Boxing night a hit

By Vatapuia Maiava 01 August 2016, 12:00AM

Hard hits, TKO’S, effective combos, a Minister in the ring, the appearance by world heavy weight contender, Lupesoliai Joseph Parker, successful auctions and so much more.

The Vailima Corporate Bash Fight Night 5, held last night at the Tuanaimato Gym 1, had it all.

Although the night was put together for entertainment and to raise funds for our Olympic team; guests were treated to some hidden boxing talents inside the ring.

With major sponsors Vailima making sure no glass was empty; the crowd enjoyed every bit of the night.

Businesses against businesses, fire department against the police department, friends against friends; not a shred of mercy was shown.

To the shock of the audience; Lupesoliai got into more than all the action that was expected of him; taking part in the prize giving for the young people and then judging a random pick fight which provided much entertainment for the guests.

The world class boxer even took the Minister of Communications and Information Technology (M.C.I.T.), Afamasaga Rico Tupai for some pad work in the ring.

“It’s pretty simple; I see a lot of young talent out here in Samoa,” Lupesoliai told the crowd.

“Like everyone said before, Samoan’s used to take all the Gold medals back in the days but at the moment we are a little bit slack.”

The heavyweight contender was pleased to see the support that boxing is getting here in Samoa but feels that there is still a need for more.

“It’s great to see all the referees and all of the people involved,” he said.

“You know Samoa is going to be at the top again soon; we just have to give them (young boxers) the support that they need; we have a lot of talent so let’s back them.

“Let’s back them, let’s give them the support, let’s encourage them, push them, give them the facilities and give them the equipment that they need.”

After his brief pad work in the ring, Afamasaga agreed that there is a need for more attention to be paid to the sport of boxing and the launch of the inter-school boxing competition is the first step towards that.

“We launched the competition yesterday and it is a very important milestone for the country,” he said.

“You know back in 1993 we took all the Gold medals except one for boxing in the South Pacific Games; this time we’re almost in the lowest rank.

“Now we’re bringing boxing to the schools; this also another way of solving the problem of facing others; the kids fighting on the road… let’s take it to the ring.”

And on health, “Let’s stay healthy for this country, let’s stay healthy for your families and let’s stay healthy for your children.”

The main reason for the night saw everyone reaching deep into their pockets to support our Rio 2016 Olympic team; a hefty $15,000 was raised for our young Olympic representatives.

By Vatapuia Maiava 01 August 2016, 12:00AM
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