Peau at loss to explain outcry

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 48

Peau at loss to explain outcry

PA Wellington The heavyweight star, Jimmy Peau, is at a loss to explain the reasoning behind the latest public outcry by his life-time trainer, Gerry Preston, who has threatened to sever his links, with the boxer. The 70-year-old veteran trainer has expressed his displeasure at Peau’s absence from the gym over the last two to three weeks with the all important bout against the American Howard Lake in Palmerston North just over a fortnight away. Mr Preston says that Peau’s absence from the gym is nearly the final straw in their stormy relationship — the pair have a history of public acrimony — and he is considering severing his links with the Commonwealth Games champion. Peau is bewildered. “I don’t know why Gerry does these things whether he wants to disrupt my concentration at important times, or what. “I have told him what I am doing and how I am training. I really don’t understand it.” Peau was forced on to the sidelines for a fortnight after his bout with the Englishman Henry Akinwande in which he severely blistered the soles of his feet when he took his boots off after the first round. The blisters have now completely healed and two-and-a-half weeks ago Peau began working out with the premier side of the Auckland rugby league club Ponsonby. Peau said he was finding the interval training methods hard but beneficial and felt they were fitting him superbly for his meeting with Lake. “I’ll be heading back to the gym soon though for some sparring — that’s vital,” he said, adding that he was unsure of the reception he would get from Mr Preston. “I’m not going to say a word,” he said. “I haven’t said anything and I told him what I was doing. I’ve got nothing to argue about. I go there to train.”