Te Arani Moana Daniels (born 15 July 1988, Whangarei, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Maori professional female boxer. She is a three time New Zealand National Professional Boxing champion, holding the

New Zealand Professional Boxing Association New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) is one of the four governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing in New Zealand. NZPBA is a non-profit organisation. History The Body was founded as South Pacific Boxing Association, wi ...

Light Heavyweight title, Pro Box NZ Super Middleweight title, and Pro Box NZ Light Heavyweight title. Daniels has peaked in the rankings 2nd in WBA in the Light Heavyweight division, 1st on

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

, 2nd on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, 1st in IBO, 1st in WBC and 3rd with the Lineal Boxing Champion Website in the heavyweight division. Daniels fought for a world title on March 30, 2019, fighting Geovana Peres for the WBO World Light heavyweight title.

Early life

Daniels is one of nine siblings. At the age of 14, Daniels younger brother passed away with leukemia at the age of 11. This led to Daniels turning to drugs and alcohol with contemplation of suicide. She got inspired by her sister Caroline Daniels who was already fighting as an amateur boxer. Since then Lani turned her life around and became a mental health nurse. She fights alongside her sister Caroline with both of them being amateur and later on professional boxers.

Amateur career

Daniels originally started boxing to lose weight alongside her sister. Daniels began her boxing career in the amateur boxing division. She first started with her sister Caroline in Hamilton under the coach Dion McNabney at Nabby's Boxing GYM. Daniels is a two-time New Zealand amateur boxing champion, winning the titles in 2014 and 2015.

Professional career

Debut to multiple national champion 2017 – 2018

In September 2017, Lani Daniels made her professional debut against another debutant boxer Trish Vaka on the Big Bash Boxing Promotion. Lani Daniels won bout by Unanimous Decision. In November 2017, Daniels fought Vaka again in a rematch, but this time for the vacant

NZPBA New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) is one of the four governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing in New Zealand. NZPBA is a non-profit organisation. History The Body was founded as South Pacific Boxing Association, w ...

Light Heavyweight Title. Daniels won the bout by Unanimous Decision, winning all of the scheduled rounds by two judges and picking up her first title. In March 2018, Lani Daniels took on another New Zealand champion

Geovana Peres Geovana De Cassia Peres (born 8 February 1977) is a Brazilian-born New Zealand professional Muay Thai fighter and former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She became the first female light-heavyweight world champion, having held ...

. Peres at the time before the belt held both New Zealand National Boxing Federation and Professional Boxing Commission Light Heavyweight titles. Geovana Peres was defending her PBCNZ Light Heavyweight title in the bout against Lani Daniels. It was a close bout, however Daniels Lost the bout by Split Decision, suffering her first professional defeat. In July 2018, Daniels defended her NZPBA title against former world ranked boxer

Nailini Helu Nailini Inaise Vae Helu (born 20 November 1993, Nukualofa, Tonga) is a professional boxer who lives in New Zealand. Helu is the world's first Tongan professional female boxer. Helu has won multiple amateur titles and has peaked 6th on BoxRec, 6 ...

. The bout went the full 8 rounds with Lani Daniels almost winning all the rounds, winning the bout by Unanimous decision retaining the title. In September 2018, Daniels fought Tessa Tualevao for the vacant Pro Box NZ Super Middleweight title in Cambridge New Zealand. Daniels won the bout by Unanimous decision, winning her second Professional title.

World title contender, Tualevao Rivalry 2019

On 17 December 2018, it was announced that Daniels will be going against

in a rematch for the WBO World Light Heavyweight title. The event took place on 30 March 2019 in Auckland New Zealand. Daniels lost the bout by Unanimous Decision. On 19 June 2019, it was announced that a rematch between Daniels and Tessa Tualevao will happen on August 2, 2019, at

ABA Stadium Auckland Boxing Association Stadium (also known as ABA Stadium) is a New Zealand venue for combat sports hosting over 150 events in boxing alone. ABA Stadium is also recognized for its grassroots of boxing. The earliest reported professional boxin ...

for the vacant New Zealand Professional Boxing Commission Female Middleweight Title. During the announcement it was revealed that Daniels was still ranked 5th on the WBA world rankings. This was the first time that Daniels fought in the middleweight division in her professional career. The fight reached the full 8 round but the bout ended in a draw, leaving the belt to remain vacant. On 13 August 2019, Bruce Glozier announced that the third bout between Daniels and Tessa Tualevao will happen on October 4, 2019, at Sky City Convention Centre. This will be for the vacant New Zealand Professional Boxing Commission Female Middleweight Title. This fight will be on the undercard of the Geovana Peres vs. Claire Hafner World title fight night.

