Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua, best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was known for his formidable punching power, especially in his devastating left hook. He scored sixteen wins by knockout in the first round, which included knockouts of world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Michael Moorer within thirty seconds of the first round, as well as late stoppages of world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman. He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweights from 1996 to 2003, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 1998. Tua ended his career with a knockout-to-win ratio of 82.6%. In a 2003 article by The Ring magazine, Tua was ranked 48th on a list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark on 11 September 2004. It holds 4,901 people. Adjacent to the stadium is an outdoor athletics facility known as the Douglas Track and Field, which has a capacity of 3,000 people.
Shane Aaron Cameron is a New Zealand professional boxer. He is a former Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, having also held several regional titles at heavyweight. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Outside of boxing, he placed fifth in the 2015 series of Dancing With the Stars New Zealand.
Monte Barrett is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2006, and fought many top heavyweight champions and contenders during his career.
Dean Robert Lonergan is a New Zealand retired professional rugby league player, former Radio host, former co owner of Duco Events and boxing promoter in Australia and New Zealand under D & L Events. With Duco founder David Higgins, Lonergan has co-promoted world champion boxers Joseph Parker and Jeff Horn. With his son Liam, he has promoted Jai Opetaia, Lani Daniels, Mea Motu, and more.
Sky Arena is a pay-per-view channel operated in New Zealand by Sky Network Television. Until 2015 Sky Arena was also spin-off event promoter company jointly owned by Sky and VADR Media. Sky Arena screens events on such as professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, boxing and concerts. The David Tua vs Monte Barrett during August 2011 was the first Sky Arena event screened in 1080i high-definition. The biggest event in PPV New Zealand history was David Tua vs Shane Cameron. The event has the record with the most buys with 88,000 buys in New Zealand. The channel previously screened WWE pay-per-view events until January 2022, when Sky's pay-per-view rights agreement ended with WWE.
Joseph Dennis Parker, OM is a New Zealand professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles; as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles. As an amateur, he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Robert Berridge is a retired New Zealand professional light heavyweight boxer.
David Aloua is a New Zealand professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Reece Papuni is a New Zealand professional boxer. As an amateur, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Uaine Fa Junior is a New Zealand professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Tonga at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division; he also represented Tonga at the Oceania Championships, winning gold and multiple silver medals. His knockout-to-win percentage stands at 53%.
David Letele, also known as the Brown Buttabean, is a retired professional boxer from New Zealand.
Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr., billed as History, was a professional boxing match between undefeated Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr. for the vacant WBO heavyweight title. The event took place on 10 December 2016, at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Parker won the contest by majority decision, with two judges scoring it 115–113 and the other 114–114.
Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury was a professional boxing match contested between undefeated WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, and the WBO mandatory challenger Hughie Fury. The bout took place on 23 September 2017, at the Manchester Arena in Manchester. Parker won the contest by a majority decision, with two judges scoring it 118–110 and the other 114–114. The fight was considered to build Parker's worldwide profile as well as earning him the most money he has received for a boxing fight to date.
Geovana Peres vs Claire Hafner was a world title fight that took place on 4 October 2019 at SkyCity Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Peres won the fight by referee stoppage between the 8th and 9th round. This was considered a history making moment as Geovana Peres was the first New Zealand female boxer to win and successfully defend a world title in her home country. Geovana Peres was also the first LGBT person representing New Zealand to hold a world boxing title. Claire Hafner was born in the USA but considers herself a Canadian. She came into the fight ranked first on Boxrec, above Geovana who was ranked second. The winner of the fight would also be recognized as the official Lineal World Heavyweight champion.
David Higgins is a New Zealand boxing promoter, boxing manager and event manager under his company, Duco Events. Higgins has promoted significant events including David Tua vs Shane Cameron, Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz, NRL Auckland Nines, Brisbane Global Rugby Tens and the New Zealand Fight for Life series. He has managed many notable boxers, including Joseph Parker and Jeff Horn. Other boxers he has promoted include David Letele, David Tua, Shane Cameron, Robert Berridge, Sam Rapira, Izu Ugonoh, Junior Fa, and John Parker.
Duco Events is an event promotions company led by the co-founder and current owner, New Zealand entrepreneur David Higgins. The company mostly promotes corporate events like celebrity dinners, charity balls and galas, as well as sporting events for rugby, cricket and most notably boxing. They have hosted major events including Brisbane Global Rugby Tens, NRL Auckland Nines, Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz and David Tua vs Shane Cameron.
Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between former WBO champion Joseph Parker and WBO Oriental interim champion Junior Fa. The bout took place on 27 February 2021, at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The event was co-promoted by David Higgins of Duco Events, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, and was considered a history making moment and New Zealand's next "Fight of the Century".
Bowyn Morgan is a New Zealand professional boxer. As an amateur he competed in the men's welterweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he would reach the quarter-finals before losing to Scott Fitzgerald, who went on to claim the gold medal.
Lani Daniels vs Alrie Meleisea, billed as Next World Champion is a scheduled boxing fight between Lani Daniels and Alrie Meleisea. It will take place on 27 May 2023 at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. This fight will make history for being the first World title between two New Zealand born boxers and the first World title between Maori and Pasifika people. Lani Daniels is well known for her first world title opportunity when she fought against Geovana Peres in their rematch dubbed History In The Making. Daniels three New Zealand title including the NZPBA Light Heavyweight title, Pro Box New Zealand Light Heavyweight title and Pro Box New Zealand Super Middleweight title. She represents her Iwi the Ngāti Hine. She is the second New Zealand Born female to be fighting for a major World title. The first being Daniella Smith, who is from the same hometown as Lani Daniels. Alrie Meleisea is a New Zealand born Samoan who has won three titles in her career including the NZPBA Heavyweight title, UBF Asia Pacific title and Pro Box New Zealand title.
