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<\/p>\nAt 65, Lalau Pauli Willie Fong still remembers the weight of stepping into the Olympic ring with S\u0101moa on his back.<\/p>\n
Decades later, in a West Auckland gym packed with young fighters, Likutasi Fameitau is carrying a different kind of responsibility – shaping what comes next.<\/p>\n
Together, their stories show how Pacific boxing has grown from personal sacrifice on the world stage to community-led movement at home.<\/p>\n
Fong was part of S\u0101moa\u2019s first Olympic team at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, a moment he says still stands out as one of the proudest of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, so it’s a pretty special moment, you know, not just for myself, but for all of us who got the opportunity to represent S\u0101moa at the very first Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles,\u201d he told Tuilagi William Leolahi on Pacific Huddle.<\/p>\n
At the time, he had just won a New Zealand national title and was in line for selection for Aotearoa. But when S\u0101moa called, the decision was clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen S\u0101moa came calling, you know, obviously it was a no-brainer. I had to go with the country, you know, of birth and our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fong’s journey started long before elite sport, back in S\u0101moa where he first watched the Olympics on television and began dreaming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to watch the Olympic Games come on TV\u2026 and just looking at those games\u2026 wanted me to actually compete one day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Listen to Pauli Willie Fong’s full interview below.<\/p>\n
In those early years, sport was built on village life, schoolyard races and pure passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to race in front of our school grounds\u2026 and in the evening when big boys were playing their rugby, we would be sprinting relays and short distances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fong would go on to compete in sprinting and hurdles before moving into boxing, carrying the same discipline into every stage of his sporting life.<\/p>\n
But he says Pacific athletes in his era had to fight for recognition as much as medals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where we started, a lot of people doubted us. A lot of people didn\u2019t think a small island like S\u0101moa could make it to that level, let alone compete on the Olympic stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles where S\u0101moa made its Olympic debut and introduced a new generation of Pacific talent to the world stage. Photo\/Photosport\/Anthony Phelps<\/p>\n
For him, the legacy is now visible in the next generation of Pacific athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see where Pacific sports are now, those early days were a huge stepping stone\u2026 We set a baseline for what our people can achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
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