+- NZBoxChat (https://nzboxchat.co.nz)
+-- Forum: NZBoxChat (https://nzboxchat.co.nz/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: NZBoxChat (https://nzboxchat.co.nz/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. (/showthread.php?tid=778)
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - bart - 05-03-2023
David Light in Hospital possible stroke or concussion
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 05-03-2023
Kiwi boxer David Light in hospital after suffering mild stroke
NZ Herald
3 May, 2023 10:35 AM
New Zealand boxer David Light is in Auckland hospital receiving treatment after becoming unwell upon returning home following his bout against Lawrence Okolie for the WBO cruiserweight title in Manchester on March 25.
Light reported no ill effects in the aftermath of the bout and returned home to New Zealand on April 1.
On April 5, Light began feeling unwell and sought medical attention. He underwent a CT scan, which was clear. He was diagnosed with delayed concussion and discharged.
The 31-year-old continued to have symptoms and on April 17 he was admitted to Waitakere hospital.
Light underwent surgery that night for “clot retrieval”. He has been diagnosed as suffering a mild stroke and is now recovering.
His doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
Light’s unanimous decision loss to Okolie in Manchester was the first defeat of his professional career.
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 05-07-2023
Boxing: Jerome Pampellone ready if shot at Artur Beterbiev and world title emerges
By Clay Wilson
One of the most menacing figures in boxing is on the radar for yet another Peach Boxing star closing in on a world title opportunity.
The gym based in the foothills of West Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges have their foot on the gas. Not only has super bantamweight Mea Motu become a world champion and David Light contested for a world cruiserweight belt, but middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich and light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone have moved themselves into title contending positions.
For the latter, last week’s Fight for Life was a statement.
A first-round stoppage of Mose Auimatagi, in a bout many expected to be more competitive, took Pampellone’s professional record to 16-0.
It could well see the IBF world No 8 jump inside the top five, with the sanctioning body set to update their rankings next week.
Pampellone’s promoter Dean Lonergan of D&L Events insists it also means the 26-year-old New Zealander is just two wins away from a shot at the IBF belt held by Russian star Artur Beterbiev.
Based in Canada since turning pro after the 2012 Olympics, 19-0 Beterbiev is boxing’s only world champion to win all his professional bouts by knockouts.
“The bigger the occasion, the harder the opponent, the better you’ll see from me,” Pampellone told the Herald on Sunday this week.
“It’s crazy what Beterbiev’s done. He’s a world champion. He’s knocked everyone out, but I know in this game everyone’s punching hard.
“If I had the opportunity to fight him, I’m going to be confident.”
They’re sentiments backed up by Isaac Peach.
The unwavering faith Peach Boxing’s head trainer has in all his charges is on full display as he talks about Pampellone’s prospects.
“I’ve had Jerome since he threw his first punch - he’s just a freak, he’s got freakish talent.
“I really want people to wake up and see this guy because this guy can be a world champion for a long time, and New Zealand’s got something really special here.
“When I say he wants Beterbiev, that’s the fight we want. I believe we will win that fight.”
Lonergan is in the process of mapping out next steps.
A fight against a top 10 opponent in a few months is in the pipeline, with the hope the IBF would rule that bout to be for their vacant No 2 position.
Win that and Pampellone likely takes on the IBF’s No 1 ranked German Michael Eifert for the right to challenge Beterbiev.
“Isaac Peach has been massive on Jerome Pampellone for a very long time, saying he’s ready to break out,” says Lonergan.
“Jerome is one of those guys who doesn’t talk too much, but he certainly does his talking in the ring.
“We’re going all out to get [to the title shot] as quickly as we possibly can for Jerome because we think he’s got the ability; he’s got the talent and he’s improving all the time.”
He’s also got one other key ingredient. True belief – a quality developed and molded in a gym where a relentless day in-day out grind has a singular purpose.
“We’ve got one goal in the gym, to win world titles. We don’t do smaller goals,’ says Peach.
“All the work is towards it and mentally that prepares them. We’ve developed a culture that no-one’s scared to fight. No one’s scared of taking that risk. No one’s scared to lose.
“I’m 100 per cent sure if I rang Jerome right now and said ‘you’re fighting Beterbiev in two months’, he’d be over the moon.”
Make his next steps in successful fashion and this rising Kiwi star might just get his wish.
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 05-19-2023
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/300884014/small-town-guy-david-nyika-ready-for-bigger-challenges
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 06-07-2023
I see that Hemi Ahio is fighting next month. Fa hasn't fought since October, 2022. Is that it for him?
