Whanganui’s Isabella Parkes defends her title at national boxing championships

Whanganui student Isabella Parkes became a second-time gold winner at the 2024 boxing national championships.

Whanganui High School student Isabella Parkes is once again a national boxing champion.

At the national championships in Christchurch on October 4, the 15-year-old faced off against previous 52kg champion Emma Deegan of Manawatū.

Isabella won the match in the first round, making her the national champion in the 52kg division.

“I won by technical knockout in the first 39 seconds of round one. She went down, hit the canvas, in the first 15s but she stood back up and the referee gave her an 8 count but allowed it to go for 10 seconds longer before he called it,” Parkes said.

For the past seven years, Isabella has fought with the River City Boxing Club in Whanganui but she has now moved to Kiwi Boxing Palmerston North “for new experiences”.

She has held the top position nationally in her weight category for the past two years, winning the 2023 national championship for the 50kg division.

Next year Isabella is set to be part of NZ Boxing’s development squad which will allow her to represent New Zealand on an international level.

Isabella has dreams of a professional boxing career and hopes to represent New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games and Olympics in the future.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.