ON the outskirts of Vunavutu Village in Nadroga, a humble verandah echoes with the rhythmic thud of fists on worn-out punching bags.
The equipment is patched. The gym improvised, and the resources scarce. But the dreams forged here are anything but small.
At the heart of this humble sports establishment stands Aliki Temo Kolitapa, a man who lost sight in one eye but never lost his vision for the future.
From Nasau, Moce in Lau, with maternal links to Tubou in Lakeba, Temo’s journey through boxing is not solely about sport.
It is a story of redemption and belief in the fact that even the most unlikely places can spawn champions.
A childhood spark
Temo’s love for boxing began long before he stepped into a ring.
Growing up, he would watch his father train at home. The sight of boxing gloves fascinated him.
“I used to sit there and watch my dad,” he said.
“Something about those gloves caught my attention. I didn’t know it then, but that was where my journey started.”
His passion deepened during his school days at Lelean Memorial School in Nausori.
After school, boxing soon became more than just curiosity. It became purpose.
The night that changed everything
At 24, Temo’s life took a devastating turn.
He lost the sight in his right eye following a brawl in a nightclub, a moment he now openly shares with young people as a cautionary tale.
“I speak from a place of vulnerability,” he said.
“That one decision changed my life. I tell the youths I train today to make wise choices. Don’t waste the talents God has given you.”
At the time, Temo was active in both volleyball and boxing. The injury ended his volleyball career almost immediately.
“I couldn’t receive the ball properly or do my killer spikes anymore,” he said.
“Boxing too became dangerous.”
Unable to see fully, every fight carried the risk of further injury. Still, the fighter in him refused to quit.
Fighting with one eye
After taking a 12-month break, Temo returned to the ring.
“For years I boxed with one eye,” he said.
“In my heart I knew I still wanted to pursue my dreams. My blind eye wasn’t not going to stop me.”
The decision to continue with the sport was risky, but it paid off. He travelled around Fiji and the Pacific, competing and earning medals along the way.
But when he eventually turned professional, doctors had to intervene.
They warned him that continuing with the sport could cost him his remaining good eye.
“So I had to retire,” he said.
“It was heartbreaking because I never reached the level I wanted.”
For a moment, it seemed the sport that shaped his life had been taken away.
But God had another plan.
A new calling: Butterfly Boxing Club
Instead of leaving boxing behind, Temo decided to pass it on.
He established the Butterfly Boxing Club (BBC) in Nadroga in 2014, a grassroots initiative aimed at mentoring young people through sport.
The club operates on a simple principle: all classes are free.
“Our motto is simple,” he said.
“Work very hard and God will reward you.”
For Temo, the gym is about far more than teaching boxing skills.
It is about guiding young people away from destructive paths.
“Drugs are destroying the lives of our young people,” he said.
“I use my own failures to teach them. I tell them I didn’t reach my dream — but they still can.”
Training with almost nothing
The BBC gym is as humble as it gets.
Students train with torn punching bags stitched together multiple times. Skipping ropes are sometimes the same ropes used to tether animals. Cement blocks double as dumbbells.
Yet inside this makeshift gym lives fierce determination.
“We don’t have much,” Temo admitted.
“But we have passion, raw talent and lots of hope.”
Sometimes people mock the setup.
“We become the laughing stock,” he said.
“People see our gym and the struggles we face and they try to discourage us.”
But Temo refuses to focus on what they lack.
“I tell my members not to focus on what we don’t have but what we can achieve with the little we have.”
Producing champions
Against the odds, the club has already produced results.
Boxers from Butterfly Boxing Club have represented Fiji and competed at the Pacific and Oceania Games. Members have also fought internationally and even won a NSW State boxing title.
For Temo, these achievements prove that determination can overcome limited resources.
“If we don’t put in the hard yards, even the best gym in the world is useless,” he said.
“But if we give 100 percent, we can achieve the same results as those with the best facilities.”
The role of faith and family Behind Temo stands another important figure — his wife Visila, who is also a boxer.
Together they run the club and support the young athletes who come through their doors.
“Coaching young people is not easy,” Temo said.
“Sometimes I get angry and chase them away from the verandah that we use as a gym.”
But they always return.
“Some of them are rejected at home or disowned by their families,” he explained.
“I promised God that my club would remain free to help disadvantaged children.”
A dream passed on
These days, Temo’s biggest hope rests with the next generation, including his own daughter, Merewalesi.
She is now training with hopes of one day competing at the Olympics.
“If she qualifies, she’ll be the first in my family to reach that level,” he said.
“That would be a notch up.”
For a man whose own boxing career was cut short, it would represent something even bigger — the continuation of a dream.
Fighting forward
Temo often reminds his students that greatness does not come from comfort.
He points to one of boxing’s greatest champions for inspiration.
“If Manny Pacquiao can eat rice and one glass of water once a day and still win gold,” he said, “then members of Butterfly Boxing Club in Vunavutu can do it too.”
For Temo, success is not about expensive gyms or fancy equipment.
“It’s all in the hand, the heart and the head,” he said.
Not just boxers but better lives too!
A family of boxers….the Kolitapa family at their makeshift gym in Vunavutu, Nadroga. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
Temo Kolitapa talks to The Sunday Times. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
