{"id":732929,"date":"2026-06-12T22:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/732929\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T22:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:46:08","slug":"saskia-elliott-to-fight-leah-reuben-for-wba-oceania-title-in-auckland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/732929\/","title":{"rendered":"Saskia Elliott to fight Leah Reuben for WBA Oceania title in Auckland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great fight and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliott, who works as a waitress and is just about to start a four-year course to become a physiotherapist, is early in her professional boxing career.<\/p>\n

She has an undefeated pro-record of three wins since her debut last year.<\/p>\n

However, she is an experienced amateur boxer, winning the 2021 New Zealand National Boxing Championship in the junior division.<\/p>\n

Elliott got into boxing following the pathway of her father, owner of Put\u0101ruru\u2019s Ace Fighters gym, retired boxer and horse trainer Nigel Elliott.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat first got me into boxing was … my dad\u2019s encouragement and him introducing me to the sport with him becoming a coach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved boxing ever since … It\u2019s taught me many things which [have] had a positive impact on every aspect of my life: confidence, determination and discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more experience Saskia gained in boxing, the more Nigel\u2019s role changed. He is now not only her father but also trainer, manager and promoter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the world to me [to have] my dad as my coach and promoter and being able to follow in his footsteps,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s supported and encouraged me throughout my boxing journey and I couldn\u2019t do it without him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis past in boxing has made me proud and [I am] fortunate [to be] able to do what he has done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskia said her father was able to relate to what she is going through in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201c[He has been] helping push me to perform my best and get through the toughest challenges and training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between amateur and pro<\/p>\n

Saskia said she liked that her amateur boxing career has allowed her to travel a bit: she has competed in Australia, Samoa and most recently, Brazil.<\/p>\n

\" Saskia Elliott will fight Leah Reuben for the WBA Oceania super bantamweight title on July 31 as part of a BX-9 event. Photo \/ BX-9<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to explore and participate in competitions [across the world] … and being able to train, spar and compete with the best [is special].<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest achievements would be all the wins and learnings I have gained along the way … being able to represent New Zealand … [and] excelling in the sport that I love and how far I have come.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to a decent amateur career, Elliott started boxing professionally as she started to make a bigger name for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I had enough experience and skill … to begin creating new experiences and opportunities in my boxing career.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Pro and amateur boxing] both have different qualities that I enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201c[There are] more rounds in professional and amateur [is] more fast-pace. But I enjoy both, any fight is a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Saskia Elliott is an experienced amateur boxer, winning the 2021 New Zealand National Boxing Championship in the junior division.<\/p>\n

Like many boxers, Elliott aspires to become a world champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have a long way to go, but this is my goal with hard training and discipline with my coach, family and friends in my corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyes on the prize<\/p>\n

For now, Saskia is focused on the WBA Oceania super bantamweight title fight against Reuben.<\/p>\n

Reuben is currently ranked in the top 30 on Boxrec and holds a pro record of five wins, two losses and one draw, with one win by way of knockout.<\/p>\n

Reuben also currently holds the ANBF Australasain super bantamweight title after defeating Nelson\u2019s Christine Gillespie in October.<\/p>\n

Saskia said she is not worried, however.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The fight] would be … opening up many different opportunities for next fights and [allow me to be] rising up as a professional in the ranks towards one day getting a chance to fight for a world title.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" The more Saskia Elliott got into boxing, the more Nigel\u2019s role changed. He is now not only her father but also trainer, manager and promoter.<\/p>\n

Though sometimes, where one door opens, another closes.<\/p>\n

Saskia had to give up on her Commonwealth Games dream as she is not eligible for selection because she hasn\u2019t met all requirements, including having more than three international tournaments in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut instead of dwelling, I\u2019m focusing on a new goal towards winning this title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have many opportunities in my amateur career … so I will not be finishing up my [amateur] career just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have a goal of being able to compete in the Olympic Games in the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskia Elliott versus Leah Reuben will take place at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland on July 31. Tickets are on sale at Eventfinda and the bouts will be live on PPV with CSN.WATCH.<\/p>\n

Current confirmed card<\/p>\n

WBA Oceania Super Middleweight title<\/p>\n

10×3 min rounds<\/p>\n

Francis Waitai (Waikato) v Cowin Ray (South Africa\/Auckland)<\/p>\n

WBA Gold Atomweight title and WBA world title eliminator<\/p>\n

10×2 min rounds<\/p>\n

Emma Nesbitt (New Zealand) v Madoka Wada (Japan)<\/p>\n

WBA Oceania Super Bantamweight title<\/p>\n

10×2 min rounds<\/p>\n

Saskia Elliott (Waikato) v Leah Reuben (Australian)<\/p>\n

BX-9 Welterweight Championship \u2013 Semi-finals<\/p>\n

8×3 min rounds<\/p>\n

Dane Edge (Christchurch) v John Ume (Papua New Guinea)<\/p>\n

Riley Allen (Australia) v Paul Tonga (Napier)<\/p>\n

5×3 min rounds<\/p>\n

Keanu Naden (Niue\/Auckland) v Adrian Paoletti (Australia)<\/p>\n

6×2 min rounds<\/p>\n

Mia Evans (Auckland) v Sarah Linton (Masterton)<\/p>\n

5×3 min rounds<\/p>\n

Jordan Collins (Wellington) vs Amato Mataika (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Hyper Combat \u2013 Heavyweight\u00a0<\/p>\n

5×2 min rounds<\/p>\n

Dhcamad Armstrong (Kaikohe) v Niwa Barlow (Whanganui)<\/p>\n

Semi-Pro Boxing \u2013 Light Heavyweight\u00a0<\/p>\n

3×3 min rounds<\/p>\n

Charl Ackerman (Auckland) v Purcell Placid (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Jaspaa Stowers (Australia) v Noah Collier (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Harlan Tai (Auckland) v Marley Dasey (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Luca Mamic (Auckland) v Lucas Potter (Whang\u0101rei)<\/p>\n

Benjamin Watt is a retired boxing judge and New Zealand boxing writer with a decade of experience. Watt has also been BoxRec\u2019s New Zealand record-keeper since 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great fight and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d Elliott, who works as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":732930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[2905,5136,155615,703,49,48,33140,1138,693,2000,10719,230166,18600,263695,263694,82,4452,11376,696,255155,27977,3904],"class_list":["post-732929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-auckland","tag-australian","tag-bantamweight","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-elliott","tag-fight","tag-for","tag-in","tag-july","tag-leah","tag-oceania","tag-reuben","tag-saskia","tag-sports","tag-super","tag-title","tag-to","tag-waikatos","tag-wba","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/732930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}