BLOW TO BOXER

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32352, 18 July 1970, Page 14

BLOW TO BOXER

N.Z. Rep. Too Heavy (N.Z.P.A. staff Correspondent) EDINBURGH. The Auckland boxer, A. Afakasi, had to move up a weight yesterday’ when he failed to make the IDst light welter-weight limit at the Commonwealth Games official weigh-in. Officials refused to reweigh Afakasi after ne had taken off the lib he was overweight at an early weigh-in. The manager of the New Zealand boxing section (Mr W. Darrell) thought that Afakasi would be given a second chance, but. when he tried to put his boxer on the scales again, Games officials ruled this was not allowed. "International rules state that you are given an hour to get off excess weight,” Mr Darrell said. “This ruling makes no sense at all.” In the heavier class, Afakasi will have to fight boxers who are 71b heavier than he is. The ruling on Afakasi was given by the director of boxing for the Games, Mr G. R. Johnstone. “You can only step in the scales once,” he said. “If we didn’t have this ruling you would have fighters cutting their hair and toe nails to make the weight. You can't allow this.” New Zealand’s other boxer, B. Kendall, of Christchurch, was also overweight when the time came to weigh in. However, he was more fortunate than Afakasi. He was directed to some trial scales, not the official feather-weight scales, and then managed to run off the extra pound he was carrying. Later, the New Zealand team manager (Mr J. McManemin) protested to Mr Johnstone, but it was rejected. “The New Zealand boxing team manager should have known the rules,” Mr Johnstone said. Mr McManemin then lodged a written protest, saying that in view of the fact that scales at the weigh-in centre were not labelled trial scales and final weigh-in scales, New Zealand would “respectfully suggest that Afakasi's case be given reconsideration.” The letter says that if the protest is rejected, New Zealand suggests such labelling be done at future Commonwealth Games.