EMERGING boxing sensation Emori Rauluni has been offered a three-month trial with the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) boxing National Talent Identification Program (NTIP), which is set to fast track his career in the ring.
The Rauluni name is synomous with boxing in the Griffith area, but the talented 17-year-old has been given a massive boost with the place in the NTIP, and a chance to step out of his older brother’s shadow.
Emori’s coach and father David Rauluni Snr said his son’s acceptance into the NTIP was a massive chance for him to make the jump from talented amateur to potential title contender.
“This is his (Emori’s) chance to show people what he can do. He has the ability to go places,” Rauluni Snr said.
“But it’s a chance not just inside the ring, he’ll also learn about how to prepare, diet and how to look after his body to get the best out of it.”
The sense of opportunity isn’t lost on the softly spoken Emori, who said he can’t wait to get into camp and take on some of the best fighters in the country.
“It’s really exciting, I can’t wait to go. It’s going to be hard, but I am ready,” he said.
NSW regional NTIP coach Joel Keegan said the program could take Emori all the way to the Olympics or the Commonwealth games, but added he has to put the work in to get there.
The Griffith teenager will be coming up against some of the most-talented juniors in the state, all hungrily eyeing a full-time scholarship, with six athletes fighting for three places in the latest intake of boxers. If the southpaw fighter is able to snare one of the valuable scholarships, he will be evaluated every six months to see that he is maintainig the high standsards imposed by the AIS.
Keegan said Emori had a stack of natural ability, but admitted the isolation of living in Griffith may have left him a step behind the others, who are able to fight on a regular basis.
“Emori’s natural ability is extremely high, but that will only take him so far. The development camps will help him grow and show him the level of hard work and dicipline that is required,” Keegan said.
“The scholarship is like a captured enviroment, where week in and week out they are eating, sleeping and breathing boxing.
“He (Emori) has got the talent level
to begin with, but his lack of ability
to compete (in regular events), none of which is his fault, could cost him, but now it’s time to ante up.”
Emori will be looking to follow the same path as rising star Cameron Hammond, who made the most of the NTIP after also coming from an isolated home town, to now being tipped as part of the new generation in the squared circle for Australia.
But to get to that level, Emori will go through a series of camps. Each camp consists of 11 sessions a week of high-intesntiy workouts, which encompass tatical and technique training as well as strength and conditioning to make the most of his natural gifts.
“We are really trying to groom these guys to be part of the next generation of stars,” Keegan said.
“They have all got great skills, but we try and build on that and make them better, he (Emori) is southpaw, which is a bonus, and he’s got a great eye.
“And the things we need to fix, can be easily fixed.”
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