Emma Nesbitt (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa) has won the World Boxing Association World Title Eliminator in the atomweight division, guaranteeing her a fight for the world title against current belt holder Isabel Rivero.
Nesbitt won the bout in Auckland on the weekend by split decision after Japanese fighter Madoka Wada had points deducted for shots believed to be low blows.
When asked about the fight, Nesbitt mostly offered compliments to her opponent.
“It was such a great fight. My opponent, she was nothing less of what I imagined her to be. She had beautiful boxing; she was fast, she was strong,” she says.
“I was extremely proud... I saw what it not only meant to me and my family, but to my team as well. They genuinely do care about my career and my journey and me as not only a fighter, but a person as well.”
The fight entailed 10 rounds where both contenders were neck and neck. Trainer Alina Peach from Peach Boxing says they had to change tactics just after two rounds.
“Madoka is a world-class operator,” she says.
“We went, ‘nah, this ain’t going to work’. We’re going to have to just make it more violent. Emma, you’re going to have to throw harder, wilder, and just turn it into a bit of a brawl, which Emma did.
“She adjusted really well. And then she started landing some amazing big shots on Wada. And right till the final bout, the girls just – it was back and forth, really close rounds."
Fans share mixed reactions
Wada lost the bout due to points deducted for giving low blows.
A low blow in boxing is an illegal punch that lands below a belt line established before the fight, having the potential to wind a player.
A video of Wada fighting Nesbitt has circulated online showing the first moment they were used, the clip ending with Nesbitt falling to the ground.
Commenters share mixed reactions on whether the blows were illegal, many claiming Wada should have won.
Coach Alina Peach says she’s been reluctant to add to the conversation.
“People just see one snippet of that video online and think ‘oh, this is how the whole fight went’ - that’s not the case.”
She encourages commenters to watch the fight, view the scoring cards per round and look deeper into the rules of boxing.
“There’s clear photos and video footage of that, so you know people always have things to say about it, but it was a bloody close hard fight, and Emma got the win; she did what she had to do, and she did it, so let people talk”.
A bright future ahead
Peach says the organisers have a month to plan when and where the World Title Championship will be held but predicts it will most likely be overseas and toward the end of the year.
Nesbitt says she is excited to keep climbing the ladder.
“I fought my absolute heart out so, regardless of what anyone thinks, I’m proud of myself; my team are proud of me, my family are proud of me, and I’m just super excited to keep going on”.
“She was the exact challenge that I needed at this point in my career and to test myself whether I do belong on that world-class level. And for me, I proved to myself that I do belong there”.
