Games boxers not in team

Press, 10 April 1978, Page 3

Games boxers not in team

By

JOHN COFFEY

Bill Byrne (Hutt Valley) and Paul Morgan (Canterbury), two boxers who only a few weeks ago seemed assured of representing New Zealand at Edmonton later this year, have failed to gain Commonwealth Games nominations. Both Byrne and Morgan, the national heavy-weight and feather-weight. titleholders respectively, were unbeaten in three bouts against highly regarded United States opponents in January but since then their stocks have slumped.

They lost their fights when the first Games trials were held at Lower Hutt last month and Byrne again had to concede the honours, if only by a 3-2 majority points decision, to the powerful George Stankovich (Auckland) in the final trials at Timaru on Saturday evening.

Morgan must have redeemed hin elf to some extent with his victory over the Australian representative, Gary Williams, at Timaru. Ho.. it appears that his loss to Jeff Smith (Wellington) at l ower Hutt created sufficient doubt in the minds of the oxing selectors (S. C. \shton, D. Gould, and D. Dunn) for them to leave Morgan out. If anything, the boxing panel was somewhat conservative in limiting itself to six nominees. The most ie d observers thought that seven competitors would be named: the six that were chosen plus Morgan.

The nominations. in order of ranking, are David Jackson (Hutt Valley), wel t e r-weight; Stankovich, heavy-weight; Dean Rackley (Nelson), light heavy-weight; Perry .ackl (Nelson), middleweight; Ronnie Jackson (Hutt Valley), light middle-weight; and Folasi Rayno (Auckland), light welter-weight. The icklanders, Stankovich and Rayno, have made the greatest advance during the sport’s build-up to the Games.

Of Yugoslavian and Maori descent, Stankovich was introduced to boxing by his *ather, George, when he w. age about nine. He has now' had 74 bouts, quite a number for a 19-year-old, and owes his strength to his handling of jack hammers and rock drills 1 . nis employment f r his fat-.er’s <"'• plosives and demolition business. ayno, a Samoan who has obvic ly had expert boxing tuteage, has made a marked impression since his arrival in Auckland. He is at present being guided Billy Opetaia.

Both Jackson brothers have mov up a division since they fought at the Christchurch Games in 1974. Ronnie Jackson had no chance to improve or harm his claims at Timaru because his Australian rival, Pat Hailwood, was a late withdrawal when he contracted food poisoning.