Kiwi hopes to make Light work of opponent
He’s known as ‘The Great White’, but unbeaten Kiwi cruiserweight David Light will be in unfamiliar waters when he meets Anthony Martinez for the vacant WBO International title in Hialeah, Florida, next weekend.
Auckland’s Light (17-0, 10 KOs) has never fought outside Australia and New Zealand as a professional and faces a tricky assignment in the US against Martinez (12-1, 11 KOs), a heavy-handed Cuban-American prospect who is fighting in his hometown.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist is coming off a 16-month layoff since his shutout decision over Mose Auimatagi Jr in Auckland in December 2020, having been held back by a combination of injury and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet Light was quick to brush off concerns about ring rust ahead of the ‘‘biggest test’’ of his nascent career so far.
‘‘It’s been a really, really good camp so I’m pretty confident going into this one,’’ Light told Stuff before he flew to the US.
‘‘I know I’ve been improving. I’ve got really good people in my camp and we’ve been doing a lot of sparring. So we’ve made it work.’’
The 30-year-old Light was understandably excited to make his American debut (‘‘everybody knows you’ve got to go through the States and make your mark out here’’) and not overly concerned about heading into enemy territory.
However, he will be looking for a knockout to ensure the final result is ‘‘unquestionable’’ and taken out of the judges’ hands.
‘‘I saw the original night, because it’s like ‘Night of the Cuban Fighters 2’ or something. It seems like a pretty good show, they seem pretty festive,’’ Light said of the anticipated hostile crowd inside the Hialeah Park Racing & Casino.
‘‘But you know, we’re used to it. I’ve sparred in the States before and I’ve fought in other countries as an amateur. You sort of just block out the crowd no matter what happens and do your job.’’
In any case, after reviewing footage of Martinez, Light is convinced he will have far too much savvy in the ring for his younger rival.
‘‘He’s got a bit of power but you can see most of his fights on YouTube, and a lot of his opponents are guys who were probably middleweights and have blown up, and they are not movers.
‘‘They are pretty much paid to get in the ring, and that’s what they’re there for – their pay cheque,’’ Light said of his 23-year-old opponent’s modest resume.
‘‘It’s a different fight with me. They were all stationary and he just loaded up on them. He’s got one loss, and even that guy wasn’t that good. So I’m pretty confident going into this.’’
Light, who is part of respected trainer Isaac Peach’s growing stable that includes Andrei Mikhailovich, Jerome Pampellone and Mea Motu, intends to set a pace that the taller Martinez won’t be able to live with as he looks to move a step closer to fighting for a world title, a goal he claimed he and his team had carefully ‘‘planned out’’.
‘‘We’ve been talking to the WBO, so staying in communication with them has kept me from falling out the rankings entirely [through inactivity]. This [fight] will put me right back up.
‘‘We’re already planning on when we’re going to be taking that world title shot. Hopefully it is this year – we would have said that a couple of years ago, but you never know what’s going to happen.’’
Currently ranked 15th by the WBO (Martinez is 14th in the same organisation’s rankings), a victory for Light in the Sunshine State would significantly boost his standing in the competitive cruiserweight division.
With current WBO titleholder Lawrence Okolie expected to move up to heavyweight imminently, the chance to fight for world honours might present itself sooner than expected.
To prepare for Martinez, Light has been sparring Kiwi heavyweight Kiki Toa Leutele (7-1-2, 6 KOs), ‘‘doing 8-10 rounds’’ every couple of weeks. He said he had been inspired by the exploits of his stablemates this year and talked of the close bond between the fighters training at the Peach Boxing gym in west Auckland.
‘‘Everyone has knocked out their opponent, except for Jerome, but he smoked his opponent. Everyone has been doing really well this year so it’s a bit of added pressure on me,’’ he said.
‘‘The gym has got a real good environment. Even when I fought [Lance Bryant] on the Joe Parker undercard in Christchurch, most of the gym, even the guys who weren’t fighting, came down to watch, booking their own flights and that kind of thing. It’s pretty close. Everyone is really behind each other.’’
Peach will be in Light’s corner next weekend, which means the busy coach will have to watch Dylan Wright’s light heavyweight showdown with John Parker in Auckland next Saturday from afar – delivering instructions via FaceTime.
Light isn’t the only New Zealander looking to make a splash in the exciting cruiserweight division. His Glasgow team-mate, David Nyika, turned pro last year and has scored two first round stoppages, the latest on the undercard of Joseph Parker’s rematch with Dereck Chisora in Manchester last December.
The pair have history, with Nyika stopping Light in the first round of the North Island Golden Gloves tournament in 2015.
Light would relish the opportunity to avenge that loss one day in what would no doubt be a huge occasion for New Zealand boxing.
‘‘I mean when I look at Parker versus Fa, the crowd that drew and the event that was, it was pretty cool. If we can both build ourselves up until we’ve got enough public interest at home that we can put that [fight] on, that would be awesome,’’ he said.