Boxing: Now there’s 4 for Oceania

The Cook Islands will now have four boxers at the Oceania Boxing Championships in Samoa starting on 23 April.
Adi Narayan, Cook Islands Amateur Boxing Association (CIABA) president, made the announcement on Thursday following a meeting of the executive committee.
Previously three boxers, Vengi Hagai, Rima George and Ray Roumano, were confirmed. However, Marcus Jack of the Avatiu club, who had been training with the team, has been showing sufficient promise to warrant inclusion according to the committee.
Jack, who is just 17 years of age, has good potential. He has won four fights and lost two. While National Coach Tevita Vakalalabure preferred to allow Jack more time to develop further especially for the Youth Games next year, the committee agreed Jack would gain valuable experience from Oceania.
FUNDS
The late inclusion of Jack has meant pressure on the committee to raise the extra funds necessary to cover Jack’s travel and other costs.
In the meantime the team continues to train well and in the short time remaining, the National Coach will focus more on conditioning and ring craft.
All boxers are now 1.5kg below their division weight limit.
The challenge for the boxers and their coach has been to cram two months worth of training into just 2-3 weeks.
One snag that has occurred is that someone or some persons unknown, have made off with the large wooden boards that make up the floor of the international size boxing ring.
As a result of this untimely and mean spirited “theft” the committee has had to pay a large sum of money to replace these boards. They went missing from the back of the Ministry of Works premises in Arorangi.
FAREWELL
The team departs for Samoa next Saturday. On Thursday evening at the soccer complex in Matavera at 7.30pm, there will be a farewell function where the team will be presented with their uniforms by Minister for Sport Ngamau Munokoa. Supporters and well wishers are welcome to attend and are invited to bring a plate.
In other news, Jim Little has officially notified CIABA of his resignation as General Secretary of the Oceania Boxing Association.
CIABA has nominated Adi Narayan for the position and it is understood that Papua New Guinea are also nominating a candidate.
Little was also Oceania Boxing Technical Supervisor for the South Gacific Games and he has now asked Narayan to follow up a suitable candidate to replace him. Little remains an executive committee member of boxing’s international association, AIBA.

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