Lani Daniels wins three world boxing titles in stunning Madison Square Garden upset

Northland boxer Lani Daniels has produced one of the greatest nights in New Zealand boxing history, stopping American Shadasia Green in the ninth round at Madison Square Garden to claim three world super middleweight titles simultaneously.

The 37-year-old from Pipiwai, who works as a mental health nurse in her daily life, claimed the IBF super middleweight world title, the WBO super middleweight world title, and the Ring Magazine super middleweight title in a single extraordinary performance at a Most Valuable Promotions event broadcast live on Sky Sport in New Zealand and ESPN in the United States.

Daniels, of Ngati Hine and Ngapuhi hapu Te Orewai descent and known in boxing circles as The Smiling Assassin, entered the fight as a significant underdog. Green was larger, carried a longer reach, and was coming off three consecutive wins. No one outside Daniels’ camp seriously expected the outcome that followed.

From the opening bell, Daniels set a relentless pace, pressing forward and cutting off the ring at every turn. Green responded in the middle rounds by switching to a more defensive boxing style, but Daniels had established her rhythm and refused to let Green breathe. Heavy overhand rights began landing with increasing regularity in round seven, and Green grew visibly more fatigued with each exchange.

By round eight, Green was unsteady on her feet. The ninth round proved decisive. Daniels came out immediately aggressive and landed repeated right hands before the referee stepped in to stop the contest. Green was taken from the ring on a stretcher but was conscious and speaking, and her team confirmed she was doing well in her locker room afterwards.

Speaking on Sky Sport after the fight, Daniels expressed gratitude for the support of those around her. “I give thanks to our Heavenly Father and massive love and respect to my opponent — I hope that everything’s well,” she said.

She also credited a decision to return to Northland and change her coaching set-up as the key to her transformation. “I learned a lot throughout that fight, and I made the changes that I needed to change. I moved back home, I trained out of my humble abode in Pipiwai. I got a world champion as my coach… and we did this together.”

That world champion coach is Daniella Smith, a Northland boxing legend who holds the distinction of being the first-ever IBF women’s heavyweight world champion. After parting ways with her previous trainer, Daniels relocated back to Pipiwai to train under Smith, and the partnership has clearly delivered results.

The historic significance of the victory is difficult to overstate. Daniels became the first New Zealand-born boxer to win a Ring Magazine world title, an honour that places her alongside the most celebrated fighters in the sport’s long history. She also matched the three-division world title record of legendary New Zealand-born champion Bob Fitzsimmons, who remains one of the most remarkable figures boxing has ever produced. No female boxer from New Zealand has ever won world titles across as many weight divisions.

The victory represents a remarkable turnaround for a fighter whose career looked uncertain just months ago. In July 2025, Daniels travelled to Detroit to challenge Claressa Shields — one of the most decorated fighters in women’s boxing and a two-time Olympic champion — for the undisputed heavyweight title. She lost by unanimous decision. In December 2025, she lost her IBF light heavyweight title to Germany’s Sarah Scheurich, again by unanimous decision.

Two significant losses in the space of six months would have tested any athlete’s resolve. For Daniels, those defeats became a prompt for reinvention. She moved home to Pipiwai, linked up with Smith, and rebuilt her approach from the ground up. The performance at Madison Square Garden, one of the world’s most storied sporting venues, was the result of that patient, determined process.

Faith, family, and culture are central to how Daniels approaches both adversity and achievement. She has spoken openly about losing her younger brother to cancer, a grief she has carried throughout her career. Her Latter-day Saint faith and deep connection to her whakapapa have grounded her through the sport’s inevitable ups and downs, and those same foundations were evident in the dignity and grace she showed in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s win.

The victory also earned Daniels a US$10,000 performance bonus, equivalent to approximately NZ$17,000. Her professional record now stands at 11 wins (one by KO) against three losses and two draws across a career that has taken her through three weight divisions and to some of the biggest stages in women’s boxing.

RNZ and the New Zealand Herald both carried full coverage of the victory, with the result described as a jaw-dropping upset and one of the year’s great sporting moments.

With three world titles now to her name, Lani Daniels stands among the finest athletes New Zealand has ever produced in the sport of boxing. The Smiling Assassin from Pipiwai has written herself into the history books, and New Zealand sport is richer for it.

What do you think of Lani Daniels’ stunning achievement? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.