Daniella Smith has become the first wahine boxer and Māori to be inducted into the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame.
The Kaikohe-based legend recently returned from Vegas where she received the prestigious honour, and she also took a group of rangatahi with her to share her special moment.
“Seeing my father there and seeing the rangatahi that could come with me from Kaikohe that I trained for boxing, that’s what made it all worthwhile and that made me proud.
“So beautiful to have them there, for them going overseas for the first time, first time in the United States, I had to laugh because they went down to LA and they knew their way around LA from Grand Theft Auto,” Smith says.
Smith shocked the world in 2010, winning the IBF Women’s Welterweight title in Germany. Nowadays, she’s back in her hometown of Kaikohe, serving in the community as much as she can.
“I got asked if I could go to the Hokianga for a boxing session,” she says.
“And it’s funny they asked: ‘How much do you charge?’ and I said ‘I don’t, it’s for our people, you know I’ll do it for nothing.’”
The first wahine to receive this honour and first Māori, Smith is adamant she won’t be the last, especially with Lani Daniels and Mea Motu continuing their win streaks, with their next fights coming up in less than two months’ time.
“I was over there [in the US] and I was talking to them about Mea and Lani and people knew who they were and it was really cool, so I certainly won’t be the last.”