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Kiwi boxer forced to pick up the tools in bid to fund Olympic dreams

January 8, 2020

Jerome Pampellone and trainer Isaac Peach work as plumbers to raise funds.

The issue of a lack of funding in certain sports has again reared its head in amateur boxing, with promising Kiwi fighter Jerome Pampellone and trainer Isaac Peach working as plumbers to try and raise funds.

The Olympic Games' current rules state that boxers must be amateurs if they're to compete for gold, leaving almost all fighters having to self fund in an attempt to reach sport's pinnacle.

As New Zealand's amateur team heads to Asia this weekend to seal spots for this year's Tokyo Games, most of the boxers travelling are self-funded and trying to make ends meet.

Pampellone is just one of those, a World Championship quarter-finalist, who has taken up a day job at trainer Peach's West Auckland plumbing business.

It's seen their relationship in the ring changing from one of trainer and fighter, to employer and employee.

"I'm a big fan of boxers working, I'm totally against just being a full-time boxer," Peach told 1 NEWS.

"He's gonna need a career outside of boxing as well, if Isaac can help him with that too then great," wife Alina Peach adds.

Despite his status as one of New Zealand's most promising fighters, with a top eight finish at the World Championships last September, Pampellone has found funding hard to come by.

The 23-year-old has been given a $10,000 grant by High Performance Sport New Zealand, however that can only take him so far.

"The fact that money is a roadblock to these talented people to achieve for New Zealand is astounding," Alina adds.

"Guys are getting loans, it's crazy," Peach. "The extent people are going to, just to go."

In a statement, Boxing New Zealand acknowledge the HPSNZ support for two fighers, adding that they're working behind closed doors to secure future funding.

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