Without the \u201cbro,\u201d she was lost and tried football for camaraderie. It was too tame. Lunchtime scraps gave more adrenaline but were unproductive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a bit naughty. I was protecting my friends,\u201d Hall laughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed another outlet. I wanted to make good of myself. When I turned up to the East Side Boxing gym aged 15 or so, I was hooked right away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can either handle being punched in the face or you can\u2019t. Mike Tyson said that. Who doesn\u2019t love Mike Tyson?<\/p>\n
\u201cCuts, bruises, broken bones, steep hills, obstacles \u2013 there\u2019s a lot going on in BMX. In soccer, I had to wait for something to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waiting around isn\u2019t in the DNA of this restless country girl, who will compete in the 54kg bantamweight class in Glasgow. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel real. Is somebody tricking me? I\u2019ll only believe it when I get there,\u201d Hall says.<\/p>\n
Greer Hall (right) fights Australian Sarah Linton at the BX-9 event in Auckland last December. Photo \/ CSN-Watch Instagram<\/p>\n
Her grandfather Graham Falconer was a rugged Wairarapa Bush hooker who played for the Junior All Blacks in 1970 and was twice an All Blacks triallist.<\/p>\n
He owned a pet food company and later became an owner-trainer of racehorses. Gelding Logan James is a cracking story. <\/p>\n
A dud track racer, Falconer was going to give him away but the person supposed to pick him up never showed. <\/p>\n
They turned Logan James into a steeplechaser and he won thousands. Graham and his wife Denise are \u201chuge\u201d supporters of Greer.<\/p>\n
Mum Bridgit and father Aaron met while travelling \u201chere, there and everywhere\u201d. <\/p>\n
They settled on a farm in Cambridge and went all-in on their children\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n
It was something of a letdown when Hall quit BMX, but Mike Peterson, cousin of former WBA world middleweight title holder Maselino Masoe and All Black Chris Masoe, proved a positive mentor in Hall\u2019s boxing infancy.<\/p>\n
Soon, things ratcheted up with Hall joining the crosstown gym Hit Fitness HQ, run by the \u201cWaikato Warrior\u201d Cairo George.<\/p>\n
George is an archetypal boxing character, tough, practical and smooth-talking. <\/p>\n
He was going down a bad path, fighting more at local parties than in the gym. When he was 19, riding his Harley-Davidson on the backroads of Orini near Huntly, he had an accident and suffered a fractured lower spine and a broken leg.<\/p>\n
Doctors told him he\u2019d never walk again. Instead, he trained harder and became a professional fighter, winning the New Zealand title twice. <\/p>\n
He finished his career with an 18-win, two-loss record and 10 knockouts as mostly a super lightweight. <\/p>\n
His most memorable fight was a win against Ricky Campbell on the undercard of David Tua\u2019s retirement fight against Alexander Ustinov in Hamilton in 2013.<\/p>\n
In 2017, he started Hit Fitness HQ in his garage, then bought a nearby warehouse to handle the growing number of clients. <\/p>\n
Today, up to 80 fighters train at the gym. Olympic gold medallist David Nyika, whom George has cornered for all 13 of Nyika\u2019s professional fights, is a semi-regular at the gym, as is former All Black turned boxer Liam Messam.<\/p>\n
When George first saw Hall, he was struck by her work ethic and tenacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s this blonde, white girl? A little pocket-rocket with a no-s**t attitude,\u201d George laughs. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe often joke she needs a DNA test cause she throws shots like an Islander.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreer is disciplined. She\u2019s at the gym religiously, six days a week and even on the seventh day when I\u2019m not there, Greer is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her first fight was a split-decision win over Takara Adams in May 2022. <\/p>\n
A national youth title was secured against Javana Ratana in July 2023, a result Ratana reversed in October that year.<\/p>\n
Valuable international experience was gained at the 2024 world U19 championships in Colorado, where she fought up a weight class to the 57kg division. <\/p>\n
She was beaten by \u201cThe Star Girl,\u201d Great Britain\u2019s Tiah Mai Ayton, who went 21-0 as an amateur and is already 6-0 as a pro.<\/p>\n
If Hall performed strongly at the July 2025 Queensland Open International Golden Gloves, it would open the door to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. <\/p>\n
She won a split decision against Emily Collins and then won unanimously over Skye Wienert to take the title. <\/p>\n
Bianca Leonard and Amy Laird, a 2025 60kg Australian Golden Gloves winner, were dispatched at the 2025 New Zealand Nationals in Porirua, leaving Hall clearly ranked No.1 in the country.<\/p>\n
She consolidated that position by winning the Queen of the Ring elite women\u2019s final in Perth against southpaw Rebecca Cawley.<\/p>\n
More international experience was gained in Brazil at the 2026 World Cup. Hall was outpaced by a classy 31-year-old Canadian, Scarlett Delgado, who has won 53 of her 78 fights.<\/p>\n
Hall sharpened her tools further by winning her first professional bout in December with a first-round knockout of Australian Sarah Linton at the BX-9 event in Auckland. <\/p>\n
Amateur boxers at the Commonwealth Games are allowed up to 10 professional fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got her with an overhand right,\u201d Hall says. \u201cThat\u2019s my favourite punch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning a national title was big, but winning in Australia has really given me a lot of confidence. I\u2019d never been further than Australia when I fought in America. It was eye-opening. Brazil was an amazing country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall\u2019s most recent amateur victory was a unanimous points decision over Saskia Elliott at the June Queen of the Ring NZ championship in Manurewa. Elliott has had 105 rounds compared to Hall\u2019s 53.<\/p>\n
Boxing for women debuted at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games where Nyika, 69-14 as an amateur, won the first of his two gold medals in the light heavyweight class.<\/p>\n
At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, Alexis Pritchard (featherweight, 57kg) and Troy Garton (lightweight, 60kg) became New Zealand\u2019s first female boxing medallists when they both won bronze.<\/p>\n
Can Hall, with a 15-4 record as an amateur, feature in the medals in Glasgow? The odds are long, but with a little luck and that inherent \u201cmadness,\u201d don\u2019t write off the Cambridge pocket rocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I expect? They only do the draw a couple of hours before the fights, so there is some luck involved, but I\u2019ve beaten the top fighters in New Zealand and Australia and had international experience in Brazil, so I feel like when I get there the work is done,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s up to me to produce the goods.\u201d<\/p>\n