Top 10 New Zealand Boxing Champions Of All Time

Boxing is one of the most popular types of sport which has been known since the introduction of the Olympic Games. It also has World Championships and the winners have millions of fans and impressive profits.

New Zealand is a country with diverse interests. Here you can find billiard lovers, gamblers choosing a game on CasinoHex.co.nz, and of course boxing fans. Since 1903 the Boxing and Wrestling Act covers combat sports activities and allows us to enjoy this engaging and dynamic sport. In this article, we will tell you about the top 10 boxing champions from New Zealand. You will surely be surprised!

1. Joseph Parker

This 24-year-old Aucklander became the second Kiwi to hold a world boxing title by defeating Andy Ruiz in 2016. The second could become the first Mexican to win the world heavyweight champion and was already holding a few serious titles.

After losing to Dillian Whyte in 2018, Joseph Parker is working hard to rebuild his career. And there’s no doubt he will succeed.

2. Tom Heeney

Tom Heeney became famous after winning a national heavyweight title in Gisborne in 1921 by beating Albert Pooley. In 1922 he got the Australasian title and six years later defeated Jack Sharkey who soon became the world champion. He participated in 69 fights and had 37 wins

3. Ted Morgan

Ted Morgan became the first Kiwi to win a gold medal in the Olympic games. This happened in 1928 in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, before the games, he dislocated a finger of the left hand and had a serious injury during the Olympics even though he did everything possible to protect his hand.

4. Bob Fitzsimmons

Fitzsimmons was born in England but learned how to box in Timaru and was considered a New Zealand sportsman. In 1891 he won the first middleweight world title after knocking out Jack Dempsey. In 1897, he knocked out James Corbett and won a world heavyweight title. By the way, this was the first filmed fight in history.

5. David Nyika

David Nyika is considered as one of the top amateur boxers in New Zealand. He was the first Kiwi to obtain two gold medals of the Commonwealth Games after defeating an Australian opponent. He became a winner by points and forever remained in the history of boxing.

6. Bill Byrne

Byrne has won ten senior titles in two New Zealand weight divisions. In 1970,1972, 1974-1977 he had Heavyweight titles. In 1972, 1974, and 1975 he won the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles in a single evening. This record has never been beaten until the NZBA rules have changed and boxers couldn’t compete in several weight divisions at the same time.

7. David Tua

David Tua earned the first World Championship medal for New Zealand and obtained Bronze in 1991. He defeated Felix Savon, a famous Cuban boxer. In 1992, David Tua has earned a Bronze Medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games and then finished his professional career.

8. Jimmy Peau

The next boxing champion from New Zealand we’d like to tell about is Jimmy Peau. He was trained by Gerry Preston and became popular internationally due to a super heavyweight reward and three national heavyweight crowns. He also won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1986 and altogether had 88 wins in 97 contests.

9. Billy Murphy

Billy Murphy was known as Torpedo Billy and was the only boxer born in NZ to hold a world boxing reward. In 1890 he participated in the world featherweight championship and knocked out Ike Weir in the 14th round.

10. Sean Sullivan

Sullivan was ranked the seventh-best welterweight by the IBF and WBA. He holds NZ titles in six divisions. Sean left the professional sport in 2008 and has been working as a debt-collector since 2009.

Kiwis are full of talents

New Zealand is a country of diversity, where each person has a chance to open a new talent and develop it. There are numerous boxing schools and teachers, who know how to help a person to become a real champion.

Ten sportsmen described in the article are only a small part of the boxing champions from New Zealand and we will eagerly tell about other stars of this sport in the next articles.