Peau put out ‘because of reputation’

Press, 29 July 1987, Page 76

Peau put out ‘because of reputation’

PA Auckland Heavyweight boxer, Jimmy Peau, believes his awesome reputation is the reason he was refused a late entry for the Oceania championship in Rarotonga.

“If it had been someone less well known I am sure he would have got in.

“It is obvious I would have won the gold medal but I also wanted to help the New Zealand team,” Peau said.

The Commonwealth champion withdrew from the New Zealand team when his wife, Helen Malloy, suffered a kidney complaint while giving birth to their first child on Friday.

Mother and child are both healthy now and Peau is disappointed his reason for initially withdrawing did not persuade opposing teams he deserved a chance.

Peau said he had only been training half-heart-edly during his wife’s pregnancy but was now back to serious work.

But the disappointment of missing the Oceania tournament is tempered for Peau by the chance it gives him to spend more time with his newborn baby.

He was present throughout the birth and described it as the greatest moment in his life. “It beats a Commonwealth gold medal any day,” he said. The couple have named their boy, Louis James, after Joe Louis and one of Peau’s grandfathers.

The New Zealand Boxing Council chairman, Allan Walker, was not surprised at the decision of rival team managers to refuse Jimmy Peau late entry back into the championships.

“It didn’t surprise me one little bit. The Oceania executive decided it would give the choice to managers of nations with heavyweights. That’s quite understandable, but they (the team managers) know damn well they would lose a heavyweight gold medal if Jimmy went,” Mr Walker said. America, Western Samoa, the Cook Islands and Australia were the countries involved.

News of a bout between the eventual Oceania heavyweight champion and Peau in Auckland caught Mr Walker by surprise and he reacted cautiously. If the fight is offered by the Oceania executive, just who bears the financial expenses of bringing the region’s champion might well influence the N.Z.B.C.’s thinking on staging it. “We’ll be doing everything possible to ensure Jimmy gets a fair go and we’d do everything in our power to see he gets any opportunities to get further ahead,” Mr Walker said.

Meanwhile, in Rarotonga, New Zealand has been favoured with a good draw and could supply the finalists in three weight divisions at the Oceania Boxing Championships. The light heavyweights, Raeli Raeli and Alan McNamara, appear likely to contest the final at their weight. McNamara will be first of the two to fight when he faces an American Samoan. Raeli

Raeli will fight on Wednesday. His first opponent will be Leasuasu Muamua of Western Samoa whom he knocked out on the way to winning the gold medal last year. The light middleweights, Frank Cunningham and Michael Bell, will also meet in the final should they win through. Of the two Bell has the harder draw. His first fight is against Sio Setefano of American Samoa who is quite highly regarded and the winner is then scheduled to meet Paul Duke of Australia. Colin Adamson and Shane Samuels also look likely to contest the bantamweight final. The only unfortunate aspect of the draw is in the light welter division where New Zealand’s Apelu loane and Colin Hunia will meet on Wednesday in a second round bout.

The draw has added an extra edge to the Kiwi camp with so many now likely to meet, especially in finals. The team captain, Billy Meehan, will be the first Kiwi up at the tournament when he takes on a Western Samoan in the featherweight division.

Meehan had been unable to put pressure on his right foot since arriving but after treatment from a local doctor the injury is recovering quickly and he should enter the ring close to 100 per cent.