Boxing: Meehan and Leapai meet for sparring

Kali Meehan. Photo / Paul Taylor.

When building for their next bout, boxers often look for sparring partners that mimic their opponent.

Heavyweights Kali Meehan and Alex Leapai both have career-defining fights on the horizon during the next two months and given Meehan shares a similar build to Leapai's opponent and vice-versa, it made sense that they'd help each other out.

The 1.95m Meehan will square off against fellow Kiwi Shane Cameron (1.88m, 29-4) for the WBA Oceania heavyweight title on the North Shore on November 22, while Australia's Leapai, who stands 1.83m, will meet skilled American Malik Scott (1.94m, 36-2-1) in Brisbane on October 24.

Meehan (41-5) and Leapai (30-5-3) got together in Sydney this week for two days of sparring. They worked together last night and were due to repeat the dose today.
"Shane's a very strong, come-forward fighter and so is Alex," Meehan said. "So in that respect it's perfect for me; they've both got heavy hands."

Meehan was Leapai's main sparring partner ahead of the Australian's failed world title tilt against Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in April when the 34-year-old lost via TKO.
"He's a strong guy, his arms are as big as my legs," Meehan said of Leapai.

"If you get hit by one of his punches, you stay hit. He's the sort of sparring partner where you've got to stay switched on. You've got to keep your mind active and sharp, just like in a fight."

Meehan's training camp is in full swing ahead of his date with Cameron and Meehan's 19-year-old son Willis will act as his main sparring partner, while the 44-year-old will also use a handful of other boxers.

Despite his advancing years, Meehan won the inaugural Super 8 tournament in Auckland in June, which has prompted a late career renaissance for the Auckland-born, Australian-based brawler.