By JO-MARIE BROWN
Boxing New Zealand hopes to confirm this week how many bouts injured boxer Peter Williams fought in overseas and then failed to declare on his return home.
The national body has established Williams fought for Samoa in the 1998 Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur and also boxed in an Oceania competition in Sydney after he left New Zealand in 1997.
No overseas bouts were declared by Williams when he was reissued with a medical book this year which allowed him to compete again in New Zealand.
Boxers are required to list in their medical book every match they had fought in, both here and overseas.
The inquiry into Williams' record was launched after he collapsed with head injuries just hours after winning a national amateur title in Timaru nine days ago.
Yesterday the 27-year-old was reported to be in a critical but stable condition in Timaru Hospital's intensive care unit.
It was not known whether Williams' injuries were boxing related but Boxing New Zealand chairman Keith Walker said he hoped to hear from Samoan and Cuban boxing authorities later this week about any records they have of Williams.
Williams had been given clearance by Boxing New Zealand to train in Cuba in the late 1990s.
Mr Walker also suspects the boxer may have fought in the United States and says he was disappointed Williams had breached rules that were in place for his own safety.
"It disturbs us that we've actually approved of a book and stamped it as correct when in fact it isn't," Mr Walker said.
Medical books were checked by match officials before any bouts to decide whether the boxer was fit to participate.
Williams claimed to have lost his medical book and when applying for a new one, declared he had fought nine matches in his career - a total which Boxing New Zealand now believes to be much higher.
"We know he's boxed a minimum of another two but in saying that ... he wouldn't have just gone straight from the Oceania champs to the Commonwealth Games, he would have had other bouts as well," Mr Walker said.
Boxing New Zealand intends to use Williams' situation to help convince other nations to help clamp down on players who try to use a different medical book for each country they box in.
"We have to try get some co-operation from other countries to say that if one of our boys turns up in your country to box, you must notify us and he must use our medical book - don't issue him with a new one."
Injured boxer didn't declare fights abroad
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