Mea's story of courage: 'THE RING IS MY SAFE PLACE'

The boxing champ is empowering others to escape domestic abuse

- Fleur Guthrie

If you had asked Mea Motu 10 years ago if the boxing ring would become her safe place, she would have laughed and thought, "What a joke!"

At the time, in the grips of domestic violence and feeling trapped, she associated the sport with her then-husband. Dodging jabs from him was a weekly occurrence.

"I hated boxing," tells the single mother-of-five. "My ex did it, so that made me bitter towards it. There was always a shadow of him associated with it. I was like, 'Boxing isn't for me, it's for him."

So no one is more surprised than Mea that becoming a professional boxer has brought her healing. It's redeemed all the things that were stripped from her self-confidence, freedom and mana.

In April, the 33-year-old made history as the newly crowned IBO world super bantamweight champion, after defeating Canada's Tania Walters at Fight for Life.

As the unanimous decision was announced, Mea dropped to her knees and cried.

"I started getting emotional before the result was even announced because I was just so proud of myself that I finished it," she says. "That felt like a big accomplishment. Everything I had worked so hard for hit me really good.

"It was like a brick dropped on my heart. My legs gave way. I couldn't have cared less what the decision was because I already felt like a champion.

This journey has brought up a lot of cobwebs for me... trauma but also peace." Several days later, when the Weekly visits her West Auckland home, Mea is still beaming. Not just from all the attention and support ("I've had messages from men in their seventies saying how courageous I am, even though they're against boxing"), but from the number of "firsts" she has experienced lately.