Lani Daniels v Shadasia Green: Kiwi becomes unified world super middleweight champion with TKO win

Lani Daniels claimed a ninth-round TKO win over Shadasia Green to become the unified super middleweight champion. Photo / AFP

Lani Daniels is on top of the world once more.

A former light heavy and heavyweight world champion, the Kiwi claimed the IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight world titles with a ninth-round TKO win over American Shadasia Green in New York.

Green left the arena on a stretcher after succumbing to a barrage of shots from Daniels in the ninth round of the bout on the card by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Daniels also claimed a US$10,000 ($17,000) performance bonus for the win.

Now trained under the first-ever IBF World women’s champion and fellow Northlander Daniella Smith, Daniels showed an aggressive approach in the bout, moving forward and looking to engage with Green.

Despite having a big reach disadvantage, Daniels had success getting inside and taking the fight to Green, and things seemed to be on a knife-edge as the bout approached the later rounds.

Even when it looked like Daniels had taken some good shots, the Kiwi never stopped testing Green and, at the end of the seventh round, that began to pay dividends.

Daniels landed a good one-two in the late stages after wearing a few heavy shots earlier in the round, which spurred Green’s corner to tell her she was being outhustled by the Kiwi.

But it was Daniels who took the momentum and ran with it. She continued to pepper Green with volume, landing some solid shots and forcing the American to fight.

Green looked fatigued at the end of the eighth, and Daniels didn’t let her get out of the penultimate round.

After taking over at the end of the eighth round, Daniels – who still had some bounce in her step – attacked Green as soon as the ninth round began.

Green barely moved out of her corner and looked uncomfortable, which presented an opportunity Daniels did not miss.

The Kiwi piled on the pressure and began clobbering Green with right hand after right hand to force the referee to call it.

Despite becoming the new world champion, Daniels looked concerned as she was announced as the winner.

“Massive love and respect to my opponent. I hope that everything is well,” Daniels said in her post-fight interview broadcast by Sky Sport.

It was a bounce back in the best possible way after Daniels lost a unanimous decision to undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields last July, before losing her IBF light heavyweight title to Germany’s Sarah Scheurich in December.

Daniels said she learned a lot from the Shields bout in particular.

“I made the changes that I needed to change. I moved back home, I trained out of my humble abode in Pipiwai, I got a world champion as my coach; the first IBF female champ ever in my corner. We did this together.”