Marea Kirimiria Motu (30 December 1989

Pukepoto Pukepoto is a town in Northland, New Zealand. It lies south west of Kaitaia and north east of Ahipara. The Herekino Forest lies to the south east. is a cobalt blue pigment which can be found in clay rock. Demographics Pukepoto is in an SA1 s ...

, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Māori Professional Boxer. Motu is the current IBO World Super Bantamweight Champion. She is a four division New Zealand champion, holding more New Zealand titles than any other female boxer. She broke the 14 year record set by Daniella Smith for holding the most titles in February 2022.

Amateur boxing

Motu discovered boxing at the age of 13. Motu is a five time New Zealand amateur champion, winning two junior titles, and three elite senior titles. During her amateur career, Motu was trained by her mother Aloma Browne and fought alongside her sister Sally Motu, who also won a New Zealand National title. Motu was also trained by

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

. Motu won an World boxing event that was open invertational called the Ringside Bowl World Championship. Motu sister Sally fought at the Golden Gloves event in Queensland in 2016, unfortuanately Mea was unable to compete due to injury. Motu meet

Isaac Peach Isaac Peach (born 19 January 1982) is a New Zealand retired professional boxer, a current boxing coach and owner of Peach Boxing. Peach trained multiple talented boxers including IBO World Champion Mea Motu, World title contender David Light (bo ...

during her amateur boxing years. Since 2020, Peach has been Motu manager and trainer out of Peach Boxing.

Professional boxing

Professional debut, four wins in three months 2020

Motu made her professional boxing debut against City Kickboxing Kickboxer Wendy Talbot in October 2020. Motu won the fight by unanimous decision. Motu made her television fight debut when she took on Sally Kaokao at Sky City Theatre in November 2020. Motu won the fight in quick fashion, winning by stoppage in the second round for her first TKO win. In December 2020, Motu fought Ayisha Abied for the first time out of the three fight they have in the future. Motu won the fight by Unanimous Decision. Motu would return to television her next fight in late December 2020 against Katala Hansen. Motu would finish the fight in quick fashion, finishing the fight in 18 seconds.

Two time New Zealand Champion 2021

In February 2021, Motu would take on Ayisha Abied for the second time in their trilogy. Motu won the fight by Unanimous Decision with her fighting the full six rounds for the first time. In March 2021, Motu took on Tania Reid for the New Zealand National Lightweight title. Reid was well known for being the first ever New Zealand female to win the Australasian title. Motu won the fight by third round stoppage in dominating fashion winning her first professional boxing title. In April 2021, Motu return to television when she fought Toni Moki. Motu won the fight by first round stoppage. After the fight, Motu reach the ranking of 1st on Boxrec and 3rd P4P on Boxrec. Motu would go on to fight Michaela Jenkins back to back in May and July 2021 with the second fight for the New Zealand national Super Lightweight title. Jenkins is a former New Zealand National ( Pro Box NZ version) Welterweight champion which she won on a Joseph Parker undercard in December 2018. Motu will not only win both fights against Jenkins, she will also capture her second New Zealand title, but this time in the Super Lightweight division. After the fight, Motu was originally scheduled to fight for a WBA regional title against Australian Beck Hawker. Motu was also scheduled to fight Gentiane Lupi for the WBU World title. However, due to COVID-19 Lockdowns, both fights got cancelled. In August 2021, Motu finished off her year with a fight against Māori professional boxer Rangi Hetet. Motu won the fight by Split Decision.

Record Breaking New Zealand Champion, World Ranked 2022

In February 2022, Motu took on Ayisha Abied for the New Zealand National Featherweight title. If Motu won the fight, she would break a 14-year record that Daniella Smith set that was tied with Lani Daniels,

Geovana Peres Geovana De Cassia Peres (born 8 February 1977) is a Brazilian-born New Zealand professional Muay Thai fighter and former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She became the first female light-heavyweight world champion, having held ...

, and herself. Motu won the fight by first round Knockout winning her third professional boxing title. In February 2022, it was announced a super fight between Motu and Baby Nansen will happen in 2022 as soon as the Auckland lockdowns were over. Motu and Nansen fought on 30 April for the New Zealand National Super Featherweight title The fight itself was messy and close, however, Motu won the fight capturing her fourth New Zealand title. After the fight, Motu made her intentions clear that she wanted to take on New Zealand born Australian, IBF World Super Bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson. If a fight between Motu and Johnson happened for the world title, it would be the first time in boxing history that two Māori women would compete for a World title. It would be second time for two New Zealand women to compete for a world title behind Lani Daniels vs Geovana Peres for the WBO World title. In June 2022, Motu received her first major international ranking, with her being ranked 10th in the IBF Junior Lightweight division. On 19 August, Motu took on Thailand National Bantamweight champion Thanchanok Phanan for the vacant PBCNZ International Featherweight title. Motu stated she aims to make an impression by knocking out her opponent. Motu won the fight by 4th round stoppage. On 21 October, Motu took on former WBC World Bantamweight champion Usanakorn Thawilsuhannawang. This is the toughest and highest credential boxer Motu has fought so far in her career. Motu won the fight by Unanimous Decision winning every round of the fight. On 26 November, for the first time in her professional career, Motu fought overseas against undefeated Iran boxer Nastaran Fathi. This is the first time she will fight for a major regional title. Motu won the fight by Split Decision, winning the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental super bantamweight title. However, Motu received a bad cut during the fight. At the end of December 2022, Motu finished her boxing 2022 year with receiving a ranking of 7th in the WBA and 16th in the WBC in the Super Bantamweight division.