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 06-14-2023
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/boxing-kiwi-middleweight-andrei-mikhailovich-now-two-steps-away-from-world-title/WIBXKCCHJVHL7DF7C2JNIIBALM/
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 06-24-2023
Hemi Ahio fired up for must-win heavyweight shootout in the US
Sam Wilson
Kiwi heavyweight Hemi Ahio is looking to get his career back on track after a surprise defeat last year.
Heavyweight fight: Hemi Ahio v Mike Balogun. Where: FireLake Arena, Shawnee, Oklahoma. When: Sunday, July 23 (NZT). Coverage: Live on ESPN
Hemi Ahio plans on being the last man standing when he and fellow heavyweight gunslinger Mike Balogun face off in the Old American West next month.
With 31 knockouts between them in 42 fights, few expect the scheduled eight-round shootout between New Zealand's Ahio (20-1, 15 KOs) and Maryland native Balogun (20-1, 16 KOs) to go the distance at the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Especially with Ahio promising to enter the ring on July 23 (NZT) with a killer mentality as he looks to get back on the horse after suffering his first career defeat to Faiga 'Django' Opelu late last year.
The 32-year-old Aucklander returned to the win column after a routine first-round stoppage of journeyman Richie Stanley (0-4, 0 KOs) in February, but will get a much stiffer test of his credentials from the hard-punching Balogun, a former NFL linebacker who made one appearance for the Buffalo Bills in the 2010-11 season.
Hemi Ahio admits he "froze" in the ring against Faiga 'Django' Opelu and hopes to secure a rematch.
After finding his chances limited in gridiron, Balgoun took up boxing instead, turning professional in 2014. He reeled off 20 successive wins (16 early) to earn himself a shot at the vacant WBA Intercontinental heavyweight title in March.
However, the 39-year-old was no match for highly-rated Russian Murat Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs), succumbing to a crushing second round stoppage defeat in the Armenian capital Yerevan.
Which means both Ahio and Balogun have a point to prove when they meet on the undercard of Australian George Kambosos Jr's IBO world lightweight title challenge against Maxi Hughes.
He may not be drinking in the last chance saloon yet, but Ahio – who only started boxing a decade ago to learn self-defence after being stabbed at an Auckland bus stop – knows another defeat would relegate him to mere journeyman status.
“We're ready to go,” said Ahio, who trains under Doug Viney and Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman at the City Kickboxing Gym.
“I was told about this fight like three months ago and then it died down but I just kept training and training and training, and now it's been confirmed.
“I'm going to knock him out, bro.”
To prepare for Balogun, who like the 183cm Ahio is on the smaller side for a heavyweight, the New Zealander has been “doing a lot of rounds with lighter guys, cruiserweights and light heavyweights”.
And while respectful of his power (“sixteen KOs is a big number to have on your record”) Ahio was nevertheless confident of getting his hand raised against a fighter who is ranked 60 places above him by BoxRec.
Linebacker Mike Balogun made one appearance for the Buffalo Bills during the 2010-11 NFL season.
Should he emerge victorious, then Ahio would very much love to run back his fight with Australia-based Samoan slugger Opelu (15-4-2, 11 KOs), which ended in a fourth-round TKO defeat when the referee waved it off with Ahio taking punishment in the corner.
The usually aggressive Ahio looked strangely subdued from the opening bell in Melbourne and while not one to offer excuses, said he didn't feel right on the day.
“That whole camp I was fit, everything was right. Even up to when I got into the ring I still felt good,” Ahio said. “Then in the first five seconds [of the fight], something came over me – I just froze in the ring. I couldn't really move. I don't know what it was.
“I started loosening up, maybe about round three, but it was too late. I watched the highlights and I looked so bad. I didn't feel that my head was ringing as much [as it was] from those punches.
“Respect to him, he kept coming forward but I don't know what happened to me in that fight. I didn't do myself justice.”
Of course, Ahio's compatriot Joseph Parker had no such trouble against Opelu, blasting him out in the opening round last month and demonstrating that there really are levels to this game.
Ahio was impressed by what he saw (“Parker got him pretty good in that one!”) and believes he could do the same in a rematch.
But first he must take care of business against Balogun to remain relevant in the heavyweight scene. With the backing of influential US promoter Lou DiBella, there will be further opportunities for Ahio so long as he wins and wins well on his third appearance in the United States.
“I want to get this guy first, and then I'm hoping I'll get a few more [fights this year],” said Ahio. “I'm hoping for at least three.”
