Boxing: Sullivan digs deep for victory

By Peter Jessup

Sean Sullivan predicted a fight in a telephone booth and that's just what his weekend battle against South African junior middleweight champ Justice Ganiza turned into.

Ganiza came out with big punches and plenty of energy to take the first three rounds. But the never-say-die Sullivan surprised the visitor with his resilience and ability to take the hits, eventually knocking the visitor down at the start of the ninth.

Ganiza was tired and disoriented and Sullivan proceeded to knock him about the ring. A flurry of unanswered punches brought the towel from the South African's corner at the instant the fight was stopped.

Both were exhausted, the victor taking a couple of minutes post-decision before he could heave out his winning words to the crowd.

Promoter Kevin Barry described it as the fight Sullivan needed as he looks for a lucrative overseas defence of his Pan Pacific welterweight title. "Sean got hit a lot and was forced to fight his best fight." Ganiza straight away asked for a re-match, Barry said, believing the double death in his family that disrupted his preparation in recent weeks prompted a weight fluctuation that didn't help him.

On Saturday night's performance Barry and the crowd would both be happy for another round.

Also winners at the Downtown Convention Centre on Saturday night were former Commonwealth Games representative Faii Falemoe, who stopped Tauele Masilisi in the fourth round of a heavyweight contest for his fourth pro win; PABA super middleweight champ Mike Makata who beat the smaller but gutsy Wellingtonian Tauvela Ioane on points; Rico Chong Nee who knocked Peter Mokomoko out in round four; and Sam Leuii whose cruiserweight contest against Lightning Lupe was stopped in the second round after three knockdowns.

Simon Whiu, who dropped down a division to fight Joseph Pulu at light-heavy, will be regretting the shift after receiving a punishing loss that included plenty of controversy.

Pulu dropped Whiu right at the end of the second round with a punch the judges ruled he could have stopped. Whiu was given the mandatory five minutes recovery time but exactly the same thing happened at the end of round three, the bell and Pulu's last punches coinciding.

The judges referred the incident back to referee Ali Afikasi, who awarded the fight to Pulu.