Third Māori World Champion 2023

In March 2023, it was announced that Mea Motu will fight for the vacant IBO World super bantamweight title against canadian boxer Tania Walters. This will be the first time that boxing promoter

Dean Lonergan Dean Robert Lonergan is a former New Zealand boxing promoter and rugby league player. With Duco founder David Higgins (event promoter), David Higgins, Lonergan had success promoting world champion boxers Joseph Parker and Jeff Horn. With hi ...

will have a female main event on his boxing shows. On 27 April 2023, Mea Motu won the fight by unanimous decision, becoming the third Māori to win a World Boxing title. In August 2023, Motu took on Malawian boxer Ellen Simwaka to defend her IBO World title in a double header with Lani Daniels defending her World title on the same card. Motu won the fight by unanimous decision, overcoming a serious injury with a dislocated shoulder in the first round. For her last fight of 2023, she will fight for the first time in her boxing career in her hometown of Northland. On 7 November, it was announced that the event was sold out. Motu will take on Indian boxer Chandni Mehra. Motu won the fight by Unanimous decision. In February 2024, Motu and Peach Boxing announced their departure with

D&L Events and had signed with No Limit Boxing under Matt and George Rose.

World title unification opportunity 2024 - present

Motu was scheduled to challenge IBF,

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

and

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

super-bantamweight World champion

Ellie Scotney Ellie Scotney (born 16 March 1998) is an English professional boxer and the unified super-bantamweight champion, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight title since June 2023, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) ...

at the Co-op Live Arena in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, on 26 October 2024, but Scotney withdrew from the fight due to injury. On 4 October 2024, Motu defeated Shannon O'Connell via stoppage in the fourth round of their scheduled eight round contest at The Star in Sydney, Australia. Motu unsuccessfully challenged

for the WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine Super Bantamweight World titles on 26 January 2025, at Motorpoint Arena,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England, losing by unanimous decision.

Boxing titles

Amateur titles

* New Zealand National Amateur Championships ** 2002 New Zealand Junior Flyweight Gold Medalist ** 2005 New Zealand Junior Super Lightweight Gold Medalist ** 2006 New Zealand Super Lightweight Gold Medalist (unopposed) ** 2007 New Zealand Lightweight Silver Medalist ** 2015 New Zealand Featherweight Gold Medalist ** 2016 New Zealand Bantamweight Silver Medalist ** 2017 New Zealand Bantamweight Gold Medalist

Professional titles

New Zealand Professional Boxing Association New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) is one of the four Sport governing body, governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing in New Zealand. NZPBA is a non-profit organisation. History The body was founded as South Pacific B ...

** New Zealand National Lightweight Champion * Professional Boxing Commission New Zealand ** New Zealand National Super Lightweight Champion ** New Zealand National Featherweight Champion ** New Zealand National Super Featherweight Champion ** International Featherweight Champion *

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

** Asian Boxing Council Continental Super Bantamweight Champion *

International Boxing Organization The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships. It is an independent organization not recognized by the "big four" governing bodies ...

**World Super Bantamweight Champion

Professional boxing record

Personal life

Motu was born and raised in the small village of

which is outside of

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

. Motu a New Zealand Māori with decedents of

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...

and

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

. Motu is a mother of four children, with her eldest David a championship Bowler. Motu was raised in the small town of

. She moved to South Auckland when she was 10 years old. Motu got pregnant with her first child at the age of 17 with her boyfriend at the time. She would eventually marry her boyfriend. She would go through bad times with her family when she was living homeless. Motu would leave her husband after years of domestic violence abuse and her husband went to prison. For a short time, Motu moved to Australia where she met her new partner. This helped her turn her life around for the better. She moved back to New Zealand where she started train back in boxing. In 2024, she was forced to medically retire from '' Celebrity Treasure Island'' as her high muscle mass and lack of body fat made her susceptible to hypothermia and exposed underlying respiratory conditions after the team challenge in a cold and stormy conditions was cancelled with all results annulled.

Awards

* New Zealand Boxing Awards **2020 Female Newcomer of the year (Won) **2020 Debut of the year (Won) **2020 Female Boxer of the year (Won) **2020 Boxer of the year (Won) **2021 Female Boxer of the year (Won) **2021 New Zealand National Champion of the year (Won) **2022 Most entertaining boxer of the year (Won) **2022 New Zealand National Champion of the year (Won) **2022 Female Boxer of the year (Won) **2022 New Zealand Boxer of the year (Won) **2023 Most entertaining boxer of the year (Won) **2023 Female Boxer of the year (Won) **2023 New Zealand Boxer of the year (Won) * Te Tai Tokerau Māori Sports Awards ** 2023 Te Tohu TaKaro Toa Wahine Outstanding Sportswoman Award (Nominated) * Māori Sports Awards ** 2023 Te Pikinga o Tawhaki Individual Māori World Champions (Won) *

Halberg Awards The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award was han ...

** 2023 High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year (Nominated) ** New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment of the Year (Nominated)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motu, Mea Māori world boxing champions 1989 births Living people New Zealand women boxers New Zealand professional boxing champions New Zealand Māori sportspeople Ngāpuhi people Te Rarawa people International Boxing Organization champions Boxers from Northland Sportspeople from Kaitaia New Zealand world boxing champions Boxers trained by Chris Martin Boxers trained by Isaac Peach 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen