Mita hungry to get into ring

Published 25 June 2009, Posted in National

Whangarei’s deaf boxer ready to step into the ring
Article and photo curtesy of Emily Kernot - The Whangarei Report

The man who is believed to be New Zealand’s only Maori deaf boxing fighter is stepping into the competition ring for the first time.

At 43-years-old, Whangarei’s Mita Moses has been told he’s too old to box, but that doesn’t bother him at all.

``I’ve been training for the past two years and eight months,’’ he says. ``And I love it. I’m hungry to get into the ring.’’ 

Mr Moses played rugby league for 20 years and learnt to rely on team mates and the referee’s signals to indicate what was happening in a game.

``When the bell rings or a whistle gets blown someone lets me know; they put their arm out. If the team all stop I can see that, it’s visual, so I know something’s happening.’’

After retiring from league, Mr Moses began training as a boxer.

``The guy who’s training me is a professional and when we’re sparring I can tell he’s at that level. I need all the boxing experience I can get before getting into the ring,’’ Mr Moses says.

Trainer Tito Lautusi coaches him five days a week, morning and night, and since getting serious about fighting at a competition level Mr Moses has dropped 22 kilograms down to 118kgs in 10 weeks _ but it hasn’t been easy.
` `The problem is my wife’s such a good cook and I tell her I need to be eating healthier ... she’s very supportive,’’ he grins. ``And I don’t want to get too skinny before the competition.’’

Mr Moses says he knows many deaf people want to box but are warned not to by their doctors.

``They say if you get knocked out you could lose your sight. But I’ve been knocked over a lot when I was playing league and nothing happened. I’m not nervous and I want other people to see me doing this, as a role model. I’m ready.’’

The competition is being held in August at Kensington’s ASB Stadium and will feature amateur and professional boxers from throughout New Zealand, including kickboxing.