Jubilee loses close fight

Tahitian based Cook Islands boxer Arama Jubilee impressed the Cook Islands camp in India on Friday night when he faced his tough Nauru opponent.

The promising 17-year-old was defeated 12-8 in a closely fought bout.

The loss has also brought the end to the young man’s Delhi Commonwealth Games campaign but he remains in high spirits after the initial heartbreak and disappointment over the loss.

Jubilee went tit-for-tat against his more solid opponent in the 91 plus super heavyweight division and looked sharp and composed in the ring.

But the experienced Nauru boxer, who took out the silver medal at the Pacific Mini Games in Rarotonga last year, just had more tricks up his gloves than the Cooks boxer and although Jubilee was only trailing by a couple of points in the second and third round – his Nauru opponent let rip and scored a couple more clean shots on Jubilee to extend his lead and win the bout.

Jubilee, although shattered with the loss, after knowing how close he came to winning it, is not at all disheartened by the loss and is a rising star to keep a close eye on as he will one day win the gold for the Cooks.

He certainly carried the weight of the nation on his young shoulders and the Cook Islands as a whole should be proud of this young man who has represented the country and the code of boxing excellently in Delhi.

More stories, photos – pages 17, 20