From Kaitāia to the world - Mea Motu chasing two boxing world titles

Pukepoto’s Mea Motu, here too strong for India’s Chandni Mehra in Whangārei last December to retain her IBO super-bantamweight world title, will take on one of the world’s best in the UK

Kaitāia boxer Mea Motu has had to fight her entire life, with that hardship giving her the mental and physical strength to be crowned IBO super-bantamweight world champion.

But the “Nightmea” from Pukepoto knows that she’ll need all that strength, skill and ring smarts for her next battle - taking on one of the world’s best fighters in the UK.

In a monumental moment for New Zealand boxing, Motu (19-0) is set to challenge England’s Ellie Scotney (9-0) for the IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine titles on October 26 in Manchester, England.

Mea holds the ranking as the No1 contender with the IBF, making her the clear opponent for Scotney’s next defence.

This highly anticipated bout, hosted on Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom card, marks a historic opportunity for Motu as she aims to become New Zealand’s first-ever unified world champion.

Far North boxer Mea Motu has lined up a history-making double-world title bout in the UK in October

This feat has only been attempted by heavyweights David Parker and David Tua. The world will be watching as Motu steps into the ring taking the pride of Te Tai Tokerau and Aotearoa with her, with the chance to bring home more titles and inspire a new generation of athletes.

Success would put her in the world’s spotlight, with Matchroom promoting some of the world’s biggest boxers, including heavyweights Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic and Fabio Wardley, and Scotney, and has more than a dozen world champs on its books.

This will be a a phenomenal journey for this wāhine toa. Once a beaten, homeless mother, Motu has come out the other side to become a world champion, and now to the absolute pinnacle of women’s boxing.

Motu retained her IBO super-bantamweight world title in Whangārei, last December, in a brutal victory over Indian challenger Chandni Mehra.

This March she won a dominant second-round stoppage victory over 20-year-old Thai Noppaket Srisawas in Auckland and vowed to head overseas to defend her crown and take on some of the biggest names in the sport with the aim of becoming an undisputed world champ.

After the March bout, Motu sent a stern warning to her fellow female fighters - including IBF and WBO super bantamweight champion, Scotney.

England’s Ellie Scotney (9-0) will put her IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine titles on the line on October 26 in Manchester, England, against Kaitāia’s own world champ Mea Motu

“I’m coming Ellie Scott, you better watch it, you ain’t seen this Māori girl,” Motu said after the win.

In 2022, Motu became the first, and still only, NZ woman to win titles in three weights, and is determined to be the country’s first undisputed world champ.

Motu absorbed almost no damage in a little over three minutes in the ring against Srisawas and said she had no ceiling regarding what was next.

“It takes me to the world, and I’m coming to collect all those damn belts, I’ll show you what I’m made of,” Motu told the Northland Age after that March fight.

She credited coach Isaac Peach for her sensational rise.

“They have invested in me so much, this is why I’m the champion. It means so much, I have the courage because of you, I want to show the world how bloody great New Zealand is.”

In October the world will see just how great Mea Motu is.

Scotney claimed the IBF world title in June 2023 when she out-pointed Tauranga-born Cherneka Johnson and successfully defended the belt three months later, before adding the WBO title in a unification bout against then-champion Segolene Lefebvre of France.

“Ellie’s got all the advantages by being based in England with all the great sparring and all the facilities and all the advantages everyone has by not being in New Zealand. But I think Mea’s advantage is that she’s an old Māori girl from New Zealand with everything to gain, nothing to lose — and Mea Motu can really fight,’' Peach said.

“We’re going to go there and upset the world. We’re going to make Eddie Hearn cry. That’s what we want. It’s just fun for us. That’s what it’s got to be; it’s got to be focused fun. And for Mea, this is an amazing story. There should be a movie made about her, and this is the last chapter to the big time.”

Peach said there had been talk about the two fighting for an interim world title over a year ago, but negotiations didn’t go well. Peach felt Scotney’s camp didn’t want the fight, but with Motu now the mandatory challenger in the IBF bout, they had to take it.

“There’s always going to be tension when it comes to us. We come in there as the B-side and we’re there to upset the world. We’re going to come in with our own mojo and there will be tension for sure. We’re going to try to put her off her game. Mea’s a beast, and we’re going to make her even more of a beast for this one. It’s a huge fight, man. It’s a really big fight.”

Motu is currently in training for the bout, with a venture to Australia for sparring in the coming weeks in the works.

Peach said it would be a big step up for both boxers.

“Mea and Ellie are by far the two best. Ellie hasn’t fought anyone as good as Mea, and Mea hasn’t fought anyone as good as Ellie.

“This is a huge fight with two exceptionally good woman fighters, so it’s the same for both. Mea’s goal the whole time has been this fight, so we’re just really happy and excited we’ve got this opportunity.”