Boxing: Hawke's Bay's Sam Nicol disappointed after quick exit at Youth Oceania in Samoa

National assistant coach Craig McDougall with Hastings Giants Boxing Academy fighter Sam Nicol in Samoa. Photo/supplied

Napier boxer Sam Nicol's campaign has ended in his opening bout of the Youth Oceania Championship in Samoa.

"Sadly it didn't go well," said Hastings Giants Boxing Academy coach Craig McDougall from Vaitele, on the outskirts of Apia, today after the referee stopped the 3x3-minute bout about 1m 30s into the first round.

The Napier Boys' High School pupil was fighting Ioane Ioane in the bantam (56kg) grade in a straight out semifinal match-up among four pugilists.

Nicol went down and then took another eight count after Ioane leapt up and went into attack mode before the referee stopped the fight, said McDougall who is a national assistant coach of the "Road to Buenos Aires Camp" team of 10.

"This boy [Ioane] looked like Mike Tyson or David Tua," he said, mindful there were several notable boxers in New Zealand by that surname.

The 17-year-old was disappointed, McDougall said, because the bout was over in a flash in a championship staged only when a platform is required for selection to a bigger event.

However, the Kiwi mentors knew what skills Nicol possessed but regrettably it was one of those days when things didn't pan out.

"We thought we had prepared well for someone who is a power puncher," he said, revealing the plan was not to stand in front of Ioane because he was going to unload.

McDougall said Nicol probably needed another year to be stronger.

Three male Kiwi boxers are in the finals - Kasib Murdoch-McKeitch, of Dunedin, in the 60kg grade, Raymond Seamanu (64kg), of Wainuiomata, and Livai Filiama (91kg), of Auckland.

He said Samoa boxing was riding on the crest of the wave of success of light heavyweight Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali (81kg) who won silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.

McDougall has sat his star two international coaches' course and should find out in a month if he has passed. When he obtains his credentials, it'll enable him to "be in the field of play" of global meetings.

"I'll be able to be in and around the ringside with the boxers so it's really positive for us and Hawke's Bay boxing because we'll keep developing more coaches up to a good level."

The Kiwi contingent return home from Samoa on Saturday.