Kaitāia boxer Mea Motu celebrates with coach Isaac Peach after beating Canada's Tania Walters to win the IBO super bantamweight world title in April. Photo / Photosport
Kaitāia boxer Mea Motu celebrates with coach Isaac Peach after beating Canada's Tania Walters to win the IBO super bantamweight world title in April. Photo / Photosport
Northland’s two world boxing champs - Kaitāia’s Mea Motu and Whangārei’s Lani Daniels - will put their titles on the line against top international opponents in Auckland next month.
And there’s a chance the pair may take fights in Northland in the future if circumstances allow and a suitable venue can be organised, promoter Dean Lonergan says.
The two Te Tai Tokerau wāhine toa world champions headline a five-fight card at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore on August 26. The pair hope their success will show young Northlanders that if they believe in themselves and work hard they can achieve their goals.
Super bantamweight Motu and heavyweight Daniels will put their respective IBO and IBF belts on the line. Also on the card is light heavyweight boxer Jerome Pampellone, as he looks to go a step closer to a world title fight.
Unbeaten Motu, 16-0-0, will take on Ellen Simwaka, 12-6-2, from Malawi, while Daniels, 8-2-2, will take on South African Razel Mohammed, 3-0-2. Both fights are for 10 two-minute rounds.
Motu, a 33-year-old mother of five, is the reigning IBO world super bantamweight champion. She was top billing at the April 27 Fight for Life in Auckland, beating her Canadian rival Tania Walters by unanimous decision. This time her opponent is 26-year-old Simwaka, who lives and trains in South Africa.
Known as the Tigress, she’s ranked No 4 in the IBF, but she’ll face an energised Motu, who said her buildup for this fight had been a lot harder and more challenging, reflecting her status as world champ.
“And for the first time I’ve had a nutritionist – that’s changed a lot. It’s given me a lot more energy,” Motu said.
She now finds she’s recognised more following the Fight for Life bout and world champ billing. Motu has been open about her life - which included hardship and domestic violence - proving an inspiration for people.
“People understand me and know who I am. It makes me more determined to keep doing what I love,” she said.
Motu said despite the success, she’s still the same old “Nightmea” Motu she’s always been and was so proud and excited to be able to defend her title on the same bill as fellow Northlanders Daniels.
“It’s amazing that two boxers have come from these small towns in a small country to be world champs. I feel very blessed and privileged to be world champ, but I still just feel like myself.”
Motu said she’s a proud Northlander and proud Māori and she and Daniels hope their success will be an inspiration for others.
“We’re showing that you can come from a small town and if you work hard, are determined and believe in yourself you can achieve what you want to. Growing up we both knew hardship and struggles and mental battles to get this far. As rangatahi (a younger person) growing up you often lack that belief in yourself, so hopefully people will see that we have come from that background, but have got the belief now and that’s what you need.
“I got mine from my family, who told me that I can achieve anything I want with hard work and that they would always be behind me regardless, and they also keep me grounded. And my boxing gym [Peach Boxing] is my second family and they have helped give me that belief and determination.”
Motu said the chance to box in Northland would be wonderful, and was her number one goal - after her title defence, that is.
Whangārei boxer Lani Daniels shows the power that saw her win the IBF heavyweight world title against Alrie Meleisea in May. Daniels and fellow Northland boxing world champ Mea Motu will put their titles on the line in Auckland in August. Photo / Photosport
‘’That would be amazing and I really pushed to get a fight up north. We’re Northland proud - I was born and raised there - and I want to fight in front of my family and friends up there. Hopefully we can make it happen.’’
Daniels, 35, from Pipiwai, claimed the IBF world title in May, beating fellow New Zealander Alrie Meleisea by unanimous decision.
Daniels sleeps where she trains in west Auckland. Behind the couch that doubles as her bed is a poster of Muhammad Ali, the last thing she sees before going to sleep and first when she wakes up.
She’s excited to be fighting a Mohammed - though thankfully not an Ali. South African Mohammed is ranked No 3 in the IBF.
