TURNING POINT: Saili Fiso is finding a new lease on life at the Hastings Giants Boxing Academy where he learns more about himself than just ringcraft. PHOTO/Duncan Brown
TURNING POINT: Saili Fiso is finding a new lease on life at the Hastings Giants Boxing Academy where he learns more about himself than just ringcraft. PHOTO/Duncan Brown
HIS EYES smile, the laughing gear reinforcing that sense of contentment as Saili Fiso reveals he is the middle child of nine.
"I'm the good boy," says the grinning 22-year-old from Hastings, a scar at the corner of an eye the only aberration on a flawless face.
But the pugilist from The Fruit Shop-sponsored Hastings Giants Boxing Academy isn't trying to bob and weave around any facade.
In fact, under the guidance of trainer Craig McDougall he's doing his utmost to face up to a chequered past.
"Craig, his family and the boxing gym saved me. They are a massive part of my life," says Fiso before he steps into the ring with Jordan McConnachie, of Porirua, in a 3x two-minute bout in the novice elite 75kg grade of the 23-fight amateur promotion at the Hastings Intermediate School gym today from 1.30pm.
Having found employment as a barber, the southpaw is in the process of exorcising a few demons.
"I used to get into trouble both here and in Auckland," says the Auckland-born man, who attended Hastings Boys' High School but finished his seventh form at Alfriston College in the Big Smoke.
An introvert as a youngster, Fiso's problems emerged when he became a victim of bullying.
"By the time I got to my first year in high school I didn't want anyone to walk over me again."
He's the first to admit he picked up the boxing gloves to spar against his brothers for all the wrong reasons, although deep down all he wanted to do was protect himself.
The prey certainly hadn't mutated into a predator, if you ask the teenager who got into fisticuffs after school - which started with the principal's office meetings before ending up in the courtrooms, where he picked up home detention and supervision sentences.
"I didn't just pick on random people," he says in his defence. "I didn't take any [nonsense] from anyone. I just wanted to protect myself."
In his mind's eye, taking matters into his own hands was the ideal way to resolve everything.
His calling to the sanctuary of boxing came at 19 when an acquaintance went to McDougall's gym, which in those days was located at Stortford Lodge.
"It took a while for me to see the light," says the young man who harbours dreams of becoming somebody who can do anything with a car - panelbeating, spray-painting and the likes - if he can score an apprenticeship.
With seven amateur wins from as many outings, he wants to taking his boxing career as far as he can.
"Craig has been giving me good advice, not just on boxing but about life. Inside or outside the ring, man, you can count on him any time, any day."
Fiso lives with the McDougalls, who consider him a family member.
"Man, if I didn't meet them I wouldn't be where I am today. Instead of the gym, I would have been in a cell. Boxing is what keeps my head straight."
For Fiso, the boxing gym is like a second home.
"The people there make you want to be there and not miss a single session."
TRAINER: Craig McDougall who runs the Hastings Boxing Academy. PHOTO/Duncan Brown
McDougall says what Fiso doesn't realise is that he was more a blessing to his family than they were to a humble and talented young man who came to the gym almost two years ago.
"He has one of the most sincere hearts and considerate nature that my family and I have ever encountered. He has worked exceptionally hard to not be another casualty of talent going down the drain."
McDougall, a White Ribbon ambassador, says Fiso is a well-balanced, well-mannered, gifted boxer who harbours a desire to represent the country.
He considers the boxer's story an eye-opener, someone who has grabbed a chance to make something of himself.
"He has a colourful past, as a means of protecting his self-confidence but he's definitely not an aggressive man.
"We've all made mistakes and been knocked down in life. Saili is someone who gets back up, accepts the consequences and learns to be better."
It's those attributes, McDougall says, that are ideal to play the game of life.
The boxer trains at the crack of dawn before work and is the last to leave the gym, after locking up windows and doors following the evening sessions.
"He has a long way to go as a boxer and we all know how tough the game is but already he has grown into a man that the Hawke's Bay community will not want leaving its borders as he immerses himself in personal and community improvement."
The young boys at the gym, as well his own children, look up to Fiso.
"If lifting others as you climb is the intention then Saili is the advertisement. He steps out of his comfort zone regularly, even to the point of beginning to make public speaking appearances and radio promotions."
The academy moved into the Eastbourne St CBD area eight months ago from the Stortford Lodge location under the new HB Youth Trust.
It's operating at capacity with 90 members from 8 to 24 years old.
McDougall says the gym has a small waiting list but moves are under way to fit more members in.
About 20 tireless volunteers aspire to lift the quality of the programme with 100 per cent support from Bay businesses. The referrals tend to come from police, social workers, probation and schools.
"Our vision is to have young people and their whanau living lives they value. Growing up in Hawke's Bay is a privilege and our youth need to open their eyes and their minds to dream big," he says.
