Bachelorette gets job done in the ring
Bachelorette Naz Khanjani triumphed in the battle of the “Boxing Belles”, beating Bella Henry in their celebrity boxing fight last night.
Khanjani squared off with Henry — the daughter of broadcaster Paul Henry — in the first fight of the undercard for Kiwi heavyweight star Joseph Parker’s clash with Alexander Dimitrenko at Manukau’s Vodafone Events Centre.
Parker put himself in prime position for a world title fight by knocking out his Russian opponent in the third round.
The gloss may have been taken off by the controversial end with Dimitrenko failing to get up after Parker hit him while he was on his knees.
But that will do little to prevent Parker’s star rising on the world boxing stage.
Earlier, judges handed down a unanimous points decision for Khanjani, who screamed with delight when the result was read out. “I have been to hell and back,” she said. “It [the win] means everything to me. I give her [Henry] so much respect — I take my hat off to her.” Khanjani — the runner-up in the 2016 series of reality TV dating show The Bachelor NZ — won in her belated boxing debut. In July she pulled out of a fight after being hospitalised with a kidney infection.
In the lead-up to last night’s clash, Henry revealed she had received the backing of Parker. to get the job done in the ring.
“I asked him before if he was Team Bella and he said yes,” she said. “That’s the only thing important to me — that he’s on my side.”
It was a star-studded event in South Auckland last night. Celebrities at the fight included actor Cliff Curtis, Olympic rowing champion Eric Murray, Sir Peter Leitch, Paul Henry, TVNZ weather man Sam Wallace and
Breakfast sports caster Brodie Kane.