Kiwi women fight for WBO title

Two New Zealand women will fight for the World Boxing Organisation light heavyweight championship belt in Auckland in March.

Geovana Peres and Lani Daniels will face off for the vacant world title on March 30.

The fight will be the first women’s world title bout in the light heavyweight division for the WBO.

It is the female equivalent to the world title Joseph Parker won in December, 2016

The bout will also be a rematch between the two from earlier this year when Peres won by a split decision.

The last Kiwi female to hold a world title was Daniella Smith, who won the first IBF world welterweight title in 2010.

Favourite Peres, who has won six of her seven professional bouts, is a twotime New Zealand light heavyweight champion.

She began her boxing career when she entered a corporate charity boxing match three years ago and after that pursued a professional career in the sport.

Peres is also the first person in the LGBT community to win a New Zealand professional boxing title.

The 41-year-old was born in Brazil and became a New Zealand citizen this year.

Daniels, who has won four of her five professional bouts, is ranked 10th in WBA and second on Boxrec.

She is a multi-division national champion, holding the NZ Professional Boxing Association lightweight title and Pro Box NZ super middleweight title. Born in Whangarei, Daniels runs a boxing gym with her family.