New Zealand women's boxer Geovana Peres has retained her WBO world light heavyweight title in Auckland on Friday night.
Peres beat Canada's Claire Hafner with an eighth-round TKO at the SkyCity Convention Centre.
The win was Peres' first title defence since claiming the belt earlier this year.
Brazilian-born Peres took control early in the fight, as Ottawa native Hafner suffered a cut over her left eye in the first round.
Peres continued to target the wound before referee Phil Austin decided to end the fight after the eighth round.
"It feels dream-like," said Peres. "This is for us New Zealand. I'm proud to be a Kiwi now. This is ours [the title], and it will stay here."
"I don't know what will happen next. That's for my manager now. Back to training and set some goals for next year."
The 42-year-old has only been boxing for four years, and now holds an 8-1 professional record. Heading into the fight, Peres had never won a contest by TKO.
"The only thing that was missing was a TKO, and I have it now. I'm going to get better," she added.
Join us for live updates of UFC 243 from 11am Sunday
Newshub.
