 March 2007. He defeated 15 fight veteran Vai Toevai in the sixth round.http://www.samoaobserver.ws/sports/SPNews/0407/0107sp001.htm
reality show Treasure Island:Pirates of the Pacific
. In March 2008 he competed on New Zealand Celebrity Joker Poker, he made it to the final three on the final episode before being eliminated (Shortland Street actor Craig Parker was the overall winner).
which starts in February 2008. On January 28, 2008 it was revealed on The Edge (radio station)
that Monty's professional dance partner would be Nerida Jantti (girlfriend of Shane Cortese
). On April 15, 2008 he was named runner-up (Temepara George being the overall winner).
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and former rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer and junior world karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
champion. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football for the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
and for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
of Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
.
Betham was runner-up on Season 4 of NZ Dancing With The Stars
Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a New Zealand television series based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing. The show introduces eight local celebrities paired with professional ballroom danceers who each week compete against each other in a competition to impress a panel of judges and the viewing...
in 2008.
He is considering a return to rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
with the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
.
Rugby league career
Betham was a Bay Roskill VikingsBay Roskill Vikings
The Bay Roskill Vikings are a rugby league football club based in Mount Roskill and Blockhouse Bay, New Zealand who compete in Auckland Rugby League's Sharman Cup competition. The club was established in 1979.-History:...
junior and represented New Zealand in eight tests and also played for Samoa at the 2000 World Cup
2000 Rugby League World Cup
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France...
. His position of choice was at Loose forward/Lock but he also played at hooker. On the field Betham was known for his aggressive style of play. He was once voted the player that the opposition players least want to pick a fight with during a nrl players poll.
Boxing career
In December 2006 Betham announced his retirement from rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
in order to pursue a career in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. Betham will start out in the cruiserweight division and hopes to work his way down to light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
.
Betham's father, also called Monty
Monty Betham (boxer)
Monty Betham was a professional boxer who fought boxers such as Tony Mundine, father of Anthony Mundine, Lance Revill, Carlos Marks,Greg McNamara and Semi Bula in a professional career beginning in 1973 up until 1984...
, had 53 professional fights as a middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
or light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
from 1973-1982.
Betham is trained by Danny Codling and managed by Mick Watson
Mick Watson
Mick Watson is an Australian businessman and the current director of sports at Rangitoto College.-Early life :Watson attended Parramatta Marist High School in Sydney's western suburbs, representing the school in cricket, rugby league, athletics and swimming.Between 1986 and 1992, Watson was...
.
His first fight took place in Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
on the 31 March 2007. He defeated 15 fight veteran Vai Toevai in the sixth round.http://www.samoaobserver.ws/sports/SPNews/0407/0107sp001.htm
Career highlights
- Junior Club: Papatoetoe & Bay Roskill
- First Grade Début: Round 1, Auckland v Sydney City at Aussie Stadium, March 8, 1999
- Career Stats: 101 career games to date scoring 10 tries
- Professional Boxing Début: On 31 March 2006 Monty Defeated Vai Toevai By KO In The Sixth Round Of Their Bout In Apia, Samoa.
- Boxing Career Record - 5-0-0
Reality TV
In 2007 Monty competed in New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
reality show Treasure Island:Pirates of the Pacific
Treasure Island (show)
Treasure Island is a popular reality television game show produced in New Zealand by Eyeworks Touchdown as well as in Ireland and Australia. In the show, contestants are isolated on a remote Fijian island and compete for a cash prize...
. In March 2008 he competed on New Zealand Celebrity Joker Poker, he made it to the final three on the final episode before being eliminated (Shortland Street actor Craig Parker was the overall winner).
Dancing With The Stars (New Zealand, Season 4)
In December 2007 it was announced that Monty will compete in season 4 of Dancing With The StarsDancing with the Stars (New Zealand TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a New Zealand television series based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing. The show introduces eight local celebrities paired with professional ballroom danceers who each week compete against each other in a competition to impress a panel of judges and the viewing...
which starts in February 2008. On January 28, 2008 it was revealed on The Edge (radio station)
The Edge (radio station)
The Edge FM is a MediaWorks New Zealand New Zealand youth radio network, playing predominantly pop, rock and R&B. The network's flagship is The Morning Madhouse with Jay Jay Feeney, Mike Puru and Dom Harvey....
that Monty's professional dance partner would be Nerida Jantti (girlfriend of Shane Cortese
Shane Cortese
Shane Cortese is a New Zealand actor and singer, known for his role as the evil Dominic Thompson on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street and Hayden Peters on hit show Outrageous Fortune. He was also a runner-up on Season 1 of NZ Dancing With The Stars in 2005.-Career:Cortese trained at...
). On April 15, 2008 he was named runner-up (Temepara George being the overall winner).
Filmography
- Treasure Island:Pirates of the Pacific (2007)
- Dancing With The Stars (Season 4, 2008)
- Celebrity Joker Poker (March 16 and March 30, 2008)
Personal life
After returning home from competing on Treasure Island, Monty and his wife Jaymie celebrated the birth of their first child, a son. Monty's wife is currently expecting their second child.External links
- Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
- Monty Betham Official Player Profile
- Monty Betham NRL Player Profile
- Monty Betham Jr. At Boxrec http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=386335
- Monty Betham Official Website http://www.montybetham.com/