It was a right uppercut that sent Tahikia tumbling to one knee, spitting out his mouthguard and refusing to answer the full 10 count, making Morini the winner by knockout.
Also on the Fiji fightcard were Morini’s stablemates from Peach Boxing, Hand and Nesbitt, both from Auckland.
Hand took on Isimeli Dautokidavui, of Fiji.
Dautokidavui fought on the outside of the ring, as Hand walked him down.
Dautokidavui was not throwing anything heavy, trying to work out Hand.
However, Hand threw his hands with intentions, winning the fight by stoppage, with Dautokidavui needing to be assisted back to his corner.
Hand is expected to return to the ring on May 15 in a Peach Boxing show.
His next opponent has yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, Nesbitt took on Indian boxer Aarti Hooda.
The fight was the fight of the night, as it ended in a major controversy.
Throughout the high-action, eight-round fight, both boxers landed very clean, very heavy shots.
It was a very close result.
Originally, the three judges had Hooda as the winner by split decision, scoring the fight 75–77 (Nesbitt), (Hooda) 78–75, and (Hooda) 77–75.
However, at least an hour after the fight, the judges overturned their decision, saying the scorecards had been added up incorrectly.
They said one of the scores, initially voted to be in favour of Hooda, was actually a draw.
This meant the result of the Nesbitt v Hooda fight was changed to a split-decision draw, with no clear winner.
In an interview with Fiji’s Mai TV, Hooda was visibly upset and said she was disappointed in the decision change.
A sponsor of Hooda’s team, Vyas Deo Sharma, said in the interview that he would challenge the decision change.
Peach Boxing team said it hoped for a rematch between Nesbitt and Hooda later in the year or next year.
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.
