Lomalito Moala is a Tongan Australian boxer who has represented Tonga at the Commonwealth Games. He won a Bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Lomalito Moala
Sport
Country Tonga
SportBoxing
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing  Tonga
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 New Delhi Lightweight

Moala was born in New Zealand and grew up in Lower Hutt,[1] but moved to Australia in 2005 at the age of 15.[2]

He competed in the 2010 Commonwealth games in New Delhi, winning bronze in the lightweight class.[1][3] In 2012 he was part of the Tongan team at the Oceania Boxing Championships.[4] He failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games by a single point.[5]

He was selected for the Tongan team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[6] In the leadup to the opening ceremony he tweeted that he would wear the shirt of football club Celtic F.C. if retweeted a hundred times.[7][8] He kept his promising at the opening ceremony, attracting media attention and the ire of Tongan fans.[9] The next day, he failed to make the weigh-in and so was not able to compete.[2][10]

Moala now runs a boxing academy in Sydney.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Boxing prodigy brings pride". New Zealand Herald. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Commonwealth 2014: Lomalito Moala out of Games". Kaniva Tonga. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Boxers Uaine and Lomalito win Bronze Medals for Tonga". Matangi Tonga. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Sport: Tonga announce boxing squad for Oceania Champs". RNZ. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  5. ^ Chris Boulous (3 June 2014). "'Nowhere to hide', says Moala". Liverpool City Champion. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Sport: Tonga pin Commonwealth hopes on boxing repeat". RNZ. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Tongan boxer wins loads of new fans by vowing to carry Celtic shirt at Commonwealth Games opening ceremony". Joe. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ^ @lomalitomoala (21 July 2014). "Get me 100+ retweets I will carry the Celtic jersey opening ceremony" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 August 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Tongan fans fume at Moala over Celtic shirt". Kaniva Tonga. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Glasgow 2014: Tonga Celtic fan boxer out of Games". The Scotsman. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Moala Boxing Academy". Retrieved 2 August 2022.