{"id":539329,"date":"2026-03-16T03:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T03:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/539329\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T03:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T03:38:11","slug":"samoa-wins-historic-gold-at-world-boxing-future-cup-in-bangkok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/539329\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u0101moa wins historic gold at World Boxing Future Cup in Bangkok"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u0101moa has made history at the World Boxing Future Cup Championships 2026 in Thailand, winning its first-ever gold medal at the tournament thanks to Kealey Perez.<\/p>\n

Perez, 15, secured the gold in the women’s 80kg division after defeating Tuvalu\u2019s Francis Taafaki in an all-Oceania final on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Her victory was backed by a bronze medal from team-mate Anthony Pati in the men\u2019s 90kg division. <\/p>\n

Fellow S\u0101moan fighter Johnsal Semi narrowly missed advancing after a split decision.<\/p>\n

Team S\u0101moa head coach Vitale Perez, Kealey’s father, said the results reflected months of hard work and strong team unity.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Pacific Huddle ahead of the finals, Perez said he was grateful for the opportunity to lead the S\u0101moan team at the international tournament.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

S\u0101moa boxing team coach Vitale Perez, left, with his gold-winning daughter Kealey Perez. Photo\/S\u0101moa Boxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased to have this opportunity. I\u2019m really glad that I had a friend back in New Zealand reach out to see if I could help out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peerz said the opportunity came through S\u0101moa Boxing leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike, the president from S\u0101moa, gifted me with this role and I\u2019m just having a good time and trying to get the goal for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the finals bout between Perez and Taafaki on Facebook below.<\/p>\n

Perez previously coached in New Zealand and runs a boxing gym in the central North Island town of Taumarunui, where he has worked with young fighters for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

He has also been involved with New Zealand boxing development programmes and travelled internationally with youth teams.<\/p>\n

Perez said one highlight came two years ago when he travelled with the New Zealand Under-19 team to the world championships in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came back with three bronze medals and that\u2019s the best New Zealand\u2019s ever done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One of those medals was won by his daughter, Kealy, who would go on to create history for S\u0101moa in Thailand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Youth U19 Team Samoa, left to right, Johnsal Semi, Douglas Pati, Kealey Perez, Anthony Pati, Daniel Alofipo. Photo\/S\u0101moa Boxing.<\/p>\n

Perez said he arrived at the tournament well prepared for the level of competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew what we were coming up against. I\u2019d done my study and I\u2019ve been in this realm for quite a few years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said building a strong connection within the team before travelling to Thailand was important and praised the wider coaching and management staff supporting the fighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaching and management we\u2019ve got here is top-notch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He highlighted support from team managers Benji Tupuola and Faigali Vaughn from Brisbane, assistant coach Junior Pati from New Zealand, and officials from S\u0101moa Boxing.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full interview coach Vitale Perez on Facebook below.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all here for our kids and we\u2019re all on the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perez said his journey into coaching came from being a fighter and practising martial arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust having father figures in kickboxing, karate and boxing \u2014 people that cared for you,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess I\u2019m just giving back. Those people kept me off the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also credited several mentors who helped shape him as a coach, including Martin Stirling from Petone and Australian-based boxing coach Alani Moala.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

S\u0101moan bronze medallist Anthony Pati, from left, with S\u0101moa Boxing Federation Vice-President Papalii Tuna Tusiata, and gold medallist Kealey Perez. Photo\/S\u0101moa Boxing.<\/p>\n

Perez said international tournaments like the Future Cup are important for developing young fighters and proving S\u0101moa can compete against stronger boxing nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team can beat these people. They\u2019ve just got to put their skills and ability together on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The historic gold marks a major milestone for S\u0101moa boxing and adds to growing Pacific success in international combat sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"S\u0101moa has made history at the World Boxing Future Cup Championships 2026 in Thailand, winning its first-ever gold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-539329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}