French Polynesia’s Tauhiti Nena has been elected as the new President of the Oceania Boxing Confederation (OCBC) after polling 80 percent of the vote against his only candidate, Fiji’s Manasa Baravilala.
The 51-year-old replaces Australia’s Ted Tanner, who had led the Continental Federation since 2014, but decided not to stand for a third term.
Nena, born in Papeete, on Tahiti, the largest of the French Polynesian islands, has been involved in boxing as a fighter, coach, referee and judge.
He was President of the Polynesian Boxing Federation for 23 years, as well as being the vice-president of the OCBC.
Nena was also President of French Polynesia’s Olympic Committee from 2008, but in 2017 was forced to step down by the Government after a Court of Appeal declared a vote invalid due to the illegal counting of votes.
A physical education instructor by profession, Nena has also held several political positions in French Polynesia, including as Minister of Education, Youth and Sports.
Among those to send congratulations to Nena was Umar Kremlev, President of the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Last year, Kremlev had pledged to support the region, particularly at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
The pledge was made during a virtual Continental Forum for Oceania, which was arranged by IBA for 14 National Federations.
Kremlev promised that the development of boxing in the region was a priority for the governing body.
He claimed that the development in the Pacific was a “core mission” of the world governing body.
There are also plans to establish an IBA Academy in Fiji.
SOURCE: INSIDE THE GAMES/PACNEWS
