Russian boxing giant Alexander Ustinov experienced his first haka and hongi during his fleeting visit to Northland.
The 36-year-old boxer made the trip to Whangarei as part of the promotion for his fight against David Tua in Hamilton on August 31.
Ranked 10th in the world by the WBA and seventh by the IBF, the fighting celebrity was greeted by both boxing and kickboxing fans at Roundhouse Gym on Bank St on Monday afternoon.
Roundhouse Gym owner and head coach Simon Haenga said it was an honour to host the visit.
"We're very lucky. There is heaps of interest and a lot of people coming to see him and get photos with him."
The fact that Ustinov had mastered both codes, boxing and kickboxing, was a drawcard as well, Haenga said. "He's someone we look up too."
The giant Ustinov, all 2.02m and 136kg of him, hails from the K2 Promotions camp, the boxing company owned and managed by the two brothers who have dominated heavyweight boxing for almost 10 years - Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. The former owns the WBC world title; Wladimir the rest (WBA, IBF, WBO), the only time in history all heavyweight world titles have been held by brothers.
It was Ustinov's first visit to Northland, despite having been to Auckland three times.
At Roundhouse he watched his first haka and participated in his first hongi with Haenga.
"I have never had a Maori welcoming and I feel very privileged," Ustinov told the Northern Advocate via a translator.
With regards to his preparation for his upcoming fight against Tua, he said: "Nothing is different to any other fight - I have been training hard."
"David Tua is pretty famous, he is ranked reasonably highly and he is a good, strong opponent," said Ustinov.
"It's a great opportunity for me to go up against a boxing legend. I want to win a world title, same as anyone who trains and fights like this; it is my main goal in life."
Ustinov has also fought (and beaten) Tua's latter-day nemesis, Monte Barrett, in a unanimous decision almost a year before Tua had his draw and then loss to Barrett.
"I would have said, had you asked me before the fight, that Tua would win [against Barrett]," says Ustinov.
Tua has had problems with taller boxers who can jab and Ustinov will tower over the much shorter Tua. So Ustinov thinks it is smart that Tua has hired the man reputed to be the world's biggest heavyweight, American Julius Long, as a sparing partner.
"It is a great choice by Tua; he will be prepared after sparring against Long."
In 2008, Ustinov fought 2.16m Long, knocking him out two minutes into the first round.