Israel
Adesanya wants harsh laws for sucker punches in New
Zealand.
Adesanya’s teammate, Liufau Vake, popularly called Fau, was
killed by a sucker punch in 2021. Vake and his
brother Ika were attacked by four men outside a bar on Symonds
Street in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 16, 2021. The 25-year-old
Vake was punched on the side of the head by Daniel Havili when he
wasn’t alert. Vake was unable to break the fall and hit his head on
the side of the road, leading to a skull fracture and brain
bleeding. Vake couldn’t recover despite undergoing surgery and
passed away nine days later.
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Havili pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to two
years and nine months in prison. Meanwhile, another assailant, Ofa
He Mooni Folau, pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six
months’ home detention.
Adesanya has since been working on making the laws harsher so
people hesitate before punching someone. Adesanya further notes
that one assailant was sentenced to house arrest during the
COVID-19 lockdown, when almost the entire world was locked down
inside their homes. Adesanya continues to work towards stricter
laws and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
‘We’re Never Gonna Stop’
“If you see someone and you are bitch enough to sneak up on them
and [punch], you’re a bitch, you’re a sucker, you’re f—-ng lower
than dirt,” Adesanya said during a video conference. “There’s
nothing high and mighty about that… One of our teammates got killed
with a sucker-punch, a coward punch. And the guys only got house
arrest. And they got put on house arrest while everyone’s on
lockdown. So we’re all on f—-ing house arrest. So how the f—k is
that gonna count on his sentence? Anyway, we’re trying to change
the law. So that way if you sucker punch someone, you get 15-20
years. And we’re never gonna stop.”