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

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

) 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 , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

in 2004 as one of New Zealand's most exciting talents since David Tua. 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 List of boxing organisations in chronological order by the year of their establishment. The four major sanctioning bodies are in bold. See also * List of judo organizations *List of kickboxing organizations References {{DEFAULTSORT:List o ...

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 Boxing ...

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 record. After defeating Daniel MacKinnon, 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, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

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 cen ...

. 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 competitors for New Zealand New Zealand world boxing champions