Introduction
David Light (born 13 November 1991 in Takapuna, Auckland) is a Professional Boxer from New Zealand. He competed in the men's heavyweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he won the silver medal against Canada's Samir El-Mais. Light is the current WBO Oriental cruiserweight champion after defeating Mark Flanagan by unanimous decision on 18 March 2019.
Amateur Boxing
David had reached the semifinal after knocking out Malaysia's Meeraj Omar in the second round of his first bout, before defeating Kenya's Charles Odhiambo Okoth in a unanimous decision.
Light joined fellow boxer, David Nyika, in bringing home rare Commonwealth Games boxing medals to New Zealand. The last time that two Kiwi boxers returned from the Commonwealth Games with both a gold and a silver medal was in the Perth Commonwealth Games in 1962.
Following his Commonwealth success, Light was full of admiration for the Kiwi team but made controversial remarks regarding professional boxing: "... us boys in the New Zealand team, we always joke that going pro is when you give up on actual boxing ... You're cashing in on your talent and you're fighting bums."
Other successes for Light in 2014 include placing 2nd in his events at the 2014 boxing tournaments held in Belgrade, Serbia and 3rd at the 2014 GeeBee Competitions. Light has been in the national team since 2011.
Amateur Boxing Titles
2011 North Island Golden Gloves Tournament
Elite Heavyweight (91kg)
- Defeated E Enoka in Semifinals
- Lost Tino Honey in finals
2011 New Zealand National Championship
Elite Heavyweight (91kg)
- Defeated Kahukura Bentson in Quarterfinals
- Defeated Floyd Masson in Semifinals
- Defeated Tino Honey in finals
2012 New Zealand National Championship
Elite Heavyweight (91kg)
- Defeated Hale Faiumu in semifinals
- Defeated Toa Leutele in finals
2013 New Zealand National Championship
Elite Heavyweight (91kg):
- Defeated Floyd Masson in semifinals
- Defeated Tino Honey in finals
2014 Commonwealth Games
Heavyweight (91kg)
- Defeated Muhammad Meeraj Omar (Malaysia) in Round of 16
- Defeated Charles Okoth (Kenya) in quarterfinals
- Defeated Stephen Lavelle (Scotland) in semifinal
- Lost Samir El-Mais (Canada) in final
Professional Boxing Titles
- Professional Boxing Commission New Zealand
- New Zealand Cruiserweight Title
- World Boxing Foundation
- Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title
- World Boxing Organisation
- Oriental Cruiserweight Title
Professional Boxing record
| 14 fights | 14 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | N/A | N/A | Trent Broadhurst | N/A | (10) | 6 Dec 2019 | International Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia | Defending WBO Oriental cruiserweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | German Garcia | UD | 8 | 31 Aug 2019 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Mark Flanagan | UD | 10 | 18 May 2019 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Won vacant WBO Oriental cruiserweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Jordan Mororoa | UD | 6 | 2 Mar 2019 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Lance Bryant | TKO | 2 (6), 1:05 | 15 Dec 2018 | Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, New Zealand | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Savenaca Naliva | TKO | 3 (10), 1:55 | 2 Nov 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Won vacant WBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | James Singh | KO | 1 (6), 2:59 | 13 Oct 2018 | 107 Neilson Street, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Hunter Sam | UD | 6 | 29 Sep 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Thomas Russell | TKO | 2 (6), 2:59 | 25 Aug 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Daniel Tai | UD | 6 | 21 Jul 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Thomas Russell | TKO | 3 (6), 1:57 | 9 Jun 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Cory Enoka | TKO | 3 (10), 0:49 | 21 Apr 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Won vacant NZPBC cruiserweight title |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Tussi Asafo | TKO | 1 (4), 2:59 | 16 Mar 2018 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Vaimoli Ioelu | UD | 4 | 18 Nov 2017 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Lui Te'o | KO | 2 (4) | 3 Nov 2017 | ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Professional debut |
Personal Life
David is the youngest of eight children to New Zealand inventor Len Light who invented the world's first do-it-yourself yoghurt maker, founding the then family business of Easiyo in 1992 and later of New Zealand Pure Dairy Ltd.
Awards and recognitions
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Boxer of the year (Nominated)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Male boxer of the year (Nominated)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Knockout of the year (Nominated)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Champion of the year (Nominated)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards International fight of the year (Won)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Worst cut of the year (Nominated)
- 2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Best Looking male boxer of the year (Nominated)