Boxing: Plug pulled on sending team to Fiji

Political unrest in Fiji has forced Boxing New Zealand to pull the plug on sending its six-man Commonwealth Games boxing squad there as part of its build-up to Melbourne.

The boxers were scheduled to travel to Fiji next week but will now fight the Tongan team in Auckland on January 27 instead, said Boxing New Zealand chairman Keith Walker.

"We've had to call it off because of the political situation there. The coaches were not very happy about going into that situation at present."

The situation appears to be stabilising after unrest surfaced last week when outspoken military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama's comments about the Government sparked fears of a coup.

Boxing New Zealand made its decision on Friday, and Walker said he did not feel the decision not to tour Fiji had been precipitate.

"We had to make a decision on Friday, and on Friday it was not looking good. Today it probably doesn't look so bad but because of airline booking deadlines we had to make a decision."

He said it was disappointing the team could not go to Fiji as they were in need of sparring.

After the Tongan bouts, the team will go into camp in Feilding, probably again joined by Tonga.

On February 11, Fiji will be invited to a three-way tournament with Tonga at North Harbour.

The New Zealand team will enter the Games village in Melbourne on March 7, 10 days ahead of the first day of competition boxing on March 17 in the hopes of some sparring with teams from other countries.

Wellington boxer Joe Blackbourne is training in the United States and will not attend the Tonga bouts, Walker said.

The full boxing team is Blackbourne (Wellington-Hutt), Jamie Gardner (Wellington-Hutt), Kahukura Bentson (Auckland), Soulan Pownceby (Canterbury), Greg Weenink (Wellington-Hutt) and Carl Commons (Canterbury).

Meanwhile, New Zealand badminton players Renee Flavell and Michelle Chan will travel to Fiji on Thursday to help the Fijian players prepare for the Games, the Fiji Times reports.

- NZPA