Francis Waitai v Cowin Ray: WBA Oceania title fight set for Auckland

Francis Waitai will defend his WBA Oceania super middleweight title in August. Photo / CSN.Watch

Hauraki boxer Francis Waitai will defend his WBA Oceania Super Middleweight title against South African-born New Zealand resident Cowin Ray.

The fight will take place as part of BX-9 in August.

Ray had his first fight on New Zealand soil in December against Rotorua’s Ricaia Warren, followed by a bout against Whangaparaoa’s Marcus Heywood in February. Ray won both fights.

The fight against Waitai will be his third in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Waitai has been keeping very busy in his boxing career, with six fights since April last year.

Waitai is just coming off a split-decision loss against Max Reeves for the WBO Oriental super middleweight title earlier this month.

Waitai previously defeated Adrian Taihia, Robert Berridge and Australian Tej Pratap Singh for the IBO Asia Pacific title.

He also had fights against Michael Helg on the first BX-9 show and Chinese boxer Mielifeier Dalielibieke for the WBA Oceania title.

The fight against Ray is another big opportunity.

A knockout or a unanimous-decision win for either boxer could send them into the top 100 on the BoxRec rankings.

BX-9 promoter Oz Jabur said the Waitai versus Ray bout was going to be “something special”.

“Belts don’t mean much if you don’t defend them, and Francis understands that. But [it’s not going to be easy] ... Cowin... [is] sharp, slick, and one of the most evasive operators in the super middleweight division,” Jabur said.

Also confirmed on the August BX-9 card will be the semi-finals for the BX-9 Welterweight Tournament.

It is expected Matamata boxer Sonny Morini will be returning to the ring after a significant, non-boxing-related ear injury.

The Francis Waitai versus Cowin Ray fight will take place on August 2 at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium.

Tickets will be available on Eventfinda after the BX-9 event in May.

Both fights will be streaming live on PPV with CSN.Watch.

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.