Laird lives in Brisbane, Australia, but she represents New Zealand on the international stage and occasionally trains with Hamilton’s Cairo George at Hit Fitness HQ.
She also represents Kirikiriroa Boxing Association when competing at Golden Gloves and national championships.
She has had a successful year, winning the 2025 Cairns Box Cup, North Island Golden Gloves, 2025 Queensland Open International Golden Gloves and claiming a silver medal at the New Zealand national amateur championships, where she lost to Hall.
Elliott claimed a silver medal at the New Zealand national amateur championships, which also makes her a strong contender for the Commonwealth Games selection.
Meanwhile, Hall will not be fighting in the trials as she is the only one on the longlist in her weight division, which could mean she could be automatically selected into the shortlist.
Hall is in an excellent position for selection after winning the 2025 Queensland Open International Golden Gloves, the 2025 New Zealand national amateur championships and Queen of the Ring in Australia.
More details on what New Zealand boxers are eyeing up in terms of competing at the next Commonwealth Games are to be released in the coming weeks.
However, former Waikato competitor at the Commonwealth Games, Alex Mukuka, has decided to focus on professional boxing instead of chasing games success.
Mukuka, of Matamata, recently joined Cairo George at Hit Fitness HQ in Hamilton.
The final selection of fighters to go to the Commonwealth Games will be made by a committee of boxing professionals after the trials.
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.
