A Soul destroyer
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THE choice, light heavyweight Daniel Mckinnon admits, wasn’t exactly a difficult one to make.
He could continue to work as a chef and earn a decent living, albeit stressfully.
Or he could put the pots and pans back in the cupboard, dust off his boxing gloves and head for the bright lights of Auckland.
In the City of Sails, there was work for him as a trainer at Shane Cameron’s gym and, as his friends told him time and again, if he was serious about this professional boxing thing, he needed to make a choice.
And so, just over two months ago, Mckinnon finally listened.
‘‘I can cook when I’m 50 but I won’t be able to fight when I’m that old, will I?’’ he says.
On Friday night at the Auckland Boxing Association Stadium in Eden Terrace, the chef-turnedboxing pro will find out if his recent decision was the right one when he steps in the ring with the undefeated Soulan Pownceby to challenge for the WBO Asia Pacific light heavyweight title.
‘‘I’m feeling good. The training’s going really well. The camp’s been good and I’m staying in Auckland, which is making things a lot easier on me,’’ Otorohanga-born Mckinnon says.
‘‘It’s a decision I’ve been wanting to make for a while now.
‘‘But it was only a couple of months ago that I committed to it.
‘‘I’ve finally got my priorities right and I’m really giving it my best shot.’’
With 19 wins and one draw from his 20 fights, former Olympian Pownceby will not be easy.
But nor will he be the toughest fighter, at least in Mckinnon’s opinion, that he’s come up against.
That would be current IBF world middleweight champion Daniel Geale, who Mckinnon fought in Sydney four years ago on just over three weeks’ notice.
In order to make the weight, he had to shed more than 10 kilos and despite being ‘‘out of shape’’ at the time, he went the distance with the Aussie, only to lose on points.
It was one of five losses in Mckinnon’s 25-fight career but came at a time when he was juggling his work and training schedules.
But now, with his cheffing career KOD, a newfound focus has the 28-year-old feeling confident about his prospects.
‘‘Dan’s had some tough fights already; he’s fought a lot of good fighters. But this, without a doubt, is the most important fight of his career so far,’’ says his manager, Ken Reinsfield, who is putting on the show at the ABA.
‘‘Soul Pownceby is ranked the No 3 light heavyweight in the world by the WBO so there is a lot of opportunity here on the line for Daniel to take the title.
‘‘I’ve known Soul for donkey’s years. He’s a very, very competitive guy and this is not going to be an easy fight. ‘‘He will be coming to fight. ‘‘Soul is not about to give away his title, there’s no chance of that. This is a boxing followers’ fight. For Dan, this is make or break shit.’’
Speaking of the ‘‘S word’’, it’s that exact term Mckinnon uses when describing the opponents Pownceby has fought thus far in his career.
In Mckinnon’s view, the only reason the current WBO Asia Pacific light heavyweight champion is in possession of such a belt is because he has fought nobody of worth.
‘‘I look at it that I’m actually a step up in class for him,’’ Mckinnon says.
‘‘He is undefeated because he’s fought shit [guys], nothing.
‘‘He hasn’t fought anybody like I have. I know him well and I’m not taking him lightly. I’ve sparred with the guy before and he’s a strong boy and he does come to fight.
‘‘You can’t take that away from him but he’s been well protected.’’
Delayed coverage of Friday’s fight night will be screened on Sky Television but being in front of cameras is nothing new for Mckinnon, who featured on Australia’s Contender television series in 2009.
‘‘I learned a lot during The Contender. We had some top worldranked fighters there,’’ he says.
‘‘But just being there and training with top trainers and the sparring partners that they brought in, made me realise that these guys – guys who were meant to be the best in the world – weren’t actually that good.
‘‘I was thrashing them all in the fitness tests and everything.
‘‘It was a good learning curve for me, a good experience.
‘‘It was big in Australia. We were all over buses and buildings and all that sort of thing.’’