Mea Motu has secured her place at the top of the world
Headlining the Fight For Life card at the Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday night, April 27, Mea "The Night" Motu (16-0, 6KO) proved too good for Canadian counterpart Tania Walters (4-2), claiming the IBO super bantamweight world title by unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
Motu is a four-weight New Zealand national champion and now the 33-year-old has established herself as one of the world's best in her division, with some potential huge fights ahead, such as Australian Cherneka Johnson who is preparing to defend her IBF World super bantamweight title to Briton Ellie Scotney in June.
Motu was the aggressor early in the fight, throwing combinations with power behind them and staying busy to bank the early rounds.
35-year-old Walters was a two-weight Canadian champion and she weathered the initial storm from the home fighter and began to work her way into the bout as it progressed, however Motu continued to edge rounds through her higher volume as she varied shots from head to body well.
"It means everything. I wanted to give up on life. I had the worst mental health ever back then and boxing saved me; Peach Boxing saved my life and brought me back. Thank you," an emotional Mea Motu expressed what it means to be a world champion after the fight.
"She's tough, she's determined, and this fight showed who she is," the sporting opponent Isaac Peach praised Mea Motu's performance.
It was the first time in Fight For Life history that women had headlined the card, and it capped off a night to please the fans.
In the other professional bouts, Motu’s Peach Boxing teammates Andrei Mikhailovich and Jerome Pampellone both claimed emphatic TKO wins to improve their respective undefeated records.
IBF #5 middleweight Mikhailovich had some early trouble as he was dropped in the opening moments of the first round, but adjusted well against his Venezuelan opponent Edisson Saltarin to finish the fight in the fifth round.
Pampellone, IBF #9 light heavyweight, didn’t need as long to hand Mose Auimatagi Jr his third professional loss, landing a strong left hook in the first round and pouncing on his opportunity to finish the fight.
In the corporate bouts, Sam Tuitupou kicked things off with the most vicious finish of the night, catching Roy Asotasi with a few clean shots in the opening exchanges to knock Asotasi out.
In a back-and-forth fight, Sione Faumuina edged out DJ Forbes by unanimous decision after a strong third round, while Liam Messam claimed a unanimous decision win over Justin Hodges.
Full Results
Mea Motu defeated Tania Walters by unanimous decision to claim the IBO super bantamweight world title
Liam Messam defeated Justin Hodges via unanimous decision
Jerome Pampellone defeated Mose Auimatagi via TKO (1)
Sione Faumuina defeated DJ Forbes via unanimous decision
Andrei Mikhailovich defeated Edisson Saltarin via TKO (5)
Sam Tuitupou defeated Roy Asotasi via KO (1)
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