Boxing debut waits as Moimoi works on a knockout
Daniel Lane | October 4, 2009
PARRAMATTA'S incredible grand-final berth has forced their shock trooper Fuifui Moimoi to postpone his professional boxing debut.
Moimoi, who has been the form forward of the NRL finals series, was signed to fight next month as a heavyweight on a bill that features the highly rated Willie Kickett and Jackson Asiku.
However, the Eels' dramatic rise from no-show to the big show - combined with the probability Moimoi will play for either New Zealand or Tonga during the end-of-season international series - has forced the 106 kilogram powerhouse to stow the gloves away for now.
''I am very keen to fight,'' Moimoi told
The Sun-Herald.
''I want to see what it is like. But after the grand final, I could play for Tonga or the Kiwis. I haven't had time to train properly [for a professional fight].
''I still want to have a fight because I am keen. I want to try it, and I will in the future.''
Angelo Hyder, who trains IBO world champion Danny Green and oversees the Eels' boxing sessions at training, used the sweet science to fire up Moimoi before the qualifier against the Bulldogs, a physically bruising encounter that tested his body and his desire.
''I told Fuifui he was the heavyweight champion of the world and that they were going to hit him and that they were going to knock him down,'' Hyder said.
''But I told him that like any world champion, he was going to climb back to his feet and that he was going to counterpunch, and he was going to mix it even when it hurt because at the end he would stand triumphant.''
Moimoi, who has been unstoppable despite reports he's carried a cracked rib for the past six weeks, said Hyder's words carried weight when he felt the sting in the Bulldogs' defence during the qualifier watched by a crowd of 75,000 at ANZ Stadium.
''It was tough, a tough game,'' he said. ''I knew they were going to come after me, and they got me good after 10 minutes.''
However, Moimoi's ability to absorb the punishment and then inflict his own provided the Eels with a knockout punch against the Bulldogs.
''Winning the grand final, I think, would be like a boxer winning the world title,'' he said. ''I will do all I can to win.''
World champion Green is an unabashed Moimoi fan, saying he learned to respect the "Tongan Terror" after they wrestled as part of a power-specific training program that was developed for him in 2006.
"I didn't follow the rules when we wrestled because he not only had 25 kilos on me but he was as strong as an ox," Green said.
"The first time I was matched up with him I gave him a swift punch to the guts when he pinned me in an awkward position.
''He didn't get angry, he just said in a high-pitched voice, 'Nooooo punching Dann-ee', and what I realised is he is a powerful man, a monster but he also has a gentle soul
though, he will be very hard for the Storm to control.
''Fui could run through a brick wall, and they'd need to take the bricks to hospital for reconstructive surgery."
Green's friendship with the big Eel will ensure Moimoi has the right advice when he finally steps into the boxing ring.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/moimoi-working-on-a-knockout/2009/10/03/1254418751743.html
