Boxing issue

THE new chairman of the Boxing Commission of Fiji Dr Subhash Appana certainly sounded very enthusiastic and eager when he expounded his ideas and vision for the revival of the sport of boxing in Fiji on the TV program Extra Time on Wednesday night.

It is a sport that is considered to be one of the oldest in the world and one which is largely based on the rules that were refined by the Marquess of Queensberry back in the day.

I am sure no one will dispute that this noble sport in Fiji has been in the doldrums for some years now. A paradigm shift is certainly required to bring some semblance of order and structure back into how it is managed and operated in Fiji, so that it reaches the pinnacle that it is yet to achieve after all these years.

Most of us will remember with fondness the great local boxers of yesteryears such as Mosese Varasikete, Sakiusa Cawaru, Leweni Waqa, Filimoni Naliva, Sunia Cama, Niko Degei, Manasa Sisiwa, Mosese Kavika, Alipate Korovou, Sakiusa Dakua, Sitiveni Vakacegu, Sakaraia Ve, Jo Nitiva, Jo Ravudi, Sailasa Lesi, Basdeo, Jone Mataitini, Ambika Prasad, Vereniki Raiwalui, Matereti Valu, Anthony Naidu, Timoci Belo, Chris Blake, Ambika Prasad, Wili Tarika, Frank Atu, Joy Ali, and many, many others.

We also remember the many great boxing promoters, who had organised programs throughout our country over the years, some of whom are still promoting today, albeit not as often as in the past.

All of them in their own way, have made this sport so memorable and unforgettably entertaining over the years, despite some shortcomings in its governance and running.

We certainly owe to all of them the need to make boxing in Fiji great again.

Dr Appana might just have the solution for the way forward.

He certainly seems to have the resolve and will and most importantly, the enthusiasm and vigour to achieve it.

I just hope that he and his commission, are able to translate and factor these visionary ideas into a revived and focused set of rules and regulations, to enable the proper and effective management and administration of boxing in this country, in both the amateur and professional levels.

Of course, this has to be in compliance with the governing legislation and the international boxing standards and requirements.

At the end of the day, we hope that the inevitable paradigm shift, becomes a win-win situation for the sport and our country. However, while saying so, I also hope that Dr Appana won’t end up like the boxer who got KO’ed in the very first round, despite the great buildup and hype in the “pre-match fight talk” at the weigh in and media conference. I most certainly hope things don’t turn out that way. The new chairman and his team will most certainly have to “walk the talk” now and win with a unanimous decision, so as to enable a real revival to take place.

We can only wish them all the best. Like they say in boxing, “Seconds out’’ it’s time to “box on”.

Hopefully, you are all still standing after round 12 and the towel has not been thrown in.

EDWARD BLAKELOCK

Admiral Circle, Pacific Harbour