09-20-2023, 09:14 PM
Mea Motu and Lani Daniels set to defend their world titles on 'emotional' homecoming show
Sam Wilson
Proud Northlanders Mea Motu and Lani Daniels will defend their world titles in Whangārei in December.
An “emotional” homecoming awaits Mea Motu and Lani Daniels when their wāhine toa roadshow rocks up in Whangārei later this year.
Having successfully defended their world titles in Auckland last month, Motu (17-0, 6 KOs) and Daniels (9-2-2, 1 KO) will put their respective super bantamweight and heavyweight belts on the line for the second time on December 2 in a doubleheader at the city's McKay Stadium.
It's the first time the two Māori champions have boxed as pros in the Far North, where they were born and raised.
Motu (Te Rarawa) grew up in Pukepoto, a small town of only 162 residents near Kaitaia, while Daniels (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) hails from Pipiwai, about 40 kilometres northwest of Whangārei.
So going back to their Northland roots and performing in front of friends and whānau was a “dream” that promoter Dean Lonergan was determined to deliver for them.
“I think this will be one of the more emotional experiences of both fighters' professional careers,” Lonergan said.
“I know that they both have a desire to fight in front of their own crowds, and the reaction I'm getting up here is nothing short of massively enthusiastic.
Promoter Dean Lonergan has ambitious plans to take Mea Motu and Lani Daniels around New Zealand.
“Mea in particular has always wanted to come back to Whangārei, and once we got Lani on board, she said the same.
“We were always wary about coming up here as we weren't sure about what kind of reaction [we'd get], but it's been incredible.”
With the city's council and mayor Vince Cocurullo throwing their support behind the show, Lonergan felt his decision to take New Zealand's two boxing champions on the road had been vindicated and predicted a sellout come fight night.
He is planning to take Motu and Daniels around the country to places like Hamilton, Napier and Christchurch – so long as they retain their titles and fan interest.
But Lonergan knows the New Zealand public won't put up with mismatches and thus has been working closely with Motu's trainer Isaac Peach and Daniels' mentor John Conway to bring over opponents that will test their fighters' mettle and deliver a worthy spectacle.
That has seen the 33-year-old Motu – who fought through a dislocated shoulder in her last outing – matched with Indian Chandni Mehra (12-4-1, 4 KOs), while Daniels faces Australia's Desley Robinson (5-1, 1 KO), pending approval from the IBF.
Mehra is only 22 but has already had 17 fights under her belt and is riding a three-fight winning streak. Robinson, meanwhile, has won her last two but has never competed at heavyweight.
Still, Lonergan expects them to provide a stern test for his prized assets, so much so that he has inserted a rematch clause should either suffer a shock defeat on home territory.
“That's one of the benefits when you get a world champ, you get to dictate terms. It's also a reflection of the fact that we're not taking on bums as opponents, we are taking on people who can really fight,” said Lonergan, who admitted Motu gave him “heart palpitations” in her gruelling battle with Malawi's Ellen Simwaka.
“You've got to make the competition even and exciting and make the crowds come back. We're in the entertainment game and both John and Isaac know that and we work closely on getting what's required.”
Lani Daniels says capturing the IBF world heavyweight title has opened up "a lot more opportunities".
While the rest of the card has yet to be confirmed, Lonergan plans to include rising light heavyweight star Jerome Pampellone, who is closing in on a world title shot of his own after demolishing Luvuyo Sizani in the opening round on the same Auckland card last month.
Currently ranked seventh by the IBF, Pampellone (17-0, 10 KOs) could rise as high as third when the rankings are updated and Lonergan admitted it was tough finding opponents who can live with 'The Panther'.
“He's not just knocking out anybody, he's knocking out guys who are really durable.”
Heavyweight Matt Mataika (4-0, 3 KOs) and flyweight Zain Adams (4-0, 2 KOs) will also likely return, with Lonergan also looking at including a small amateur undercard “to give a couple of local boys some exposure”.
Meanwhile, Motu's Peach Boxing team-mate Andrei Mikhailovich's long-awaited world title eliminator has hit a roadblock following a dispute over television rights.
Light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone showed his class in dispatching of Luvuyo Sizani inside a round.
Russian-born Mikhailovich (20-0, 12 KOs) has been ordered by the IBF to face Germany's Denis Radovan (17-0-1, 8 KOs) for the right to challenge for the organisation's middleweight title, currently held by Radovan's compatriot Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KOs).
However, while a date of December 16 has been provisionally agreed with Radovan's promoter Wasserman Boxing, Lonergan revealed that the contract had not been signed off yet because the two parties couldn't agree on a broadcast deal.
“We've agreed a date in December, we've got agreement on all basic points of the fight. We've just got to sort out New Zealand TV rights,” Lonergan said of the ongoing negotiations.
“It's going to be on [streaming service] DAZN and the problem is, DAZN is a multi-country platform and they want it to go out to everyone, but we are like, 'we need New Zealand TV rights'.
“I'll be going back with some marked up changes on a contract they've sent to me this week and hopefully we will have it closed off in the next seven days or so.”
Rather than the original plan of Germany, the fight would now take place “on a very major undercard” in the UK, Lonergan said.
