Dropping Olympic boxing would be ‘a crime against humanity’
The mooted move to drop boxing from the Olympic schedule in Los Angeles in 2028 – or worse, Brisbane in 2032 – would be a “crime against humanity”, according to Tokyo bronze medallist Harry Garside.
The International Olympic Committee last year voted 69-1 to derecognise the International Boxing Association over governance concerns, and while Australia’s boxers are preparing and ready to fight in Paris, they’re also more than ready to fight for their sport given its uncertain future.
Australian boxers Harry Garside, Caitlin Parker and Teremoana Teremoana.Credit: Getty Images
“Politics is politics, but it’s more about the athletes – the young up-and-coming people who’ve been dreaming of this,” Garside said in Paris, just days before his opening bout. “Boxing is one of the oldest sports – it was in the ancient Olympics – and to see it maybe not be in the Olympic games is honestly terrifying.”
Combat sport is not just “one of the most primitive and pure places we can go”, he says, but also a sport for everyone – in particular one that “saves lives” because it is so often traditionally taken up by a lower socioeconomic demographic.
“Boxing is such a unique sport,” adds team captain Caitlin Parker. “Anyone can do it, and that’s what I love. Any size or shape – tall or short – you can use those attributes to your advantage in the ring. And it’s super inclusive.”
That inclusive nature is more than borne out by the current Australian contingent – the largest ever sent for the sport, including six men and six women from all over the country, with all different backgrounds – from Indigenous boxers Marissa Williamson Pohlman and Callum Peters, to Tina Rahimi, the first Muslim to box for Australia at the Olympics.
Or take a guy like Queensland heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana, who often does a traditional Cook Island dance when he wins, and who likes to say that he represents not just his family or his country, but all the Pasifika community.
Standing almost two metres tall, Teremoana is basically a big friendly giant – with the body of Jason Momoa, the face of Jimmy Smits and the voice of Taika Waititi. He’s utterly charming and self-effacing – at least when he’s not punching people.
Teremoana says he believes he’s certain to win a medal, he’s just not sure which colour yet. But when he considers where he is right now – with people saying his name, his grandfather’s name, in the City of Light – he also can’t help but feel as though he has already succeeded.
“I think of it like I’ve got a chisel, and I’m chiseling my name into the stone,” Teremoana says. “And every time I succeed, boom, it gets deeper and you can see it more clearly.”
Teremoana Teremoana when he was selected for the team.Credit: Getty Images
His home coach – national assistant coach Shara Romer – is also the first Australian female boxing coach at an Olympic Games, so he wants success as much for her as for himself.
“She works well with me, she knows how to push my buttons. She just gets me,” he says. “I’m a bit laid back, pretty chill – when it comes to training I’m always trying to get rest days – but Shara’s bringing the best out of me.”
Australian boxing team captain Caitlin Parker (in red) fears the great gains made in women’s boxing would be lost if the sport is dropped.Credit: Getty Images
The role of women in boxing’s survival as an Olympic sport isn’t lost on Parker either. Female boxing was only introduced to the games in London in 2012, so until this year only four Aussie women had qualified for an Olympics. Now six are in France ready to take their best shot.
Parker remembers making Rio her goal, and wants that for the next generation of girls. “It’s been such a massive part of my life,” she says. “It makes me so sad to think that some kids who look up to us, or kids that are starting in the sport, that have the same kind of dream, that that’s going to be shattered for them. That absolutely guts me. Especially women. We’re just starting to create history in this sport.”
All they can do right now is focus on the present, and strive for a podium finish because there’s history to be made. No Australian woman has ever won a medal for boxing at the Olympics, and no Aussie boxer has ever won gold.
“And I truly believe that each one of us is capable of doing that,” says Parker. “You can ask any one of us on the team, and all of us will say, ‘Without a doubt, I want that gold medal’. It’s just ingrained in our culture – it’s all we kind of talk about.”