Morgan hit hard by voucher hiccup
Missing Christmas with his three young daughters was one gut punch Kiwi boxer Bowyn Morgan was willing to absorb.
But spending an extra week away from his young family due to not having a Covid-19 managed isolation voucher until December 24, feels like a low blow ahead of his super welterweight showdown against unbeaten Australian star Tim Tszyu in Sydney on December 16 Morgan (21-1) and his longtime trainer Phil Shatford leave Christchurch on Friday ahead of the bout which is a co-main event with the heavyweight contest between Mark Hunt and Paul Gallen at Bankwest Stadium.
Morgan and Shatford hoped to leave Sydney the following morning, enabling them to exit managed isolation in New Zealand on December 30.
Instead, they will arrive back in New Zealand on Christmas Eve and will not taste freedom from managed isolation until January 8.
That means if Tszyu and Morgan go the distance in the 10-round fight for Tszyu’s WBO Global and IBF Australasian titles, Morgan will essentially spend one day away from home for every minute he fights.
To be clear, no special treatment was expected. Morgan’s frustrations are with fight promoter No Limit Boxing, not the government or its voucher system.
The former Commonwealth Games representative understands some Kiwis are trying to get home for funerals and health emergencies, so he is grateful to be able to ply his trade in Australia, but admits he’s ‘‘pretty annoyed’’ the fight promoters were not able to secure a managed isolation voucher earlier.
Morgan signed the contract for the fight on October 8.
Managed isolation vouchers have become a hot commodity since the Covid-19 travel voucher system came into force on November 3 as Kiwis flock home in time for Christmas.
Morgan said it was his own team that chased up No Limit Boxing because they knew preChristmas vouchers were becoming scarce. ‘‘I’m still pretty annoyed about this. They knew this fight was happening a long time ago,’’ he told Stuff. ‘‘We won’t come out until January 8 and then it’s back to the working year.’’
For Shatford, the sacrifice is equally tough. He will miss Christmas and the first week of the New Year with his family and grandchildren for the first time.
But despite the disappointment, it’s a sacrifice that needs to be sucked up.
Morgan has had two fights knocked out before he’s made it to the ring because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, and he’s also been chasing a major international fight for more than two years. The Tszyu opportunity is easily the biggest of his career, so far. So regardless of the sacrifice of being away for Christmas, Morgan jumped at the opportunity, and he had support from his most influential supporters – his family. His partner Ruby was even behind the fight despite the fact Morgan won’t see his daughters Phoenix, Esmay and Aaliyah for essentially a month.
‘‘She said to me, ‘for an opportunity like this you’ve got to do it, otherwise you will regret it for the rest of your life’.’’
He expects the detachment from family to be far more difficult postfight – win, lose or draw – because pre-fight there is so much focus on the task at hand. ‘‘This is a very lonely sport.’’
Morgan has been travelling to Auckland every Thursday morning for sparring and arriving back on Sunday night for several weeks to get the right preparation for the Tszyu fight, sparring with exciting Kiwi middleweight prospect Andrei Mikhailovich at the talent factory that is Isaac Peach’s gym.
‘‘They’ve already not been seeing me much in the last couple of months,’’ Morgan said of his young family.
Morgan expects to wear out his phone with video calling in the month he will be separated from them, acknowledging it will be tough on the children.
‘‘I think once Christmas is over and New Years is over, and they realise Dad’s still not home it will start to set in.’’
‘‘Once Christmas is over and New Years is over, and they realise Dad’s still not home it will start to set in.’’
Bowyn Morgan on his family