Boxing: Auckland 'knockout' leads to English infighting

By PETER JESSUP

In yet another bizarre case of boxing shooting itself in both feet, a judicial error in a no-account bout in Auckland has resulted in suspension of an English fighter and his coach and the closure of their club.

The Spennymoor Boxing Academy, the biggest club in the north of England, is closed indefinitely after the Amateur Boxing Association of England banned its chief coach, Rob Ellis, secretary Paul Hodgson and fighter Sean Denham.

The ban came out of the blue three months after a Spennymoor team fought in Auckland, apparently because an Auckland official mistakenly listed a fight as having ended in a knockout.

In fact, the bout between Denham and Aucklander Raphael Tai was ended when the referee stopped the fight after a body blow.

But England officials seized on the knockout account and suspended the boxer and the two officials for allowing him to fight again within the mandatory 28-day stand-down period required after a loss by knockout.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the Spennymoor trio have asked the Auckland Boxing Association for information that may aid their cause and the association met last night to try to satisfy that.

A spokesman, and promoter of the Spennymoor visit, Gil Sullivan, had no doubt a mistake was made on the fight card but said initial advice to the England association in that regard had been ignored.

The Auckland association would conduct its own inquiry to ensure there was no repeat but he saw little profit in a witch-hunt over what was an error corrected by another official on the night.

Hodgson said the team had a brilliant time in New Zealand but the aftermath - a two-year ban for him and one year for both Denham and Ellis - had soured it.

"We were made honorary Maoris over there. I'm thinking of asking some of the tribe over there to sort it out," he said.

The English association had effectively taken the engine out of the Spennymoor club and its doors were shut until the ban could be reversed.

Meanwhile, the Auckland association's promotions continue tomorrow night with a pro-am night featuring local journeymen at their "Bullring."

Peter "Chief" Mokomoko meets national Thai kickboxing champ John "Rebel" Conway, who won a junior title in the gloved code.

In a second heavyweight contest of six three-minute rounds Norm Graham, from Hamilton, meets Aucklander David O'Neill, while Matamata-based Scot Graeme McLaughlin takes on Wanganui's Harry Minnis over four rounds.