Women's boxing pioneer Daniella Smith unveils journey to the top in new podcast
The journey of the first Māori and New Zealand female professional fighter to win an IBF title, Northland's Daniella Smith, is being unveiled in a new podcast.
Joined by legends Monty Betham, Shane Cameron and Mea Motu, Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu) narrates how women's boxing in New Zealand transformed in a five-part RNZ podcast, called Uncut Diamond Daniella.
Smith, who started in the sport in 1999, told TAHI host (and mixed martial arts athlete) Janay Harding she was pushing boundaries from the start and did not care about the "anti-females boxing" voices in the background.
"I was always very outspoken. I remember being told ... our shoulders weren't allowed to be shown and we had to wear like T-shirts underneath our tops, but then we'd go away to international tournaments and you didn't have to, so I just started not wearing them and would get told off, and I was just like 'And what?'
"I stood up for what I believed in and ... just don't think they expected kickback from anyone but well they hadn't met me before, had they?"
She was the third New Zealand boxer to claim a world title, following Maselino Masoe and Joseph Parker.
In the new podcast, the Women's Boxing Hall of Fame inductee recalls how she had to overcome social and financial barriers to make her seemingly implausible dream come true.
