Mea Motu frustrated at slipping down IBF rankings ahead of IBO world title defence against Chandni Mehra

Should Mea Motu retain her IBO super-bantamweight world title on Saturday night, she might already have a name in mind for her next opponent.

Last week, the undefeated champion out of Auckland’s Peach Boxing stable saw her stocks drop with the IBF, as she was overtaken as the number-one-ranked athlete by England’s Ramla Ali.

It came after Ali’s unanimous decision win over Julissa Alejandra Guzman earlier this month, making amends for a knockout loss to the same opponent back in June.

Motu, who puts her IBO belt on the line against Chandni Mehra in Whangārei on Saturday, didn’t take too kindly to being dropped to the number-two spot as she eyes a future unification bout against IBF champion Ellie Scotney.

“Ramla Ali is above me. I don’t understand how she is and has become number one, because I’m definitely better than her. I should’ve stayed number one, and I should be fighting Ellie,” Motu said.

“Ramla’s not a threat to me, no way. She isn’t going to stop me. Good luck. They’re just trying to put her in front because they don’t want me to fight Ellie Scotney. It’s a bloody joke. I’m ready to fight now.”

Motu has surged to the highest levels in boxing over the past few years, amassing a 17-0 record with six knockouts, and showed her toughness in her last bout when she shook off an early shoulder injury to outbox Ellen Simwaka of Malawi over 10 rounds.

On Saturday, she puts her title back on the line against India’s Mehra (12-4-1), who is unbeaten in her last four fights and has claimed knockout wins in her last two.

“I never watch my opponents. I never have. I just focus on myself and leave that job to my coaches. They’ve got to do all the studying and hard work; I’ve just got to do the fighting,” Motu told Newstalk ZB with regard to her fight this weekend.

“I can’t wait to get in the ring. The more people keep talking about it, the more excited I am.”

The bout will be Motu’s third fight of the year after claiming the world title against Tania Walters in April, before defending it against Simwaka in August.

Reflecting on what the year had taught her so far, Motu said she was learning to be smarter and look after her body better.

“I didn’t really look after my body,” Motu said of the earlier stages of her career. “I just pushed through the boundaries. I was just like, ‘I’m tough, I can handle it’, but this time I’ve learned to be very open, trust my cornermen a lot more, and just really look after myself.”

A win over Mehra would be a good way to cap off the year for the 33-year-old, who shares the card with Lani Daniels – who will look to add the IBF world light heavyweight belt to her heavyweight title – and Peach Boxing stablemate Jerome Pampellone, among others.