Boxer wants place with Barretts
A champion boxer is considering a legal fight for the right be recognised on his hometown’s sporting honours board alongside Beauden Barrett and Peter Snell.
Taranaki dairy farmer James ‘‘Batman’’ Langton is the current holder of the Pro Box New Zealand Heavyweight title and has approached the Opunake Sport and Recreation Trust three times to get his name added to the town’s national sporting honours board.
The plaque currently pays homage to the likes of Olympic triple gold medal-winning runner Peter Snell and the three All Black Barrett brothers – Beauden, Jordie and Scott.
Langton believes his boxing achievements are just as important, but his attempts to make the board have all been fended off on the basis he did not meet the set criteria.
The 45-year-old has refused to throw in the towel and is prepared to go toe-to-toe with the trust on the issue, including looking at possible legal recourse.
‘‘I’m taking it very personally. I’ve done enough to be up there,’’ he said.
The trust’s criteria states applicants must have been selected by a national sporting body to represent New Zealand, lived between Otakeho and Okato in Taranaki and be a current or historical national representative at an open level.
As such, age group representatives were not eligible.
‘‘Because I represent myself, I don’t meet the criteria,’’ Langton said.
He argued his success in the ring, including his New Zealand title win last December, and that he had fought in bouts overseas should make him a contender for the honours board, which is located inside the Sandfords Event Centre.
Trust chairman John Kensington said while there was no argument that Langton was a ‘‘great athlete’’ the eligibility for the honours board was clear.
‘‘At the end of the day, nothing’s changed. We have a criteria and he doesn’t meet that criteria.’’
He said an opportunity had been extended to Langton in the past to display any photographs or awards related to his boxing career in a glass cabinet at the event centre.
However, Langton said he turned the offer, made in 2016, down.
Prior to his boxing career, the
‘‘Because I represent myself, I don’t meet the criteria.’’ James Langton
Opunake man played rugby for 17 years, including 250 games for the Coastal club team.
Langton said he had also helped lift the profile of boxing in Taranaki and raised thousands of dollars for the Little Fighters trust, which supports families who have children with lifethreatening illnesses in the region.
Given all that, the burly boxer still smarted from the trust’s decision to turn down his application, which he described as a ‘‘slap in the face.’’
The dairy farmer was now contemplating legal action but had yet to seek advice on what specific avenues might be available to him.