All boxers have a shot: Avira

There are several important events for the PNG Boxing Union this year, with the highlight being the AIBA (International Boxing Association) World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, next month.
PNGBU president John Avira said this year’s events would serve as an important build up towards next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Speaking to the media when welcoming back the Papua New Guinea boxing contingent from the Oceania Boxing championships last Friday, Avira stated that there was still an opportunity for fighters to put themselves in contention for representative duties.
“This is the cream of the team that we will be looking at, but that’s not to say that they will be automatically selected,” Avira said.
“We got a fair bit of time and all the fighters need to do the right thing, the criteria still applies to everyone before we send the final team to those events.”
A major achievement for PNGBU has been the qualification of two boxers, Charles Keama and Maxie Mangea, for the AIBA World Championships next month. Their placings in the Oceania Championships, with Keama winning gold in the flyweight (52kg) division and Mangea claiming silver in the light flyweight (49kg) division, have placed the duo as medal contenders for Gold Coast 2018.
The South Pacific Brewery-sponsored national boxing championships which will be held in Arawa, Bougainville, in September would give boxers a chance to put their hands up for selection into the boxing contingent of Team PNG to the Mini Pacific Games in Vanuatu in November.