Taupō boxer Connor Campbell has come away from the Boxing New Zealand National Amateur Championships 2026 with the national welterweight title.
Campbell won the Ted Morgan Cup, awarded to the men’s elite welterweight 65-kilogram champion.
Campbell also picked up the Bill O’Connor Cup for youngest elite (a cup previously won by David Tua) and the Jameson Belt for the most scientific boxer at the national championships, held September 29 – October 3 at Jubilee Stadium, Whanganui.
Boxing New Zealand lists these as the two most prestigious awards at the champs – the winner of the belt being selected by the referee and judges officiating at the country’s showcase of amateur boxing.
Winning the double is a prized feat – and because he’s still young Campbell is actually eligible for the Bill O'Connor Cup, again next year.
Campbell’s coach, Marshall Powell was also awarded the Joe Thwaites Shield as coach of the most scientific boxer at the champs.
“Thanks to Connor that’s the second year I've got the coach of the most scientific boxer because he won that last year as well,” says Marshall. “So, thank you, Connor.”
Marshall says while there were originally four boxers in his division, Campbell ended up with only two bouts, with two boxers withdrawing once they saw he was on the card.
“They took the easiest way out. Nothing bad against the boxers, it was just the difference in experience level. They had entered the nationals to gain experience, but when they saw Connor was in the division, who was last year's champion, they've decided, well, we don't need to come up against that.”
Campbell beat South Auckland representative Timothy Aguilar who he had beaten in this year’s Golden Gloves in Tauranga, which took him through to the final against Richard Edwards from Canterbury.
Again, Marshall says the two had met previously, in the youth and junior age groups, but Campbell took this bout on a unanimous decision as well.
The future for the top amateur boxer will be a mix of work and looking ahead at his future pathway in the sport.
“The next step now is back to his (engineering) apprenticeship,” says Marshall. “Concentrate, get all that complete because this hopefully should be his last year… We'll have a meeting with Boxing New Zealand and his father and work out the progressive calendar for him to start his Olympic campaign in 2028.”
Marshall says there are qualifying tournaments Campbell must attend next year but he also has a host of approaches and offers from coaches in New Zealand, Australia and even England with offers to fly in competition or fly Campbell overseas for bouts.
“He's got all the Olympic qualifying events and the Pacific Games next year to all try and put into a calendar as well as the Golden Gloves and the Nationals. So, before he starts doing any domestic competitions, there are six bouts on the papers already. So, it's a planning thing now.”
Also in planning, says Marshall, is that Taupō will host next year’s Boxing NZ National Amateur Championships. The national champs are the pinnacle tournament for boxing in New Zealand, he says.
“I'll be approaching the (Taupō District) Council this week and we'll be looking for the Taupō Event Centre. It's too big for the Great Lake Centre. There'll be five days of boxing here in Taupō, first week of the school holidays in October, next year… So big things coming this way. Watch this space.”
Taupō hosting the champs has all been approved by Boxing New Zealand AGM, Marshall says.
“And they have even congratulated us for taking it on, so now our association Te Toki a Maui – Taupō, Taumarunui and Te Awamutu the three areas in our association – will proceed to make it all happen.”
The weeklong event will be good for the town, he says, comparing it to Ironman but on a smaller scale.
“All the locals will just see boxing tracksuits everywhere and the town will be just full of boxers.”
Taupō was also represented at the national champs this year in Whanganui by Boston Samuels from Mangakino, who was runner-up in the junior 52 kilogram division, and Allan Wheeler, competing in the same division.
“Allan didn't get through the preliminaries, but Boston did very well,” Marshall says. “Both of them put on a good performance.”
