Boxing: Waikato fighter Jadene Treadaway goes for NZ title in historic match

Jadene Treadaway (right) will fight for the New Zealand national (Pro Box NZ version) Lightweight title. She is pictured with her regular sparring partner Saskia Elliott.

Waikato boxer Jadene Treadaway will take on Tricia MacKenzie for the New Zealand Lightweight title (Pro Box NZ version) in a historic fight.

The July 5 fightat The Plaza in Putāruru will be run by local promoter Nigel Elliott, of Ironfist Promotions.

It will be a special fight as there has not been a NZ Lightweight champion for the Pro Box NZ commissioning body.

Treadaway v MacKenzie will be the main fight in an event that will also include amateur and corporate boxing, Muay Thai, and K1 Kickboxing.

Treadaway, of Tokoroa, is still in the early stages of her career, making her professional boxing debut last December against Macy Smith.

The fight was a draw.

Treadaway had some amateur boxing experience before turning pro, but now, coming into her third professional boxing fight, she has an opportunity to become champion.

She had her last fight in Te Awamutu in May, on the Alex Mukuka undercard, where she achieved her first win in her professional boxing career, an unanimous decision over Palmerston North’s Tania Barnett.

Treadaway is currently ranked 4 in NZ, according to Boxrec. Her July opponent MacKenzie is ranked 2.

If Treadaway wins, not only will she become the NZ champion, but she will shoot up into the top 70 world rankings.

She is ranked about 111 in the world boxing rankings on Boxrec at the moment.

Meanwhile, MacKenzie, of Ōpunake, made her professional boxing debut in July 2022 against Ayisha Abied.

MacKenzie and Abied have fought twice, with Abied winning once and the other fight ending in a draw.

MacKenzie’s only win of her career was against Talei Aldiss in December 2022.

MacKenzie has fought some of the best NZ boxers, including Commonwealth Games representative Erin Walsh and Pacific Games Gold Medalist Sheilla Yama.

MacKenzie is being trained by Tania Reid, who is the first female from NZ to win the ANBF Australasian title.

She retired from professional boxing in 2021 when she fought former IBO World Champion Mea Motu.

There has not been a female NZ champion in the lightweight division since Motu won in 2021 against Reid.

So, if MacKenzie wins the fight against Treadaway, it would be a full-circle moment for Reid.

Nigel Elliott’s gym, Ace Fighters in Putāruru, has seen a lot of success recently with brothers Lleyton and Jordan Ward walking away from the International Thai Martial Arts Games with Gold and Silver in the Muay Boran championships division.

Both brothers are expected to be on this fight card.

Tickets are available online via eventfinda.co.nz.