Maka Fonua-Latu has a rest during a training session last night. Photo/Warren Buckland
Mention the name Maka Fonua-Latu to those in the know in Hawke's Bay boxing circles and the response is mute.
The man himself hopes to change that by enhancing his reputation with a win against Isaac Kingsford-Tinling, of Waihi Martial Arts, in a middleweight bout at the Combat Kings New Zealand show at The Lab Training Centre in Onekawa on Saturday.
"I hope this weekend's show will be my ticket to some bigger shows in the future. I had my first fight three years ago and straight after that our fourth child was born. Now they are older I can get back into boxing again," Fonua-Latu said.
An engineer with Hustler Equipment Limited in Hastings, Fonua-Latu, 29, grew up in Las Vegas where he was a basketball shooting guard during his middle school and high school days. He has been in New Zealand for the last 14 years and has been training as a boxer for the past five years.
His bout on Saturday is scheduled for three two-minute rounds. He has done some research on Kingsford-Tinling.
"Isaac is more experienced as a kickboxer. He is a southpaw so if I stay on the outside of his lead foot I should be right. I've got the tricks to beat him including fitness and plenty of home-crowd support," Fonua-Latu said.
In November last year Kingsford-Tinling won the K1 Low Kick Rule title at the Unified World Championships in Italy. Fonua-Latu's trainer, Patrick O'Brien, was a title winner at the same event and in the same Kiwi team as Kingsford-Tinling so he shouldn't be short on knowledge of the Waihi lad's strengths and weaknesses.
A fan of multiple world champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, Fonua-Latu said he has been fortunate to have been trained by the likes of O'Brien and the Napier Boxing Club trio of Rod Langdon, Ryan Whittaker and Rocky Leutele over the years.
Saturday's feature fight will see Far North mother of eight Suzanne Tibble take on Waikato's Rene Roberts for a national kickboxing title. Tibble captured a bag of gold medals in Europe last year.
Her husband and training partner, Tahuri Tibble, has won world championship and South Pacific titles while her brother, Auckland-based Shane "The Chopper" Chapman, was a multiple world champion.
Roberts is no stranger to championship bouts and will arrive in Napier full of confidence.
The event is a fundraiser to help promising Hawke's Bay fighters to attend what O'Brien described as a "once in a lifetime experience in Bali".
Those fighters will be products of The Lab Training Centre's Combat Academy which has been set up to provide youth development opportunities.
"The purpose of the academy is to use our youth's passion for combat sports to engage, develop and inspire them to pursue a positive, healthy and productive lifestyle," O'Brien said.
"Not only do we focus on sport, we look to develop leadership, education and employment opportunities," O'Brien added.
Doors will open at 3.30pm and the first fight will start at 4pm. Pre-sales tickets are $25 and door sales $35. VIP tickets, which include food and drink, are $45.
Saturday's card (subject to change) is: Suzanne Tibble (Team Taniwha) v Rene Roberts (Rhino Fight Shop); Regan Kalmansci (The Lab) v Pariare Kearns (Rhino Fight Shop); Maka Fonua-Latu (The Lab) v Isaac Kingsford-Tinling (Waihi Martial Arts); Damian Phlapp (Taiao Kickboxing) v Charles Te Tomo (Rhino Fight Shop); Jimmy Pentland (The Lab) v Billy Dean Raina (Manawa Muay Thai); Nathaniel Hastelow (The Fight Shop) v Charlie Te Tomo (Rhino Fight Shop); Ryan Van Zonneveld (The Lab) v Coner O'Sullivan (Team Taniwha); Zayde Liefting (Taiao Kickboxing) v Hoani Winiata (The Fight Shop); Eruera Mataiha (The Lab) v Xavier Lewer (The Fight Shop); Hayden Barnard (Waihi Martial Arts) v Eru Leef (Manawa Muay Thai); Summer Evans (The Lab) v Finlay Henry (The Lab); Taylor England (The Lab) v Mathew Benedito (The Lab); Karl Hodgetts (The Lab) v Kelvin Jones (The Lab); Charlie McPherson (The Lab) v Jono McInnes (The Lab).