Craig Stanaway of Duco Events, the promoter behind the Burger King Road to the Title event, confirmed the news at a press conference today, revealing Naz had been diagnosed with a kidney infection.
The Bachelor New Zealand runner-up had been scheduled to go toe-to-toe against Lily on the undercard of Joseph Parker’s match against Solomon Haumono tomorrow night, but the fight has now been called off.
Naz and Lily were due to face off against each other in the ring tomorrow night.
“The decision [to pull her out] is Duco’s,” Craig tells Woman’s Day.
“Naz is upset and disappointed, she desperately wants to fight, but it was not her decision in the end. We have an ethical and moral responsibility to look after our fighters and the priority is she gets well.
Watch Dominic Bowden’s interview with Naz and Lily in the video – story continues below
“Lily has also put in a lot of work and is upset and we are trying to look after both Lily and Naz at this time as best we can,” he said.
Both opponents had been training hard in the lead-up to the fight, which was due to take place at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena tomorrow.
At the press conference, Mr Stanaway told reporters the Duco Events team had been with Naz at the hospital yesterday morning, seeking medical advice from her doctors.
It’s a far cry from the excited, exuberant Naz who spoke to Woman’s Day just a few weeks ago, revealing things had finally “clicked” with her training.
“I feel so good! I’ve come to realise that the mental side of things is probably 90% of the battle. I am feeling really fit and toned, and focused,” she told us.
“I’ve started eating far more than before and it’s helped my energy.”
Watch Naz’s last update on her training progress before the big fight in the video below