In the meantime, Gualtieri will aim to unify the division when he takes on WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) of Kazakhstan next month in Fort Bend, Texas.
Sam Wilson
Proud Northlanders Mea Motu and Lani Daniels will defend their world titles in Whangārei in December.
An “emotional” homecoming awaits Mea Motu and Lani Daniels when their wāhine toa roadshow rocks up in Whangārei later this year.
Having successfully defended their world titles in Auckland last month, Motu (17-0, 6 KOs) and Daniels (9-2-2, 1 KO) will put their respective super bantamweight and heavyweight belts on the line for the second time on December 2 in a doubleheader at the city's McKay Stadium.
It's the first time the two Māori champions have boxed as pros in the Far North, where they were born and raised.
Motu (Te Rarawa) grew up in Pukepoto, a small town of only 162 residents near Kaitaia, while Daniels (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) hails from Pipiwai, about 40 kilometres northwest of Whangārei.
So going back to their Northland roots and performing in front of friends and whānau was a “dream” that promoter Dean Lonergan was determined to deliver for them.
“I think this will be one of the more emotional experiences of both fighters' professional careers,” Lonergan said.
“I know that they both have a desire to fight in front of their own crowds, and the reaction I'm getting up here is nothing short of massively enthusiastic.
Promoter Dean Lonergan has ambitious plans to take Mea Motu and Lani Daniels around New Zealand.
“Mea in particular has always wanted to come back to Whangārei, and once we got Lani on board, she said the same.
“We were always wary about coming up here as we weren't sure about what kind of reaction [we'd get], but it's been incredible.”
With the city's council and mayor Vince Cocurullo throwing their support behind the show, Lonergan felt his decision to take New Zealand's two boxing champions on the road had been vindicated and predicted a sellout come fight night.
He is planning to take Motu and Daniels around the country to places like Hamilton, Napier and Christchurch – so long as they retain their titles and fan interest.
But Lonergan knows the New Zealand public won't put up with mismatches and thus has been working closely with Motu's trainer Isaac Peach and Daniels' mentor John Conway to bring over opponents that will test their fighters' mettle and deliver a worthy spectacle.
That has seen the 33-year-old Motu – who fought through a dislocated shoulder in her last outing – matched with Indian Chandni Mehra (12-4-1, 4 KOs), while Daniels faces Australia's Desley Robinson (5-1, 1 KO), pending approval from the IBF.
Mehra is only 22 but has already had 17 fights under her belt and is riding a three-fight winning streak. Robinson, meanwhile, has won her last two but has never competed at heavyweight.
Still, Lonergan expects them to provide a stern test for his prized assets, so much so that he has inserted a rematch clause should either suffer a shock defeat on home territory.
“That's one of the benefits when you get a world champ, you get to dictate terms. It's also a reflection of the fact that we're not taking on bums as opponents, we are taking on people who can really fight,” said Lonergan, who admitted Motu gave him “heart palpitations” in her gruelling battle with Malawi's Ellen Simwaka.
“You've got to make the competition even and exciting and make the crowds come back. We're in the entertainment game and both John and Isaac know that and we work closely on getting what's required.”
Lani Daniels says capturing the IBF world heavyweight title has opened up "a lot more opportunities".
While the rest of the card has yet to be confirmed, Lonergan plans to include rising light heavyweight star Jerome Pampellone, who is closing in on a world title shot of his own after demolishing Luvuyo Sizani in the opening round on the same Auckland card last month.
Currently ranked seventh by the IBF, Pampellone (17-0, 10 KOs) could rise as high as third when the rankings are updated and Lonergan admitted it was tough finding opponents who can live with 'The Panther'.
“He's not just knocking out anybody, he's knocking out guys who are really durable.”
Heavyweight Matt Mataika (4-0, 3 KOs) and flyweight Zain Adams (4-0, 2 KOs) will also likely return, with Lonergan also looking at including a small amateur undercard “to give a couple of local boys some exposure”.
Meanwhile, Motu's Peach Boxing team-mate Andrei Mikhailovich's long-awaited world title eliminator has hit a roadblock following a dispute over television rights.
Light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone showed his class in dispatching of Luvuyo Sizani inside a round.
Russian-born Mikhailovich (20-0, 12 KOs) has been ordered by the IBF to face Germany's Denis Radovan (17-0-1, 8 KOs) for the right to challenge for the organisation's middleweight title, currently held by Radovan's compatriot Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KOs).
However, while a date of December 16 has been provisionally agreed with Radovan's promoter Wasserman Boxing, Lonergan revealed that the contract had not been signed off yet because the two parties couldn't agree on a broadcast deal.
“We've agreed a date in December, we've got agreement on all basic points of the fight. We've just got to sort out New Zealand TV rights,” Lonergan said of the ongoing negotiations.
“It's going to be on [streaming service] DAZN and the problem is, DAZN is a multi-country platform and they want it to go out to everyone, but we are like, 'we need New Zealand TV rights'.
“I'll be going back with some marked up changes on a contract they've sent to me this week and hopefully we will have it closed off in the next seven days or so.”
Rather than the original plan of Germany, the fight would now take place “on a very major undercard” in the UK, Lonergan said.
In the meantime, Gualtieri will aim to unify the division when he takes on WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) of Kazakhstan next month in Fort Bend, Texas.