Boxing: Mounting fury as rules take kick

Boxing officials are furious a professional kickboxer has been granted amateur status and could deny one of their fighters an Olympic Games place. New Zealand-based Doug Viney, competing for Tonga under the name Doug Hawke, was yesterday given the all-clear to continue at the Oceania championships in Nukualofa after stopping top Australian contender Justin Whitehead in their first-round super heavyweight bout.

That was despite several complaints from Boxing New Zealand chairman Keith Walker to the Oceania association, challenging Viney's amateur status.

Walker succeeded in having another fighter, heavyweight John Argall, barred from the championships yesterday because he previously boxed as a professional.

Argall applied to Boxing NZ in 2002 to regain his amateur status but was rejected.

But Oceania rejected Walker's complaints about Viney because kickboxing was seen as a different code, even though Boxing NZ have no record of Viney registering as an amateur.

He switched codes last week under the guidance of his Tongan kickboxing coach.

Two New Zealanders may come up against Viney at the championships - Aucklanders Kerry Brooks and 2000 Olympian Angus Shelford.

New Zealand fighters need to win gold to qualify for the Olympics.

Walker vowed to keep fighting the issue, which he said made a mockery of amateur boxing.

"We are in a state of shock. If this guy goes all the way, wins the gold medal and denies someone an Olympic place, what does that say about our sport?

"A guy's either a professional or an amateur. It's left the rules of our sport in disarray. There's nothing to stop anyone swapping codes now."

Walker said Viney would never have made the cut for New Zealand this week because every new fighter underwent a mandatory three-month stand-down for safety reasons, in case they had recently been knocked out.

Walker understood Viney had been knocked out in his previous three kickboxing bouts.

- NZPA