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 07-06-2023
Shane Cameron relives crushing by David Tua in Fight of the Century
NZ Herald
6 Jul, 2023 04:00 PM
It’s 14 years since an unforgettable night in New Zealand sport, when David Tua crushed fellow heavyweight boxer Shane Cameron in the so-called Fight of the Century.
The eagerly anticipated clash between the Kiwi stars had been a long time in the making, but was over in a brutal flash.
Anyone who saw Tua’s brilliant assault in Hamilton, which finished Cameron off in round two, will never forget it. But Cameron, who had no recollection of what happened, watched the fight video for the first time just last week.
“I’ve just done a video commending Tua and put it on social media,” the 45-year-old Cameron told Gold’s Country Sport Breakfast host Brian Kelly.
“It was just one of those nights. Fourteen years later, I watched the fight last week for the very first time. [I thought] is that all I did, just move around? He caught me early and I never recovered.
“I’d been caught by some blokes in my time and knew what was happening, but when he caught me I didn’t know anything. When I watched the replay I thought, oh, that’s what I did.”
Cameron said that as a boxer on the rise, he had called out Tua - who fought Lennox Lewis for the world crown in 2000 - to help build his own career “when I was a nobody”.
The boot was on the other foot when Tua returned serve later.
“He needed me more than I needed him then, and I thought, I don’t need this fight – I’m only a couple of fights away from a world title,” said Cameron, whose world ranking reached as high as six.
“But I’m a man of my word and took the fight, and it didn’t go well for me that night.”
Cameron said the old rivals get on well now.
“We didn’t at the time. It was strictly business promoting it, then it got personal,” he said. “By hey, we’re not playing marbles here. That’s what boxing can be. You say things in the heat of the moment – that’s just life.”
Cameron is still involved in boxing and fitness, with an equipment company, app and gym.
He said Kiwi boxing was in its healthiest state for a long time, and reckoned he and Tua could take a lot of credit for that.
When asked about a rematch with the 50-year-old Tua, instincts kicked in.
“I’m ready…I’m sure he is too,” Cameron said.
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 07-09-2023
From a world title fight to never boxing again: David Light opens up on blood clot battle, surviving stroke
By Clay Wilson
9 Jul, 2023 06:18 AM
Just three-and-a-half months ago, David Light was at the peak of his boxing powers. Today, his career is over as he fights a battle of a different kind. Speaking publicly for the first-time since having surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain, Light tells Clay Wilson about his life-changing ordeal, his days in the ring being done and finding perspective and positivity in what the future holds.
David Light’s eyes light up, as he lifts the lid on a nondescript box.
A wide smile becomes wider as he looks up at coach Isaac Peach and pulls out a glistening gold belt. The shiny new strap is for the WBO Global title, arriving seven months after Light won it by upsetting American Brandon Glanton in Florida, earning a shot at the organisation’s top prize in the process.
The arrival of the belt is a pleasant surprise, and a reminder of the heights he had reached just a few months prior. Light had earned a world title shot against British star Lawrence Okolie, before his world changed in an instant.
As he sits down with the Herald at the Peach Boxing gym in west Auckland, 10 weeks have passed since Light was in surgery. In hospital, a tube was inserted at his groin and slid all the way up his body to the back of his brain to remove a blood clot; this procedure caused a mild stroke.
“When it first happened, it was really hard,” Light says. “From just having had a world title fight to being in a hospital bed and not being able to move much was a big shock to my whole system.”
Light is expected to make a full recovery. He is up and about and well on his way. But the blood clot surgery, and ensuing stroke, has left him relearning to use his entire right side.
Everyday tasks like brushing his teeth and drinking are still easier with his left hand. Light jokes his memory is “even worse than it was”, but he hasn’t forgotten how immediate the telltale signs of a blood clot were in the aftermath of his points-decision loss to undefeated champion Okolie in late March.
“I felt it pretty much as soon as I got back [to the hotel] that night. I couldn’t remember when I got home. I was sleeping a lot.
“I got better but then I did the flight. I got back to New Zealand and I just slept for probably more than a week, and I couldn’t remember getting home or anything.”
It didn’t go unnoticed by Peach. “Once he got home and he’d come to the gym a few times, I thought something was wrong. I had a gut feeling.”
A CT scan on Light’s first visit to hospital revealed nothing untoward, leading to a diagnosis of delayed concussion. But all was not well.
“I was walking around the hospital after that and I forgot where I was going,” he says. “I got lost. The person who dropped me off, I couldn’t find them.”
