It's a step towards an Olympic ambition Toheriri-Hallett says has been his dream since he watched Gisborne's own Shane Cameron fight David Tua in 2009.
“Since then, I've found my passion, I hung up the rugby boots at 13 and I've set goals I want to achieve.
“It's really humbling, and I'm grateful for these opportunities that pop up and lead to bigger things. This is where it all starts.”
One of his highlights of the camp was sparring with the two-time Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian-to-be David Nykia.
It was a “great experience” but it was hard as welterweight (69 kilograms) Toheriri-Hallett was at least 30kg lighter than Nykia.
Toheriri-Hallett said finance to get to tournaments was a challenge and he was regularly looking for sponsorship to help with his travels.
“Sometimes the thing that holds you back is the money.”
The 20-year-old was grateful to coach Jim Kahukoti, who has been training him for the last seven years, amassing around 40 fights in that time.
Kahukoti sees a bright future for a “very talented young man” who he says has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is.
“He's something special . . . he's always had an Olympic dream and is working hard to bring that dream to life.”
Kahukoti teaches his fighters the science behind boxing — from nutrition to physiology — and it's a winning formula.
In his decade as coach, a Golden Gloves champion has come out of his gym every year.
Toheriri-Hallett has gained his level 1 coaching licence and helps coach and mentor younger kids at the gym.
Commonwealth and Olympic boxing is amateur grade boxing, which is a slightly disingenuous classification.
The amateur scene allows fighters to gain the experience they need before turning professional without taking significant damage and ruining their professional record.
Former world champion Floyd Mayweather, for example, lost six times in his 89-fight amateur career before becoming one of the greatest fighters ever, going 50-0 as pro.
Typically they fight three three-minute rounds, often wear protective headgear, and the skill level is astonishingly high as fighters aim to make their mark on the sport before promotion to the big leagues.
The two other boxers who travelled from the Hit Pit club, Moeke-Murray and Tane, have a lot less fight experience than Toheriri-Hallett and picked up a lot from the camp.
Moeke-Murray said it was “eye-opening” to be in an environment with so many great fighters. “It was a whole lot of fun.”
He started boxing a year ago and hasn't had a fight yet as Covid restrictions halted their schedule.
He got into the sport after watching it for “a long time”.
