KJ ALLEN has a fifty-fifty chance of making his debut in the ring at the Flava Rise of the Fallen fight night at Springvale Stadium tomorrow evening.
Representing HoopNation, Allen is due to fight Sport Wanganui's Danny Jonas in one of the seven corporate bouts on the undercard, but acalf muscle tear may yet put him out of contention, or at least on the back foot.
"I've only been able to do about half the eight-week training schedule because of the tear. I went for a run the other night and only made it about 200m before I had to pull up," Allen said on Wednesday.
Neither fighter has experience in the boxing ring but both are passionate about the River City and sport in general.
Allen is known for his deeds on the basketball court in his younger years, but in latter times he has been a major force arranging basketball events with HoopNation co-event director Paul Berridge. Allen and Berridge are also organisers of the Rise of the Fallen this weekend.
"If I do make it to the ring I just want to stand up. I don't want to get knocked on my butt. Danny is a naturally fit guy and a formidable opponent," Allen said.
In his younger years Jonas was known for his deeds in the pool and on the footy field.
"When this invitation arrived it sat on my desk for a wee while before I decided to sign up," he said. "It's the sort of thing that's been on my bucket list. And talking about buckets, that was the first thing I was reaching for after my first two-minute sparring round.
"Seriously though, I didn't take too much talking into it."
Jonas said his Sport Whanganui job was all about reaching out to the community and this bout was his chance to give back.
"It's all about anaerobic fitness - the intensity and power required to last three two-minute rounds. I've never boxed before and I hope KJ hasn't either. I don't want to get hurt and at the same time I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will be out there to do my best to win.
"Eddie Tofa and his team down at the River City Boxing Club have been marvellous. They are very humble people and do a lot of good under the radar."
Another to note the hard work is Steelform Wanganui first-five Areata Lama, representing his Kaierau Rugby Club against Pirate's Faalafi Taito. Speaking at the Country Club after Kaierau's Tasman Tanning Premier draw with Harvey Round Motors Ratana last Saturday, Lama said he had found the training regimes for boxing and rugby to be very different. He said five minutes of working the punching bag can really hurt the arms. Nonetheless, he is looking forward to the fight.
