Daunivavana plots knockout victory on home soil

Boxer Rakuro Daunivavana is hopeful of stop­ping India's Ankit Kumar in the middle rounds of their 10-round fight for the vacant World Alliance Boxing Asso­ciation's (WABA) welterweight title fight at Suva's Vodafone Arena on Saturday.

Speaking to SUNsports yesterday, Daunivavana said he was physically and mentally prepared for what he described as one of the biggest fights of his professional career.

"Preparations ahead of Saturday's fight are on track," he said.

" I've had my training and prepara­tions at the Fiji Military Base boxing gym in Nabua.

"I've been preparing for the past eight weeks. So far, so good."

The Buca Bay, Savusavu-born boxer, who has a professional record of 11 wins, including nine knockouts, 13 losses and three draws, said he re­spect Kumar's ability and is expect­ing a competitive fight.

"This is the first time for him (An­kit) to fight in Fiji, and anything is possible. Therefore, it would be good to test myself against an overseas op­ponent."

However, Daunivavana has his sights set on finishing the contest be­fore the scheduled distance.

"My target for this fight is not to drag it to the last round. I'm aiming to shut him down in round four or round six," he said.

"I've been sharpening up on my guard, learning some new combina­tions and working on my head move­ments to counter his punches."