Francis Waitai fought Mielifeier Dalielibieke on the weekend. Photo / CSN.Watch
David Nyika was not the only boxer from Waikato who won his fight on the weekend – Francis Waitai defeated Chinese boxer Mielifeier Dalielibieke in Auckland.
Waitai, who won by unanimous decision, is now the WBA Oceania super middleweight champion.
Overall, it is Waitai’s fourth professional boxing title, but this is his first major regional title.
The fight was very competitive from round one.
Waitai kept on the back foot the entire fight in his general counterpunch style of boxing.
Anyone watching could tell every shot Waitai landed was affecting Dalielibieke.
Waitai was very calculated with his shots, even landing a knockdown in the final round as an exclamation point at the end of the fight.
This was a big win for Waitai, as it could potentially reward him with a top-15 spot in the WBA rankings.
A potential next opponent for him could be former South African super middleweight champion Cowin Ray, who now lives in Auckland.
The Waitai v Dalielibieke fight was among the main fights of the BX-9 event, held on Saturday.
Ray fought on the event’s undercard against Ricaia Warren – an action-packed fight that Ray won by unanimous decision.
Aside from Waitai, there were a few other Hamilton boxers on the card, with four out of five fighters winning their fight.
Greer Hall, who is expected to be chosen for the Commonwealth Games, made her professional boxing debut against Masterton’s Sarah Linton.
Hall showed amazing boxing skills over the four-round fight.
She consistently landed an overhand right, however, it looked like it wasn’t working – until the final round.
In the last second of the fight, Hall knocked down Linton, winning the fight by stoppage.
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games representative Emile Richardson fought in his second professional fight against Auckland’s Ioane Auvaa.
Richardson took some time to warm up, however, after finding his rhythm, he started to control the fight.
Richardson really showed his amateur boxing background with the level of accuracy in every punch, although he also received a lot of clean punches from Auvaa.
Richardson won the fight by unanimous decision.
Fellow Hamilton boxer Pikiao Tairua Bracken also won his fight, beating John Brewin by decision.
Kianu Johnson lost his fight against Paul Tonga by stoppage in the last round.
Another highlight of the event was the fight of Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Uila Mau’u, as he knocked out Robert Beniamina Tuteru in the first round.
Mau’u, of Auckland, announced he will join UFC’s Dana White and Saudi Arabia’s Turki Al-Sheikh boxing league, called Zuffa Boxing, and is expected to have his first fight under their banner early next year.
Also worth noting is Jerome Pascua, who lost his fight against Corin Braddick by decision.
After the fight, Pascua not only announced his retirement from combat sports, he proposed to his girlfriend in the middle of the ring.
BX-9 will return to Auckland next year, expected to be held between March and May.
At the end of 2026, BX-9 will host an event in Hamilton.
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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.