Nailini Inaise Vae Helu (born 20 November 1993, Nukualofa,

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

) 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

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, 6th WIBA, top 2 in WBA Oceania and 10th WBC female professional boxing rankings.

Professional debut, controversy national title fight and first loss 2016

Helu made her pro boxing debut against Kirsty Lupeamanu for the promotions own Inaugural Royal Rampage Heavyweight title. The title was originally for the Super Middleweight title, however both boxers failed to make weight, so the title was upgraded to a heavyweight bout despite the belt itself was pre engraved for the Super Middleweight division. Lupeamanu was also originally scheduled to face Michelle Montague, however Montague stepped down due to focusing on Amateur MMA fights instead and Helu stepped up. Helu won all rounds of the bout on all judges scorecards for a dominant win. The bout also made history by being the first bout to have New Zealand's first female boxing referee. This fight was on the WBC World female middleweight title Kali Reis vs. Maricela Cornejo undercard. Parts of this bout was televised on

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

show Fresh TV. Helu next pro fight was against

Sarah Long Sarah Long (18 March 1938 – 23 November 1987) was an English actress and television presenter. Born in London, she is best remembered for her long run as a presenter on the preschool children's television series '' Play School'' from Septembe ...

. Long was making her pro boxing debut, however she has had 6 kickboxing bouts (3 wins 3 losses) and 1 win in Corporate boxing. Helu knocked Long down in the first round for the first time in Helu's career. Helu won all rounds, again dominating her opponent. Shortly after the fight, it was announced that this bout was for the mandatory challenging position for the New Zealand (

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, wi ...

version) title. On 21 July, it was announced that Helu would face Agne Davis for the New Zealand (

version) & UBF Asia Pacific heavyweight titles on 24 September 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 ...

. Ange Davis making her pro boxing debut have fought in 10 kickboxing bouts (5 wins 4 losses 1 draw) and has held the TBANZ Women's middleweight title. The bout was in jeopardy where Davis suffered an ankle injury, however after recent scans, the doctor are pretty confident that Davis will be medically cleared to fight. Helu was the favoured to win the bout and was likely to receive a world title shot within the next year if she kept up her winning streak. The bout itself was close throughout the fight, however the fight of the night ended by a split decision Win to Helu. After the bout, there was a massive backlash all across social media with people thinking Davis won the bout. The backlash got so bad that people were sending abuse to Helu, the promoter and even to the judges themselves. On 26 September, Ange Davis and her team launched an appeal with

, due to poor judging. On 6 October,

announced that the panel looked into the scorecards of the judges and found that one of the judges incorrectly added up their card. They originally 58/56 in favour of Helu, however when calculating the card it was indeed supposed to be 57/57 a draw, making this decision a split decision draw. The judge that made this error has been stood down and regulations on all NZ title bouts have been changed. The decision of the bout was over turned to a draw, Helu two belts to be stripped and the two must have a rematch with 6 months of their bout (expiring 24 March 2017) or face risk of losing their mandatory positions. On 26 December,

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

televised this fight on the combat show called Whawhai Fight Night. Helu was originally scheduled to fight Victoria Nansen on 8 October 2016. However, due to the backlash of Helu vs Davis bout, it took a big toll on Helu mental health and was unable to take part in the bout let alone train. Kirsty Lupeamanu took on the on a weeks notice and winning the bout by Majority decision. Helu was originally scheduled to take on Cheyenne Whaanga for the New Zealand (

version) Light Heavyweight Title, however due to Whaanga receiving an injury during training, Meleisea was not able to take part. Alrie Meleisea took the fight on less than a week notice. During the bout, people describe the bout as Helu either going easy on Meleisea or Helu still recovering on the backlash. Meleisea won the bout by a massive upset Split Decision.

Losing streak to the best 2017-2018

In January 2017, it was announced that Helu will have a rematch against Alrie Meleisea in March 2017 at

for the vacant

and vacant UBF Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. Planning the bout was difficult for the promoter, due to the rematch clause in the Helu vs Ange Davis appeal. During training, Davis suffered a serious shoulder injury that would bring her away from the ring passed the 6 month expiry rematch clause day of 24 March. Due to this, Helu and Meleisea were allowed to fight for the vacant titles, with the winner to face Davis when she is healed 100%. Helu lost the bout by a controversial split decision. Helu will be taking on Brazil born

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 ...

on 21 April for the NZNBF version of the New Zealand National Title. This will Helu's third New Zealand title shot of her career. Peres won the bout by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring 79 - 73 and becoming the first ever

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

person to hold a New Zealand Professional Boxing Title. After being away from the ring for 64 weeks, Nailini Helu returned to professional boxing against Lani Daniels on 14 July 2018 at Auckland Netball Centre in St Johns, Auckland, New Zealand. It was announced on 6 June that the bout between the two will happen with Lani Daniels New Zealand National (

Version) Light Heavyweight title will be on the line. The two have fought before back in the amateurs multiple times. Daniels won the bout by unanimous decision.

Comeback 2022

On 26 August 2022, Helu made her return to the ring after being away from the ring for four years. Helu took on Amateur New Zealand champion Tinta Smith for the PBCNZ South Pacific Super Flyweight title. Helu won the fight by Majority Decision, making this her first official title in her career.

Personal life

Helu trains at Pridelands boxing gym which is based in Otara. The gym is a community based gym that is free for everyone to use. Helu uncle Aloisio Helu, runs the gym. Helu is the older sister to Light Heavyweight boxer Panuve Helu, which is common for them to spar and train together.

Amateur boxing titles

*Gold 2015 New Zealand Golden Gloves Championship Heavyweight *Gold 2015 New Zealand National Championship Heavyweight *Gold 2014 New Zealand National Championship Heavyweight *Silver 2014 New Zealand North Island Golden Gloves Championship Heavyweight *Bronze 2013 New Zealand National Championship Light Heavyweight *Silver New Zealand North Island Golden Gloves Championship Heavyweight *Gold 2012 New Zealand National Championship Light Heavyweight

Professional boxing titles

*Boxing Promotions titles **Inaugural Royal Rampage Heavyweight Title (172¾''Ibs'') * New Zealand Professional Boxing Commission * South Pacific Super Middleweight title (164''Ibs'')

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Nailini Helu Awakening Fighters Profile
*
Nailini Helu Wommen Boxing Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helu, Nailini 1993 births Living people New Zealand women boxers Boxers from Auckland Heavyweight boxers Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Tongan boxers Fighters trained by Lolo Heimuli People from Nukuʻalofa