Featherston boxer Sue Latta is excited at the prospect of appearing on the undercard to the David Tua-Talmadge Griffis heavyweight bout in Auckland on March 31.
Latta, 33, will be pitted against Aucklander Danielle Smith and hopes a strong performance will lead to her being given a shot at a world
title later in the year.
"If I go well then that at least becomes a possibility,' she said."So it's important I make the most of the opportunity."
Latta's curriculum vitae in boxing is only brief but it makes mighty impressive reading.
She has had just the two bouts to date, winning a South Pacific professional title at her first attempt in 2001 and a New Zealand professional title at her second the following year.
In the interim most of her focus has been on kick boxing, a sport in which she has won a world super welterweight title and placed second at the world championships.
She was to have competed again for New Zealand at the latter in Thailand late last year but an achilles injury suffered in training just two weeks before the event forced her to withdraw. However, she still attended the championships as manager of the New Zealand squad.
Happily for Latta the achilles problem has not troubled her in her build-up to the Smith bout. Currently she is training something like three hours a day six days a week, including sparring sessions in Heretaunga and Masterton.
It is a preparation aimed at having her in tip-top shape to take on an opponent who will be having her first professional fight but who has won a number of national amateur titles as well as a gold medal at the Oceania Games.
Smith, who is expected to weigh in about 67kg, is not regarded as a big puncher but is said to be a good mover who is technically sound.
Latta expects to be very similar to Smith weight-wise and isn't too concerned about conceding a height advantage.
"She will obviously have greater reach but if I can get inside her punches that really shouldn't matter," Latta said. ":The idea is to get her on the back foot and keep her there."
