How boxing led me to my wife Golden Gloves winner, Hirini Wikaira, said boxing became the bridge to eternal marriage BY MARVIN LATCHUMANAN Reminiscing about his boxing career and how it led to temple marriage, Hirini Piikau Wikaira, a senior majoring in Pacific Island Studies from New Zealand, kept a recording of when he won against Auckland, New Zealand champion Andrew Lueii. Listening to the final words from the commentator, “Wikaira dishes out powerful uppercuts and long right hands, which snap Lueii’s head back often. Wikaira seems to have all the skills to go far, and although Lueii is still firing in the third, he is clearly outgunned and is being clubbed by right hands.” The commentator concluded saying, “In an eventful fight, Hirini Wikaira impresses enough to win a unanimous decision.” Meeting his eternal companion Wikaira recalled how the sport led him to marry his wife, Abish Wikaira, a junior from New Zealand majoring in TESOL education. He said being married to her is the most precious blessing, and she is someone he will fight for forever. He said everything fell into place after he served a full-time mission in Brisbane, Australia. He was reunited with his former boxing coach, Herewini Jones, to resume training. Hirini Wikaira also said he found he had feelings for a girl he said he never liked before. 42
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Hirini Wikaira shared he was inspired to act on his impressions about his coach’s daughter, Abish. “Whilst being there, I became close to his daughter and felt impressed that she was my eternal companion. “After spending time together, I could tell we got along very well, and my feelings weren’t just mine but ours. I remember telling her saying, ‘I think you’re my eternal companion.’ It just came out. She replied, ‘I know.’” Abish Wikaira said after receiving inspiration, they decided to get married a week later week (on the second night of October 2016 General Conference), but he proposed properly the week after. Hirini Wikaira said, “We prayed for confirmation, and from that night, we were pretty much together. A week later I proposed to her at the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, and one day later I flew here to Hawaii. “We did long distance for one year. Then, when I returned for the holidays in summer break, we were sealed in the temple. Three years later, we are both here in Hawaii. Boxing helped me not only learn skills for life but also led me to my eternal companion.” Abish Wikaira said she was also convinced her husband’s boxing journey had led to their journey in marriage. She said, “The way we came together was a really special experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. We still learn
new things together every day, but with Heavenly Father as our guide, we keep our eyes forward and our heads up knowing everything’s going to be fine.” Wikaira’s boxing career Hirini Wikaira is from the Northland of New Zealand and said he started boxing when he was 13 years old. His father introduced him to the sport and encouraged him to “give it a try.” He said he had trouble finding matches because boxing was not popular where he lived. He moved to Hamilton, New Zealand, when he was 15 and joined a local association called The Nawton Boxing Club. With the move to Hamilton, it was easier for him to find boxing matches, and he said he would compete in tournaments at least once a month. Hirini Wikaira said, “I had coach Rusty Porter, second coach Merrill Percell, and third [coach] Herewini Jones. I also would train with my dad, Shane Wikaira.” He won the Waikato championship, qualifying him to go to the New Zealand Nationals in 2010. He placed second, and he said it made him determined to sharpen his skills in the sport. In 2011, he placed second again, and he said, “I became hungrier. In 2012, I trained harder and had assistance with Herewini Jones.
