Soulan James Pownceby (née Soulan James Rikihana, born 4 May 1975 in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

) is a New Zealand

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was described by

TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

in 2004 as one of New Zealand's most exciting talents since

David Tua Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi (born 21 November 1972), known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua w ...

. He is also notable for convictions for assault and manslaughter.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Pownceby was one of the New Zealand team's main hopes for a boxing medal in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth games but he was eliminated from the competition after losing 6–26 against his first opponent. Pownceby had an impressive amateur record and won numerous New Zealand gold medals as a middle weight, light-heavy weight, and heavy weight. Pownceby was also selected for the 2004 Athens Olympics and was the only boxer chosen to represent New Zealand at this event. Pownceby was eliminated from the competition after losing 19–33 against his first opponent. Pownceby is a four time New Zealand National Amateur Champion, winning in 2001 (Middle), 2002 (Light Heavy), 2005 (Light Heavy) and 2006 (Heavy).

Professional career

Pownceby defeated Joel Casey for the

World Boxing Foundation P List of boxing organisations in chronological order by the year of their establishment. The four major sanctioning bodies are in bold. All List Global (Worldwide) Continental * WBA Asia - 2014 * WBA Oceania * Federación Latinoamericana de C ...

light-heavyweight title on 17 June 2010. Pownceby, who was ranked 9th in the July 2010 WBO light heavyweight rankings, was in superb form and won the fight over 12 rounds. Pownceby has also held the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

Asia Pacific light-heavyweight title after defeating Togasilamai Letoa in a 12-round fight. Pownceby is ranked fifth in New Zealand's

pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...

record. After defeating

Daniel MacKinnon Colonel Daniel Mackinnon (1791 – 22 June 1836) was a Scottish Colonel of the Coldstream Guards who played an important part at the Battle of Waterloo. Family Daniel was the younger son of William Mackinnon, eldest son of the Clan MacKinnon C ...

, Pownceby was ranked 1st in WBO in July 2012, however despite reaching the number one mandatory position, Pownceby would not be able to fight for a world title due passed convictions which makes him unable to leave the county. Pownceby was unable to fight again due to a serious neck injury.

Professional boxing titles

*New Zealand National Boxing Federation (NZNBF) cruiserweight title (180½ ''Ibs'') *WBO Asia Pacific light heavyweight title (174½ ''Ibs'') *

World light heavyweight title (175 ''Ibs'')

Professional boxing record

Convictions

On 19 October 1994, Pownceby killed his five-month-old daughter Jeanette Rikihana. Despite claiming to Police that he had dropped her in the shower, the post-mortem revealed "horrendous injuries - severe bruising to the head, including a cracked skull, and internal bruising." In addition to the injuries that resulted in her death, the autopsy also revealed that the baby was suffering from "six fractured ribs caused by a chest injury at least two weeks before her death" and was "malnourished with wasting buttocks and thighs". Pownceby was charged with murder, however the jury at his murder trial ruled that he was not guilty of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

but was guilty of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

. Pownceby was sentenced to four years in jail. During the period 1998 to 2000, Pownceby was convicted of four violent assaults. One of these assaults was committed against an unnamed woman.

Personal life

Pownceby has faced numerous difficulties throughout his life. His father (a United States Navy serviceman) has never acknowledged him, his sister was murdered by her partner in 1990, and his mother died of cancer in 1993. Pownceby was jailed in 1995 for four years for the manslaughter of his 5-month-old daughter and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

following his release from prison in 1998. In 2004 Pownceby said he could not change the past but that he was "trying to be the best person I can be". In 2006 Pownceby announced that he intended to donate his first professional boxing purse to child cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pownceby, Soulan Living people 1975 births Olympic boxers for New Zealand Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games New Zealand professional boxing champions New Zealand people convicted of manslaughter New Zealand male boxers Prisoners and detainees of New Zealand Unitec Institute of Technology alumni Light-heavyweight boxers Commonwealth Games boxers for New Zealand New Zealand world boxing champions Boxers trained by Chris Martin Boxers from Christchurch