Motu - now a mother of five - gives her wide-ranging insights into that situation, along with how boxing and trainer Isaac Peach’s family helped turn her life around.
What do you know about Tania Walters - have you studied her fights?
I know she had a good amateur career, she’s strong, but I’ve always left [study] in my coach’s hands. His eyes are sharper. I’m so focused on myself.
And it can all change on the night - fighters always manage to change it up. The number one thing is to be aggressive and come to win.
Has your training stepped up for this fight?
Yes, but I’m also training a lot smarter - knowing where to push my body. Now, if I’ve got an injury or hurt muscle, we slow it down, change it up.
I’m so determined and I have a tendency to push through the pain, not realising it is worse for my body.
Where does that determination come from?
I hate backing down. I’ve been like that since I had my first kid - going through childbirth. Whew.
It is definitely a learnt behaviour, through what I’ve been through, my abuse.
Abuse - can you explain that further?
I got hit, punched by my ex-partner - I endured it for 10 years.
I was badly hurt multiple times. I would be in hospital. I almost snapped my neck, was booted to the head, had a broken rib, mainly bruises. It built up very slowly, then became an ongoing thing.
You try to leave but they mentally break you down. I never saw it growing up but I thought ‘is this what a relationship is meant to be?’
Then you are living in shame and embarrassment. Somedays I would just give up - I’m over this life - when it was happening.
That’s what gave me the strength though. I don’t know where I found it from. I would wake up every day knowing I’ve got my children, living for them.
Even when I got a new partner, he would still show up out of nowhere and threaten us.
How did you break free?
I broke free when he went to prison. And I had to stand up for myself, because my daughter put her life in front of mine. She saved my life a few times.
There was one time when he tried to stab me and she jumped in front, to get stabbed by her dad. She was seven.
She is 14 now and she’s good. She was going to give up her life to save her mum. I couldn’t keep putting her through that. I had to fight, even if I put myself on the line.
He got locked up and was constantly in and out of prison. I’m safe now. He is on a life sentence at the moment. He tried to kill somebody.
What can be done to support women who are in similar positions?
The support is there, but then again, not the kind we want.
A lot of the women in the organisations say they know, but they don’t. They would only help me for a short time and they only visit you at the courts. They just ring and don’t even come around to homes and check.
I don’t even trust the police system - I tried to go to court but they believed him over me, because I’m a boxer. I didn’t have anyone to vouch for me at the time - he did. The police only protect you for the moment, not the long term.
He came from a gang family and the gang members know how the system and the courts work.
A lot of women feel trapped and are scared to even speak to someone. They are stuck with the abuser and it gets normalised. It takes time to pull people out of that. When they do get out, they don’t know what to do and go back.
I feel the system could do much more.
How do you look back on it?
I’m proud of myself now, so proud. I can’t believe I got out of it. I finally feel free - it’s been five years. But I’ve only got my life back in the past two years. Even connecting again with family, loving who you are, takes time. My kids and my gym are the two components that have saved me.
Yet this professional boxing career happened by accident…
I showed up at Isaac’s old gym with my two youngest kids - my daughter was only six months old - to do some fitness. He’d seen me box as a kid - he said I was born to be a pro boxer. I don’t know what he saw in me.
I thought he was joking. I just wanted to lose some weight.
And I thought pro boxing was for big punchers - I was this little pitter-patter boxer, a typical amateur. Now I have massive power.
Do you have a boxing hero?
My favourite fighter is (unbeaten 1950s world heavyweight champion) Rocky Marciano. I love old-school boxing when they were just there to fight. The new generation picks and chooses, everyone worries about their record, boxing has lost its authenticity.
I like Marciano’s style. He wasn’t the flashiest boxer - he just had heart, determination and naturally heavy hands. He wouldn’t stop. He’d take one to give one. I love watching his fights.
What are your major aims - and can they make you rich?
I want to collect all the belts, all the big ones - IBO, WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF, Ring Magazine.
Yeah, it’s a living, but as long as I’ve got a roof over my head, my kids and the essentials, I’m happy. It’s not really about the money to me - it never has been. It’s about going into the ring and fighting for those titles.
Do you have any other career aims?
I love working with children who have been in hardship, who have seen abuse. Just hearing children’s stories - it’s very interesting.
And I love working in age care the most. A lot of them are lonely and they love talking. It’s about understanding what they’ve been through - it’s like looking at my old nan. A lot of them are just lonely - it’s very sad.
You are a close relative of the Kiwi and NRL league star Brandon Smith - did you hang around together as kids?
His mum and my dad are first cousins. Yes, we’d go over to Waiheke and play touch there - man he was tough. He was a little kid but I thought ‘no, I’m never going to tackle you’ after I saw him tackle my cousin. He was always a hyper kid, full of energy, who just loved playing league at the Waiheke Rams. He’s a wild one - but wait ‘til his brother Jayden comes along. He’ll be even better. He is bigger, massive, he’s also cheeky but more chilled. He’s a Roosters junior.
And your son David Motu is a sporting prodigy, making a mark in a very different sport….
He’s 16, and in the New Zealand under-26 bowls team. My dad’s sister got him into it - my aunties basically raised him. David likes that scene, hanging out with older people.
Any predictions for your world title fight?
People will see a stronger fighter - the way I’m hitting right now is very strong. I didn’t even know how to throw a right hand - Isaac’s only just taught me. I used to stand too high on it, didn’t even twist my him. I want to end the fight early. I don’t want to leave it in the judge’s hands.
Headlining a card, fighting for a world title - turning up at the Peach gym that day has changed your life.
They have changed my life - Isaac and [his wife] Alina are a big part of my life change. They’ve taught me how to live life, how to be independent, how to pay the rent, control my own money, basic life skills.
Before every fight, I would get sick and they would come to the hospital.
I had pneumonia, then asthma - everything was going wrong. I’m not sure why but a lot of it was to do with my breathing and I think the beatings caused my bad sinuses. I had no sense of smell for a while and I would always cough.
I literally hated men after the violence I endured. I put up a strong wall.
I had to deal with having trust in men, and I found it with Isaac and [his brother] Boaz. They said ‘you will never go through that again, just know that you are safe with us’. They made it believable, they always protected me and wanted the best for me. When you go through what I did, you need people to show you how to live.
