Tonga Catches The Fight

Graze

From a Special Correspondent rpHE visit here of the Fijian heavyweight JL boxing champion, Alfred, has livened boxing amongst the Tongans these last few months.

In 1947, Alfred won on points from the Tongan heavyweight champion, Soakai.

This time Soakai won, also on points, in a ten round match with the Fiiian cham pion.

It was a keenly contested match and a huge crowd watched the fight, it is re ported that the gate-money totalled close on £2O0 —which is a great deal for Tonga; £75 went to Alfred and £6O to Soakai.

The rest of the money is supposed to be charged to expenses.

Now that the Tongan public is boxing minded it is time a properly constituted body controlled boxing matches. At pre sent it is managed anyhow, by anybody Tongans will pay anything to see a fight —it is their idea of an ideal sport—and fights that were staged here lately cost the public 4/- to 10/- admittance, for each person.

It is rumoured that a Boxing Associa tion has now been formed. It is hoped that it will put boxing in Tonga on a better footing.

It is time Soakai retired from the ring as he is now over 36. He took up boxing at 16. A young giant, Komiti, from Mau fanga village trained hard for months to wrest the boxing crown from Soakai, and hopes ran high among his many Tongan and European fans. Alfred was to be ‘cleaned up” first, then Soakai; it was the main topic at “faikava” parties.

The matches came off but poor Komiti lost on points to the Fijian and got a KO in the fourth round from Soakai.

Nevertheless, Komiti is a keen and tough contender and with more scienti fic coaching he may yet take Soakai’s place.

The Roman Catholic Bishop in the Solomons, the Rt. Rev. J. Aubin, returned to BSI by TOA flying-boat in mid- February, after 13 months abroad. Much of his leave was spent in France with members of his family. He made an offi cial visit to Rome and was received by the Pope and by the Superior-General of the Marist Order. Bishop Aubin also visited Belgium, Holland, England and America.