(MAY 9) On the 24th of June at The Plaza in Putaruru, Lani Daniels was originally scheduled to fight Sequita Hemingway in a rematch for the New Zealand national (Pro Box NZ version) Heavyweight title, However, due to Hemingway pulling out, Daniels will now fight a new opponent in a different weight division.

Daniels has so far held two New Zealand national titles in the professional division, the NZPBA Light Heavyweight title and the Pro Box NZ Super Middleweight title. With Hemingway pulling out of the fight, Daniels will be going back down to the Light Heavyweight division to fight for the vacant Pro Box NZ Light Heavyweight title with a new opponent.

Daniels stated that she is grateful for the new opponent stepping up and allowing her to keep some form of momentum. “It sucks when a fight falls through, especially a rematch would have been good as it’s all practice and experience. The first fight gave me a good gauge of where I’m at and identify areas to improve my craft.”

Tinta Smith from the Waikato will be Daniels's new opponent. Smith will be making her professional boxing debut for this New Zealand title fight, however, she won't make this easy for Daniels. In the amateur scene, Smith has won two titles in her career including the Novice Australian Golden Gloves title and most recently the 2021 New Zealand Amateur National championship which was held last month.

Smith will be fighting out of a place that is very familiar to Daniels and her sister Caroline. Dion McNabney from Nabby's Boxing GYM was the first boxing trainer for the Daniels sisters which established their excellent amateur careers. With McNabney, Lani won her two New Zealand amateur national championships back in 2014 and 2015.

The promoter of the night Nigel Elliott was a former manager of Daniels before Daniels's current manager and trainer John Conway took over. Elliott said “it's awesome to see her back in the ring. Her performance against Sequita and the hunger I saw in Lani was awesome.” Elliott said his aim for his show was to deliver another title to Daniels in her career. “They expressed they wanted to fight down at Light heavyweight. Dion McNabney who is Lani's former coach had earlier asked me if anything come up for Tinta. This was a no brainer as Lani went through the amateurs under Nabby, Tinta with Nabby now and has a hometown advantage that's tough.” McNabney agreed and stated it is going to be a close fight.

Daniels's current manager and trainer John Conway said they are already in camp preparing for the fight. “I'm not too worried about the opponent at this level. My job is to get the best Lani out from Lani and if I do my job properly I believe she can beat anyone”.

Lani Daniels vs Tinta Smith for the vacant New Zealand national (Pro Box NZ version) Light heavyweight title over eight rounds will be the co-main event of the evening on June 24th at The Plaza in Putaruru.

The event will feature New Zealand national (PBCNZ version) cruiserweight champion Joshua Francis who is trained by Shane Cameron, will make his attempt to capture his second New Zealand national cruiserweight title, but this time for the Pro Box NZ version. He will take on well-credentialed amateur boxer Laurence Titter. Also on the card will feature the Promoter Nigel Elliott's return to the ring for the first time in three years when he takes on David Collins.

Tickets are on sale at eventfinda. Currently, Nigel Elliott is in negotiations with the streaming service Combat Sports Network New Zealand (CSN NZ) in hopes to have the event streamed across New Zealand and the world.

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