Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 25

It was the biggest boxing event in New Zealand history - Junior Fa vs Joseph Parker!

Both men are Pacific Islanders and from South Auckland.  Both fighters in the Top 5 WBO rankings. Junior #5 and Joe #3.

We go behind the scenes on fight night with Junior Fa, Hemi 'The Heat' Ahio and the City Kickboxing Crew as the boys prepare to go to war.

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Director - Olly Coddington 

Camera & Sound Operator - Hayden Aull 

Editor - Tuki Laumea 

RNZ Pacific's new sports show Champions of the Pacific premiered the first of their new weekly sports show.  Check out the video above which looks at the rugby legacy of the Ah Kuoi family.

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Wellington Samoa Rugby Union President Ken Ah Kuoi remembers watching his dad play rugby in Samoa before he too began running around the fields of Apia barefoot with a ball under his arm.

Kiwis rugby league legend Fred Ah Kuoi is also on the family tree as well as a couple of ex Manu Samoa internationals.

Now settled in Wellington, Ken follows the fortunes of his son, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, who is about to begin his second year of Super Rugby with the Chiefs.

Although Ken, who still makes regular cameo appearances for the Marist St Pats Presidents team, reckons he'd still beat the Moana Pasifika lock in a foot-race.

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RNZ Pacific is launching a new sports show "Champions of the Pacific" next Wednesday.

RNZ Pacific Sports Journalist Talei Anderson and News Editor Koro Vaka'uta front up for a new weekly sports show to be broadcast across the Pacific via short wave radio, on RNZ National at 9:40pm on Wednesdays, on rnz.co.nz and as a podcast. Champions of the Pacific launches today, with a new episode every Wednesday.…more

For the last two years MMA & Kickboxing fighter Sigi 'Showtime' Pesaleli has been running a free boxfit programme for his community in Otara out on the basketball court at Otamariki Park.

He started off on his own and since then the numbers have slowly started to grow and he now has the backing of the Otara-Papatoetoe local board and Bridge the Gap Charitable Trust.  He also set up the Desire for Greatness initiative or 'D4G' sharing his life experience with youth in South Auckland and developing leadership skills while also promoting mental health awareness.…more

Ieremia Moore’s donning the University of California, Berkeley gear next season after having had three top schools chasing him.

His choice came down to three schools - CAL, UCLA and Duke and a couple of weeks ago he committed to the University of California.

Ieremia left a close-knit family behind to pursue his football dream but says his multi-ethnic heritage makes him feels at home in America's melting pot.

"My mother is Samoan with a little part Chinese," he said. "But I don't know much about my biological father except that he's a New Zealand Caucasian and part Maori."

As a football player, Moore played the sport at the club level in New Zealand and arrived in California to play football, but the pandemic has prevented him from playing games for St. John Bosco.

Yet he's taken part in different camps and made an impressive showing, receiving defensive lineman most valuable player honors at the SoCal National Preps Showcase.…more

Caleb Clarke captured the imagination of rugby fans around the world with an outstanding debut season for the All Blacks in 2020.

Relive the best moments from his breakout season.

Steven Adams & his new team the New Orleans Pelicans played his old team, Oklahoma City Thunder on New Years Eve.

Before the teams played, OKC tweeted this tribute video to Adams showing he's still very respected and loved in Oklahoma

Steven Adams & the Pelicans went on to beat the Pelicans 113 - 80. 

Peep some moments of hilarity with him in the vid below 

Samoan NFL player Juju Smith-Schuster and the Juju foundation paid off over $25,000 worth of layaway gifts earlier this week for families in need.

JuJu and his family teamed up with Pay Away the Layaway volunteers and Burlington Stores in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Compton, California to pay off Christmas gifts and essential products for over 170 families in need.

“I am truly blessed to be able to give back to families in Pittsburgh and California during the holidays,” said Smith-Schuster, about the donation. “We hope paying off these layaway balances will cause a sense of relief and lift the spirit of all of these families.”

Especially during 2020, this donation is a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of people and families in need during a holiday season that has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, JuJu was able to help others and give a lot of people a reason to smile as the year is winding down.

ZEKE LAU UNLEASHED: a raw and authentic vlog series showcasing native Hawaiian Zeke Lau’s life as a professional surfer; giving you an inside look at surfing around the world, his training & recovery, and what he does to get his adrenaline pumping.

In Episode 1, Zeke opens up about how he likes to start his mornings and takes you along with him for an offseason day of surfing his home break in Honolulu, Hawaii, with some of his best friends.

The co-main event last night on the Sydney Super Fight card between Heavyweight fighters Mark Hunt and Paul Gallen did not disappoint.

While Gallen ultimately won via unanimous decision on points (we're guessing because he looked busier), there was no doubt the Super Samoan landed the more damaging shots.  A right hand in the second round rocked Gallen (Mark should have finished him off here but let him recover) and left hooks in the fourth and fifth rounds were clearly the most impactful punches of the bout.

There were plenty of viewers who felt Mark had been robbed or that the fight should have at least been a draw.

Check out the highlights in the video above to judge for yourself.

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More on the fight here plus check out some great photos from the fight like this one below via MMA Junkie here.

Cover shot photo credit to MMA Junkie photographer Christian Cicchini 

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Mark Hunt posted a classy message to his instagram after the fight