A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

A fight becomes more interesting when a fan feels a personal connection to one of the fighters. That’s why fighters draw better in their hometown than elsewhere. A direct personal interaction is the strongest tie of all.

Reece Chapman (disclosure; he’s my great nephew) met Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana after the weigh-in for the June 14 fight card at Madison Square Garden. Richardson Hitchens vs. George Kambosos and Andy Cruz vs Hironori Mishiro were slated as the co-featured bouts. Teremoana would be in the fourth fight of the evening.

Teremoana is 27 years old, 6-feet-6-inches tall, 265 pounds, and lights up a room when he enters. He’s not just an imposing figure. There’s an aura of warmth about him. Reece had sat in on an interview that I conducted minutes after the weigh-in and asked several questions. Afterward, they posed for a photo together.

Now Teremoana was walking to the ring to fight Aleem Whitfield. The energy level in the arena picked up. Teremoana has charisma. When the bell for round one rang, Reece leaned forward with heightened anticipation.

“I’m nervous for him,” he said. “I feel like I’m watching a friend.”

Teremoana was born and raised in Australia. He’s Australian-Scottish on his mother’s side of the family. The culture of the Cook Islands (a tiny nation in the South Pacific with a population of under 20,000) was embedded in him by his father and grandfather. He was raised in a Christian household. His religious beliefs are at the core of his value system. “To come from a little dot in the Pacific Ocean to where I am today is a blessing,” he says. “I believe in doing the right thing and leading by example.”

Teremoana is articulate and thoughtful. “The world is growing more selfish,” he notes. “Technology is connecting us, but it’s also tearing us apart.”

He started boxing at age twelve to please his father, didn’t like it, but continued out of respect for his father. Years later, he began to enjoy the ride. He has dreadlocks and hasn’t cut his hair for eight years. Like the biblical Sampson, he feels that his hair gives him strength. He plans to cut it when his boxing days are over.

As of now, Teremoana’s career is going well. He won his first fight in the super-heavyweight division at the 2024 Paris Olympics by knockout before losing by decision in the quarter-final round to the eventual gold-medal winner Bakhodir Jalolov. His record as a pro stands at 8-and-0 with 8 knockouts.

“I’m not an angry person,” he says. “But when I get in the ring and look at my opponent, I say to myself, ‘This guy is trying to prove that he’s superior to me.’ And I become very egotistical. Once the bell rings, my mindset is, ‘This is my ring. You stepped in it, so now you have to deal with me.’”

Ring announcer David Diamante, who has worked several of Teremoana’s fights, says, “The sound of this guy’s punches landing tells you he’s a different kind of puncher.”

He’s managed by Brian Peters who’s best known for guiding Katie Taylor to stardom in the professional ranks. Eddie Hearn is his promoter. Hearn knows how to build a fighter.

When Teremoana enters the ring, he feels that the spirits of his ancestors and the spirit of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are with him. That gives him something larger than himself to flow into. Although one might note the thoughts of trainer Don Turner who once opined, “I’ve been around boxing a long time. Let me tell you what I’ve learned from watching guys like Ali and Evander and Larry Holmes. When the bell rings, a fighter’s belief in Jesus might help him. But Jesus won’t.”

At Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, Teremoana’s opponent was Aleem Whitfield. Whitfield has some skills and had fashioned a 9-and-0 record with six knockouts. But he’d never fought a fighter with a winning record. And more to the point, he began his career at 166 pounds and weighed in for Teremoana at a blubbery 242.

In other words; Matchroom didn’t bring Teremoana all the way from Australia to New York to lose.

Teremoana kept Whitfield at bay with his jab, backed him into a corner, stunned him with a left hook up top, and finished the job with a brutal barrage that left Aleem barely conscious as he slid to the canvas.

KO at 2:28 of round one.

“Wow!” Reece said.

After David Diamante announced the result, Teremoana did a ritual haka victory dance in the ring that further revved up the crowd. He’s a showman. He has star quality. And can PUNCH. What happens when he’s tested and has to go deep into a fight? It will be worth watching to find out.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside — is available at https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329

  In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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