New Zealand boxer Lani Daniels is looking to successfully defend her IBF heavyweight title against Gqeberha’s Razell Mohamed at the Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, on August 26.
This will be the 34-year-old Daniels’ first defence after winning the IBF belt against her Kiwi compatriot Alrie Meleisa, 30, at the same venue in May.
The battle lines between the boxers were drawn after SA cruiserweight champion Mohamed took to social media to call out the No 1-ranked heavyweight boxer in November 2022.
Mohamed, who is ranked fourth on BoxRec, won her SA national title in March and is currently undefeated with three wins and two draws.
Daniel said she was looking forward to fighting Mohamed, who is a teacher at Ankervas Primary School in Rocklands.
“I am so excited. With boxing in the past, I haven’t really built momentum in my boxing career so it’s nice to be fighting back-to-back and getting in so soon and I couldn’t be more prepared,” Daniel said.
“I don’t know too much about my opponent, she called me out last year sometime.
“She’s a southpaw and that changes the way I will approach things, but it doesn’t change the result.
“I am still quite confident that I am here to do a job and I will do it to the best of my ability.”
New Zealand’s IBO super-bantamweight world title champion, Mea Motu, will also be in the ring on the night in the main event.
Unbeaten Motu will face heavy-handed Malawian challenger Ellen Simwaka in her first defence of the IBO crown she won in April by outpointing Tania Walters at the same North Shore venue.
New Zealand D & L Events promoter, Dean Lonergan, said it was exciting times for women’s sports in the country.
“I am really excited about this.
“This is something brand new in New Zealand boxing.
“We have never done this before where we had two world championships actually hitting up significant cards.
“Women’s sport is coming to the fore right now.
“Last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup was incredible, and the Fifa World Cup is on right now, which is a big plus for New Zealand.
“Of course, we have two home-grown world champions and I am very excited about having these women [in the event].
“They both have two very tough fights and they will be [extremely] entertaining.
“I am really excited about the rise of these women, and we have something very exciting on the front as well.
“We are going through a golden era of New Zealand boxing,” Lonergan said.
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