Taupō’s Connor Campbell has reached the top eight during the first stage of the World Boxing Cup, despite losing his fight in the quarter-finals.
Campbell was one of 11 New Zealand boxers selected to compete at the event in Brazil last month.
The World Boxing Cup was a qualifying eventfor the Commonwealth Games later this year, for which only six New Zealand boxers can be selected.
At the World Boxing Cup in Brazil, Greer Hall, Saskia Elliott and Alex Mukuka represented the Waikato boxing region, while Campbell, of Taupō, represented the Central North Island region under Te Toki a Māui Boxing Association.
Campbell went to Brazil after winning the Australian 2026 King of the Ring, the 2025 New Zealand National Championships and claiming the bronze medal at the 2025 Queensland Open International Golden Gloves.
His first World Cup fight, competing in the men’s 65kg division (welterweight) was against Moroccan boxer Mohamed El Alloua, which Campbell won by unanimous decision.
Campbell’s second fight was against 2025 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships silver medallist Omar Livaza, from Kyrgyzstan, who is ranked 10th on BoxRec.
It was a close fight with Campbell winning by split decision, sending him to the quarter-finals.
Campbell’s last fight was against Senegal-born Canadian Gabriel Aly Ndiaye, which Campbell lost by split decision.
Campbell was the only New Zealand boxer at the World Cup to reach the quarter-finals.
Connor Campbell was one of 11 New Zealand boxers selected to compete at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil last month.
He said preparing for the World Cup had been a challenge as he had been juggling his training schedule with completing his apprenticeship paperwork in engineering and working fulltime.
“Overall, fighting in Brazil was an awesome experience and great exposure to different nationalities and fight styles,” Campbell said.
“I am happy to have finally had my chance on the world stage ... winning against world-ranked boxers was a great feeling and just shows what I’m capable of.
“All the hard work is starting to pay off. I also grew in confidence and proved to myself that I can compete and win at [a] world stage level.”
Campbell said he has now fulfilled the requirements set by the New Zealand Olympic Committee for Commonwealth Games selection and was now awaiting the decision and team naming, which is expected to be announced soon.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 2.
It is not known when the selected team will be announced.
It is also yet to be confirmed if the New Zealand Boxing World Cup team will head to the second stage of the Cup in China, between June 15-21.
Benjamin Watt is a retired boxing judge and New Zealand boxing writer with a decade of experience. Watt has also been BoxRec’s New Zealand record-keeper since 2014.
