Beni remembered for greatness

The National Sports

By ROBINSON LEKA
With the passing of legendary Papua New Guinean boxer Martin Beni on Wed, Oct 27, shocking and saddening the country’s boxing fraternity, a group of close associates and fighters pay tribute to a man who inspired them with his commitment and passion for the sport.

Martin Beni facing off with national lightweight champion Junior Kauko Raka during Oceania Fight Promotions exhibition last year. –Nationalfilepic

Oceania Fighting Promotions (OFP) director Maryanne Mille
Martin was a legend and an icon in boxing in this country and we are all saddened by his passing.
It came as a shock to me but I feel that I have to be strong because over the last two years he was always vocal about the next group of people to take boxing forward.
He was always concerned about the future of the sport given that there had been little recognition given to the people who continue to take part in boxing and we would always move around from one place to another to train our boxers and host fights.
Martin came up the same way as most of our fighters today and he would wanted something done for all the fighters today and tomorrow.
Martin sacrificed a lot with OFP to revive boxing and it is a great loss to us all and I would ask all his followers to remember him and work towards building his dream of reviving boxing.

PNG lightweight champion Junior Kauko Raka
Martin lived his life around the boxing ring and while it was shocking and sad to see him pass in front of us; he was someone that remained true to the sport all the way to his last day.
When I joined boxing, I would always hear stories of Martin Beni and how he fought some of the best fighters in Australia and I’m so honoured to have met and worked alongside him.
I grew as a boxer with Martin ever since I started as an amateur in 2009.
There was a lot of struggle with boxing when I joined but despite all the politics and issues with who was in charge of the sport, he always remained true to the sport.
Before I turned professional, he would come around for some of my fights and talk to me and give me advice on what I was doing wrong.
One thing that I would always remember him by was his belief in me.
I made him a promise that I would win an internationally recognised title. I came close to fulfilling that promise but it wasn’t to be. I will keep pursuing that promise with the time I have left in my career.

Light heavyweight professional fighter John Decklam
I wouldn’t know about the other fighters but for me, I first Martin Beni in Rabaul in 1997 where he was running clinics and boxing shows there.
I fell in love with the sport from there and Martin became a mentor to me. My relationship with Martin also came from my marriage to his daughter and he was like a father to me.
He took me into his family and raised me as his own and that’s something that I’m always grateful for.
He was close to me as a fighter and was someone that always spared the time and gave me advice on my training and through him I got a lot experience in boxing.

From left: Martin Beni with Oceania Fighting Promotions marketing manager Noel Sarei during the launching of an event last week. – Nationalpic by ROBINSON LEKA.

OFP marketing manager Noel Sarei
He was instrumental in developing boxing in the country before the country gained its independence.
His actions in the ring gave confidence and pride to a lot of people in PNG during a time when we were moving towards self-governance.
Martin’s exploits in boxing also opened the eyes of the world to what we could accomplish as a country which was a timely gesture that boosted our morale as a group of people ready to go out on our own as an independent nation.
His lifelong dream to have a Papua New Guinean claim a world boxing title will go on and we will be here to continue on the path that he has set.

Interim PNG Boxing Council president Ben Micah
I was 16-years-old at the time (1974) when Martin Beni fought and beat Australian lightweight champion Colin Cassidy at Konedobu.
A Papua New Guinean was standing in the ring and destroying an Australian champion in front of a roaring crowd.
It was something that was not expected from a small place like our country but he did it and that’s why he will always and forever be known as a champion in this country. His life and contribution to sports is something that also needs consideration by our leaders because he was the only man in the ring fighting for the pride of Papua New Guineans.