Paul Graham aiming for New Zealand boxing selection

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 38

Paul Graham aiming for New Zealand boxing selection

By

JOHN COFFEY

Paul Graham (Canterbury) and Johnny Wallace (Southland) have especially good reasons to perform with distinction for the New Zealand invitation amateur boxing team against Northern Ireland at the Richmond Workingmen’s Club tonight.

If Graham can beat Brendan O’Hara he could clinch the welterweight position in the full New Zealand side to meet the Irishmen in the test at Wellington next week. The national selectors have left their options open by bracketing Graham and Keith Bullock, of Wellington. Although there is a strong northern lobby for Bullock to fight in his home city, Graham would certainly enhance his prospects by beating O’Hara. O’Hara, aged 18, is the least experienced of the Irish tourists, but he is the senior champion of the strong Ulster province. Graham, aged 19, is stealing himself for a testing debut in open company.

“I feel all right. My training has been pretty hard, and I have had a lot of good sparring,” said Graham yesterday. Admitting to some nervousness before his ring appearances, Graham acknowledged that his matching with O’Hara was “quite a bit more important than most fights. I have much to gain or lose.” Graham had a quiet season last year, restricting himself to three bouts after winning the national inter-

mediate title in 1982. A busy bantamweight Wallace has already been chosen for the test, guaranteeing a return encounter with Roy Nash. The victor tonight will have a valuable psychological advantage in Wellington. These talented and comparatively tiny combatants have already found their niche in international boxing. Nash has represented Nothern Ireland in the past, and Wallace was a silver medallist at the recent Oceania championships in Taiwan. Wallace might soon be-

come a familiar figure in Canterbury boxing. He is making arrangements to transfer from Invercargill to Christchurch to join the gymnasium of his New Zealand trainer, Kevin Barry sen.

Two other southern-based competitors, Peter Warren (featherweight) and Eldon Clifton (lightweight), have cause for confidence against their Irish opponents tonight.

If the seasoned Warren has the fitness and form which earned him Commonwealth Games selection 18 months ago he will be a tough proposition for the youthful Brendan Lowe, while Clifton is to be confronted by another 18-year-old, Brian Catney. It would be a major surprise if the Irish light middleweight, Sam Storey, had his superb international record dented by Stephen Nicol (Manawatu). Storey’s brother, Gerry junior is strongly favoured to beat Rocky Fou (Wellington) in the middleweight contest, and Billy McClean’s previous international experience is liable to prove the undoing of Tom Turner (Dannevirke) in the light welterweight division. The Irish team has been

rated by national administrators as the most formidable to visit this country for at least 10 years. If the tourists justify their high rankings, any New Zealand successes will be worthy of acclaim.

Billy Meehan (Manawatu) and Michael Sykes (Rotorua), who had their Olympic Games amateur boxing hopes dashed by different selection committees in recent days, have been chosen for the test against Northern Ireland at Well-, ington next Thursday.

The Games nomination for Meehan was withdrawn by the sport’s officials last week, and Sykes was omitted by the Olympic selectors, last Monday. The team is. —

Bantamweight, Johnny Wallace (Southland); featherweight, Meehan; lightweight, Colin Hunia (Central North Island); light welterweight, Sykes; . light middleweight, Michael Flavell (Waikato); middleweight Perry Rackley (Nelson); welterweight, Paul Graham (Canterbury) or Keith Bullock (Wellington). Rackley’s selection is subject to him recovering from injury.