Promotor knocks out boxer
27-May-2009 12:01 PM

TOE-to-Toe boxing promoter Abdul Feroz has cut all ties with former light middleweight champion Tevita ‘Natewa Bay Prince’ Vakalalabure following the incidents that led to the promotion last Saturday and also the bout which saw police officers coming into the ring.

Feroz said he has cut all ties with Vakalalabure and will not promote any boxer with the same gesture which Vakalalabure had shown to him.

“Te (Vakalalabure) does not have a good attitude like a professional boxer but wants to do things his own way,” he said.

Feroz said Vakalalabure had been threatening him around even before the bout on Saturday night.

“He was threatening me saying he wanted to pull out of the fight last week but when he entered the ring he knew he would not win.”

He says he has been in the boxing arena more than any promoter in the country and adds that he hasn’t seen any boxer like Vakalalabure.

“I have been with boxing for the past decade and what Te did was of such nature that no professional boxer would do,” Feroz said.

Vakalalabure has entered the ring on the disadvantage side because he had already knocked out to Joe Naleca before.

“Naleca has already knocked him out once so he knew what was going to come. And he started cheating which saw him on the wrong side of the ring.”

Attempts to get comments from Vakalalabure proved futile.

Meanwhile, Feroz says he will continue to support boxing and has promised to get overseas opponents for Naleca and Navosa slugger Saimoni Tui for his next promotion.
“Tui has been a hit. He is better than Joy Ali and he has a long way to go.”

He added that he spent close to $30,000 to bring Argentinean Xavier Mamani for the fight against Ali but Ali went down within seconds while Tui sent Australian boxer Daniel Baff (Anthony Mundine’s sparring partner) with three stitches.


By ISAAC LAL