Boxing news: Battle On The Reef, NRL Fight Night, Live Updates, Results, Card, Start Time
Tevita Pangai Jnr, a former National Rugby League player, has been called a disgrace to Tonga by his boxing rival Frank Amato, who he will face tonight in Townsville.
Before his boxing debut tonight in north Queensland, Tevita Pangai Jnr. has been called a disgrace for blaming his parents for the failure of his rugby league career.
As the two prepare to go to fight at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre, Pangai Jnr's heavyweight foe Frank Amato has fired a nasty barrage at the former NRL star, calling him an embarrassment to Tonga.
Pangai Jnr was already dealing with turmoil leading up to the fight when Amato launched his attack; the Bulldogs needed to quickly approve the fight so that the former Canterbury forward could receive the last of his NRL contract, estimated at roughly $60,000.
Gold Coast slugger Amato is ecstatic that Bulldogs executives have given Tevita the Terminator the go-ahead to fight despite the fact that Pangai Jnr is still technically on Canterbury's payroll until November 1.
After only four months of playing for the NSW Origin team, Pangai Jr. announced his retirement from rugby league at the end of the 2023 season.
The Tongan Test representative claimed that his parents had pressured him into rugby league, and he now plans to go out on his own as a professional boxer.
That road brought him to Townsville for a rematch with Amato, a fellow Tongan who had previously criticized Pangai for his "disrespectful" behavior against members of his own race.
After hearing that he publicly criticized his parents for forcing him to play rugby league, Amato remarked, "I lost all respect for him."
That's not how things are done in a Tongan household.
As a Tongan, I do not respect him for that because children are taught to honor their parents. Nothing they can do will change anything.
I wish my parents had encouraged me to reach my full potential like his did.
I'm grateful to my parents, who had the courage to let me move to Australia when I was 14 and raise myself.
There's no way I'd ever whine.
"(His words) were an insult to our way of life."
Pangai Jr. has a perfect 2-0 record in the ring, and after shockingly leaving the NRL to pursue boxing title dreams, he is under intense pressure to put up a dominant performance against Amato.
A number of current and former NRL stars will participate in the eight-card spectacular that will take place in Townsville. Junior Paulo will compete against Ben Hannant, Nelson Asofa-Solomona will go up against Jarrod Wallace, and Reagan Campbell-Gillard will make his debut against the Cowboys' hometown favorite, Jason Taumalolo.
In the meantime, former Broncos captain Justin Hodges will engage in a battle reminiscent of the State of Origin versus former New South Wales center Matt Cooper. This match will take place before the main event, which will see Paulo Aokuso facing off against Gabriel Omar Diaz of Argentina.
There will be few fights with as much animosity as Amato's clash with Pangai Jnr, who believes the second-grade rugby-union fighter will buckle under the scrutiny of 4,000 spectators.
"You haven't seen what you're going to see on Saturday night with thousands of people, not just 200," added TPJ, who weighs 117.2 kg compared to Amato's 100 kg.
Why is it that a cruiserweight knocked you out on TikTok?
This is serious boxing, folks.
Amato escalated his verbal attack, saying that Pangai Jnr. had cheated the Broncos and the Bulldogs, two of his former NRL clubs, out of their money.
After this Saturday, "he'll have to look for a new job," Amato remarked.
The fact that he is a crook makes it quite unlikely that rugby league would want him back.
"He was a member of the Broncos and the Bulldogs at one point.
"Even though he accepts their payment, he does not alter the person that he is.
"People look at him and think he can run through a brick wall, but he's not: he just takes, takes, and takes."
Asofa-Solomona, who is 200 centimeters tall and weighs 131 kilograms, claims he is prepared to steal the show by knocking out Wallace.
He declared, "Anyone who gets in front of me, I am going to do a job on them," and he meant it.
I'm all set to go now. I've been working on something for the past few months, and I can't wait to finally reveal it to you.
This is an excellent playing card. You won't find too many tournaments when so many NRL stars are battling on the same night, so take advantage of it while you can.