‘N.Z. boxing coach should be sacked’

Press, 18 March 1988, Page 36

‘N.Z. boxing coach should be sacked’

By

JOHN COFFEY

It would be a waste sending Jimmy Peaui to the Olympic Games without restructuring the New Zealand boxing tdam’s management, the former national coach, Mr Kevin Barry.

! Mr Barry, of Christchurch, who was Peau’s trainer when he won a Commonwealth Games gold medal at Edinburgh two years ago, said yesterday the New Zealand Boxing Council should sack the officials who went to the pre-Olympic tournament in Seoul. Ther was no prospect of Peau fulfilling his potential while Alan Scaife was the New Zealand coach, said Mr Barry; The rift which developed between' Peau and Mr Scaife during the World Cup tournament in Yugoslavia last November continued to [ fester, he said. Because this country’s leading amateur boxer and the appointed Olympic coach were not in tune, the N.Z.B.C. chairman, Mr Allan Walker, had accompanied them to Seoul in the! guise of a peacemaker, j said Mr Barry. Mr Walker’s presence only served to keep old woundsj open, and the combination of Peau, Mr Scaife and Mr Walker would not be successful if they returned to Seoul for the Olympics in September, he said. Peau was knocked; out by a Russian opponent late in the first round of his opening ! bout at the pre-Olympic tournament bn Wednesday evening. Earlier, New Zealand’s other two representatives, Billy Meehan and Apelu loane, had lost by points decisions in their matchings against Bulgarian and Australian boxers. , “The pre-Olympic trip

i ~ • [ was a shambles, 1 from the start,” said Mr Barry, who was also New Zealand’s trainer at the 1984 Olympic in Los Angeles, where his son, Kevin jun„ won the light heavyweight silver medal. ‘[‘When the team left Auckland they were seen onl television in T-shirts and jeans, when they shbuld have been in New Zealand blazers. They looked as if they wereijust going off on a holiday instead of proudly wearing their country’s colours. ["How can you expect motivation and discpline from such an obviously slap-happy arrangement?” asked Mr Barry. f“I personally have faith in Jimmy Peau. He! has been handled wrongly since Edinburgh, and I blame the boxing administration for that. p i (“Surely the council has to look at Alan Scaife’s record as New Zealand

coach — it stinks. And boxing in New Zealand is suffering from [ the [ poor performances |[ against overseas opponents.” he said. I ' Only minutes after! 'Peau had won! his gold medal with a stunning! knock-out punch' at [Edinburgh Mr Barry xyarned Ahat the young Auckland woluldf have 'to be carefully nurtured if he was to • achieve his potential. j; ’ | “When he [fought - at Edinburgh Peau showed the ability to get hmong the medals in the Olympics,” said Mr] Barry. “It all seems to have gone out the back door since then and • the boxing Council has to try and'rectify the damage by getting rid of the coach.” ![ “It has been 1 downright disappointing to see all the good work we put in before the last Olympics going down [the | drain? New Zealand’s preparation has been shameful ■ compared to that of the Australians.; ' [[[ ... “I feel sorry for the fighters. They are i he victim's of these circumstances, the losers in the long term. [ They are [ simply not managed or; coached properly. “Now the officials are [ looking for scapegoats. [ Scaife blames the | boxers i in his team, Walker i blames the trainers back] in. New Zealand. Every- ! one is at fault except! themselves?’ [[sail Mr’ Barry. [ '• I [ .. [ Mr Barry said he would! "consider [ a [ comeback” if he was . approac lied by! /' national [ [ administrators. ‘ . i ■ i - ■ j