Motu v Scotney: Kiwi boxer Mea Motu embraces unfamiliar territory for world title fight

It’ll be an unfamiliar position for Mea Motu when she takes on IBF and WBO super-bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney on January 26 (NZT) in Nottingham.

It will be the first time she’ll compete in the United Kingdom, but the unbeaten fighter is embracing the challenge.

“It’s going to be freezing, but I’m excited because I’m going into the lion’s den,” Motu says.

It’s not just any crowd waiting for her on the other side of the world. It’s one that’ll give Motu a rare feeling of resentment from the audience.

“You know when you have like the Māori wars? I feel like it’s going to be like that. I’m not worried.”

From her 20 professional fights – after which she’s had her hand raised every time – 18 have been in New Zealand.

The other two? Her most recent bout against Shannon O’Connell in Sydney last October and a November 2022 fight with Nastaran Fathi in Abu Dhabi.

Coach Isaac Peach knows the feeling of being backed into the corner against the jeers of the English spectators.

Mea Motu stopped Shannon O’Connell in the fourth round of their bout. Photo / Photosport

He guided former cruiserweight David Light to a WBO title fight against Lawrence Okolie in Manchester in March 2023.

“It’s cool, they’re very passionate over there, so you get a lot of – I wouldn’t say hate, but they want their guy to win.

“There’s a lot of beer and things thrown at you and it’s kind of fun, it’s different. And there’s a lot of singing.”

Motu can drown out the off-pitch melodies if she adds the IBF and WBO titles to the belt collection, currently featuring the isolated IBO championship.

She doesn’t have to look far for inspiration when it comes to fighting the best.

David Light and middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich have previously fallen short in their bids for gold, while light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone has found himself in title eliminators.

“It’s the four of us, the ones who started when I first walked in.

“Jerome, David and Andrei – they’re my role models. They were the ones I looked up to and they shaped me into the fighter I am today because of the courage and strength that they had. I took that with me.

“I was lucky that I got to witness their fights and be right in their corner and see the emotion and the pain and what they go through, not just in the fight but after the fight, and it taught me where I need to be now.

“We believe that we can take on the world. Everyone else has all the resources; we’re just here in our little garage showing that all it takes is just hard work and having the right circle around you.”

As a trainer, Peach has been through the highs of squaring up with the world’s best and the lows of coming off second-best.

But he preaches an us-against-the-world mentality he believes will lead to more gold hanging on the walls of his West Auckland backyard gym.

“I’ve learned that when you’re fighting at the top of the world, it’s hard and everything’s against you, and not to think like that,” says Peach.

“Mea has got the attitude to destroy this girl and that’s what we’re going with. You haven’t got everything coming from down here, so use that, as we don’t need everything. We’re coming in rugged, hard and we’re going to smash her.”