Standing in the ring while being announced the winner of the fight, Waitai was visibly emotional.
Speaking after the fight, he said losing his previous fight against Australian Max Reeves felt like he was moving backwards in his career, so there was a lot of pressure coming into this fight against Ray.
Waitai said he had changed a few things in training for this fight, including getting Daniel Holiday, a strength and conditioning coach, involved.
Waitai said he had been working towards getting a stoppage win, though getting it done in the first round felt amazing.
“It shows that the training preparation that I have changed … that it’s working.”
BX-9 promoter Oz Jabur announced that the boxing series would come to Hamilton in December and Waitai is hoping to fight in the main event there.
Francis Waitai said he had been working towards getting a stoppage win, though getting it done in the first round felt amazing. Photo / CSN.Watch
Recently, there has been speculation that Oliver Firth, of Peach Boxing Gym, would want to fight the winner of the Waitai-Ray bout.
When asked if Waitai was interested, he declined, saying he intends to fight someone who is ranked just above him.
“So I can climb up ranks, not level myself. I’m trying to push forward.”
Meanwhile, Saskia Elliott took on Australia’s Leah Reuben Kawane for the vacant WBA Oceania super bantamweight title.
Both boxers have different fighting styles, with Elliott being more technical, whereas Reuben has more power.
The fight started well for Elliott, though Reuben was able to knock her down in the second round.
Despite this, she got back up and held on.
At the end of round 10, it was a split decision for Elliott, with the scorecards showing Elliott 95-94, Reuben 97-92 and Elliott 95-94.
Saskia Elliott took on Australia’s Leah Reuben Kawane for the vacant WBA Oceania super bantamweight title.
Speaking after the fight, Elliott said that until the moment the referee raised her hand to show she had won, she was unsure whether the fight had gone her way.
“I feel amazing, [the win] means so much to me, I have done so much hard work.
“I haven’t been able to see friends and family, all leading up to this, being disciplined.”
She said she was now looking forward to relaxing and eating butter chicken – a dish she had to go without during the training camp leading up to the fight.
Elliott is trained by her father, Nigel Elliott, who said he was very proud of her.
“I am proud of all my kids and what they achieve in their life, they all work hard,” he said after the fight.
“But I am over the moon for Saskia’s performance today. The heart she showed, to get off the floor, off the canvas and come back to win a 10-round split decision over an Aussie opponent that came to fight and hit hard.”
As Elliott won the title, she now also received a three-fight deal with BX-9 and hopes to fight at the Hamilton event at the end of the year.
The next BX-9 event will take place on October 3 in Auckland.
That event will be headlined by Mea Motu, who will take on Mariah Turner for the vacant IBF Intercontinental featherweight title.
Friday’s BX-9 event comprised 15 fights in total and was the biggest since it first started a year ago.
Other BX-9 results
Hyper fight heavyweight
Niwa Barlow defeated Dhcamad Armstrong by unanimous decision
WBA world title eliminator & WBA gold atomweight title
Emma Nesbitt defeated Madoka Wada by split decision
BX-9 welterweight tournament semi-finals
John Ume defeated Dane Edge by unanimous decision
Riley Allen defeated Paul Tonga by unanimous decision
Cruiserweight
Adrian Paoletti defeated Keanu Naden by split decision
Heavyweight
Amato Mataika defeated Jordan Collins by first-round stoppage
Flyweight
Mia Evans defeated Sarah Linton by unanimous decision
Cruiserweight
Ikuna Malupo defeated Filimaea Filimaea by unanimous decision
Super middleweight
Tawhiri Toheriri Hallett defeated Warren Warupi by fourth-round stoppage
Light heavyweight semi-pro
Purcell Placid defeated Charl Ackerman by unanimous decision
Amateur boxing
Noah Collier defeated Jaspaa Stowers by unanimous decision
Marley Dasey defeated Harlan Tai by split decision
Lucas Potter defeated Luca Mamic by unanimous decision
Benjamin Watt is a retired boxing judge and New Zealand boxing writer with a decade of experience. Watt has also been BoxRec’s New Zealand record-keeper since 2014.