Comeback, Receiving Call outs 2021 – 2022

On 27 February 2021, Daniels was scheduled to make her in ring return to fight Alrie Meleisea for a Major world title. Unfortunately, there were a lot of problems with behind the scenes which went from being for a World title, to an intercontinental title, to a regional title, to it being a National title. Eventually the fight got called off all together due to bad boxing politics and communication breakdowns behind the scenes. On 4 September, Daniels was originally scheduled to return to the ring, to fight at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

. Unfortunately, due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in New Zealand, the fight got postponed. The fight ended up happening on 30 April 2022 at

against Professional Rugby Player

Sequita Hemingway Sequita Hemingway (born 7 January 1982) is a New Zealand professional boxer, rugby league and rugby union player. She is of Māori descent and identifies as a member of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāi Tūhoe '' iwi''. Hemingway peaked in the ...

. Lani Daniels won the fight by Unanimous decision. A rematch was scheduled to take place on the 24th of June at The Plaza in

Putāruru Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres s ...

. However, Hemingway pulled out of the fight shortly after it was announced. Daniels will now take on amateur boxer Tinta Smith for the New Zealand National (Pro Box NZ version) Light Heavyweight title. Daniels won the fight against Tinta Smith by unanimous decision with the fight being reported as very close. After the fight, it was reported that Daniels struggled with her camp for the fight due to having Covid at the beginning of the camp, a leg injury, the flu closer to the fight and a family member suddenly a month before the fight. In July 2022, Daniels received a WBA rankings of 3rd in the Light Heavyweight division. Shortly after being risen to third in the rankings, Daniels received another increase in the rankings to not only 2nd in the WBA, but also 1st in the WBC. In November 2022, for the first time in her career, a boxer called out Daniels. South African national women's champion Razel Mohammed took to social media demanding a fight against Daniels.

World title fight, Hemingway rematch, Alrie Meleisea Rivalry 2023

On 9 December, Alrie Meleisea defeated

for the Pro Box NZ Heavyweight title. After her fight, Meleisea asked if she would be interested in a world title fight against Lani Daniels. She replied “Anytime, anywhere, any place,” she said, officially calling out Daniels. In January 2023, it was announced that Daniels is in negotiations with Meleisea team for a potencial world title fight in May. Also in January, it was announced that negotiations were happening to have a tuneup fight against Sequita Hemingway before the World title fight. On 14 January, it was announce that Daniels fight against Sequita Hemingway was confirmed for 10 March at

for the historical vacant ANBF Australasian Heavyweight title. This will be a warm up fight for the world title. On the same day it was confirmed that Daniels will take on Meleisea for the first ever IBF World womens Heavyweight title on 27 May at Eventfinda Stadium. The intentions for the Hemingway fight is not only to be a tune up fight but also to help pay the bills for the world title fight.

Personal life

Daniels is a descendant of

Te Tai Tokerau Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...

. She is from the

Iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

Ngāti Hine Ngāti Hine is an iwi with a rohe in Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the wider Ngāpuhi iwi. Its rohe (tribal area) covers the areas of Waiomio, Kawakawa, Taumarere, Moerewa, Ruapekapeka, Motatau, Waimahae, Towai, Akeramaa, Pakaraka, O ...

which is part of the wider

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

. She also belongs to the

Hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

Te Orewai. When she isn't boxing, Daniels is a mental health nurse. She currently resides in the small town of

Pipiwai Pipiwai ( mi, Pīpīwai) is a locality in the Te Horo valley in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. Whangārei is about 35 km to the southeast. Titoki, New Zealand, Titoki is about 16 km to the south. There are few jobs in the ...

. Outside of her own training, Daniels trains her family for free, to give back to the youth and community.

Boxing Titles

Amateur Boxing

Boxing NZ Boxing NZ inc (formerly known as New Zealand Boxing Association, also known as Boxing New Zealand) is New Zealand's leading amateur boxing organisation that was established in 1924. First boxing organisations The first boxing fight that was record ...

** New Zealand Amateur Light Heavyweight (2014) ** New Zealand Amateur Middleweight (2015) ** Bobby Johnson Cup (Most Scientific boxer at the 2015 New Zealand national amateur championships)

Professional Boxing

** New Zealand National Light Heavyweight title (171 ''Ibs'') *

Pro Box NZ Pro Box New Zealand Association (Pro Box NZ) is one of the four governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse t ...

** New Zealand National Super Middleweight title (167 ''Ibs'') ** New Zealand National Light Heavyweight title

Professional boxing record

Awards and recognitions

*2018 Northland Sports Award Female Boxer of the Year (Won) *2018 Northland Sports Award Fireco Sportswomen of the Year (Nominated) *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Female boxer of the year (Nominated) *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards New Zealand Fight of the year (Won) *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Best looking female boxer of the year (Won)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Lani 1988 births Living people New Zealand women boxers New Zealand professional boxing champions New Zealand Māori sportspeople Sportspeople from Whangārei Light-heavyweight boxers Boxers from Northland