The memory struggles and intense fatigue continued until, 12 days later, the situation ramped up even further. After hearing banging on walls, Light’s flatmate found him outside at 2am holding his head and in serious pain.
An ambulance ride back to hospital led to more scans, doctors eventually finding the clot after running dye through the blood in his brain. The surgery was a success, but the next few days were tough, and not just on Light.
“It was terrible,” Peach says. “Quite shocking. It was hard because his teammates all had big fights that week. I had Mea [Motu], Jerome [Pampellone] and Russian [Andrei Mikhailovich] all fighting at Fight for Life.
“I didn’t want them to see him before their fights because he was in a really bad way, but it was one of the worst weeks of my life.”
And it was a week that marked the end of Light’s lifelong dream at the age of just 31.
“It took a while,” says Light. “But when I really realised I was never going to box again it hit me pretty big. You think your life is going one direction, then all of a sudden it takes a big right turn.”
But as he sees it, anyway, not a turn for the worst.
“Oh man, when you’ve been in the stroke ward and you see what some people have gone through, it’ll give you a different perspective.
“Mine was a minor stroke, so it made me realise it could’ve been a lot worse and I’m pretty lucky.
“When you’re a professional athlete, you have to stop when you’re young, but then you’ve got another 40-50 years to live.
“I dunno, sometimes I think about fights or the fight game, but it’s just part of life. Now I just have to look at the next thing, there’s no point in looking back. Boxing was going to end. Now it has ended and the decision was made for me. I’m glad I didn’t have to decide, I guess.”
“I don’t think you pick your thing in life. I see it as you being picked.”
For Peach, and the rest of his teammates and friends from the gym, Light’s positive attitude has made it easier. But the gym’s founder and head coach admits he’s still coming to terms with everything that’s transpired.
“David comes to the gym, he’s happy here, but as a coach it’s been hard. You feel guilty and there’s a lot of shit emotions that go with it.
“You’re responsible for your fighters, so you go through a whole lot of self-blame and thinking about ways you could have done things differently. They come and go, but I know it’s natural so I’m OK with it. I accept that you can’t go back and change anything, and I don’t know if I would.”
Part of Peach’s reasoning for that is the thorough, and mandatory, brain scans and checks Light had in Manchester prior to the fight with Okolie.
Scans and checks he passed, along with several more once back in New Zealand that didn’t reveal anything serious.
“You go for your everyday MRI, you’re not finding it,” Peach says. “In a perfect world, yeah sweet, let’s have one every week, but it doesn’t work like that.
“David’s situation is really hard because it’s so close to home, but I’ve been in boxing over 20 years and this is the first time for us having an incident like this.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Light, who’s only message to other fighters is to always make health their No 1 priority.
“If I could box all over again, I’d probably still do it, knowing what can happen.
“Everything can kill you. There’s other sports where people have been horribly injured. Driving around can kill you, more people die from that than plane crashes.
“You can’t be afraid of life, you’ve just got to do what you can. I’ve got to get better now and I can still be part of the team.”
For now, that’s just in a support role for his world-title holding and contending teammates, but coaching is also on Light’s radar. Just try and keep him away from this humble yet high-achieving little gym in the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges.
“I don’t think you pick your thing in life. Maybe if I got to pick my thing it would be different, but I see it as you being picked.
“I feel like boxing is definitely part of my life so I’ll be here and however I can help, I definitely will.”
Whatever that ends up looking like, Peach is confident Light will continue to be a success – a bright future ahead, with a lasting legacy already laid down.
“It’s kind of sad, because David and I started this Peach Boxing thing in a sense.
“He was my guy that put us on the map. We tackled the world, he took all the risks for us to learn the way to go about getting the others there, too.
“For us to get to that world title fight, it’s ridiculous. We didn’t have the know-how or anything.
“His boxing career will always be a happy thing, and once he’s better, it’s going to make for one hell of a story.”
For a boxer with a Commonwealth Games silver medal, a professional record of 20 wins and just one loss, and a world title challenge on the other side of the planet – you get the feeling it already is.
Clay Wilson is Sport News Director for Newstalk ZB, and has been a sports journalist since 2010. Being ringside in the middle of Millenium Stadium for a boxing world title fight, as 80,000 Brits belted out Sweet Caroline, is a moment he’ll find hard to top.
RE: NZ boxing - News,Views and gossip. - diehard - 07-18-2023
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/300930060/world-champions-mea-motu-and-lani-daniels-to-headline-boxing-card-in-auckland