King's Birthday Honours 2025: The Bay of Plenty's honourees
An Olympian, a former All Black, a philanthropist and a master fly-tier are among the ranks of community heroes from across the Bay of Plenty and surrounding areas who have been recognised in this year's King's Birthday honours. Today, and in the coming days, we will publish further stories from
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NZ Herald
14 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Horse racing: North Island jockeys ride in New Caledonia after racing hiatus
Kiwi hoop Lynsey Satherley enjoyed riding in New Caledonia last weekend. Photo / Kenton Wright North Island jockeys Lynsey Satherley and Kate Hercock gained a fresh perspective on race riding over King's Birthday weekend, attending a meeting in New Caledonia. Satherley had previously ridden in the French archipelago, but over the past two years, civil unrest and damage to infrastructure has
1News
a day ago
- 1News
'If I can't beat him, I should retire' - Nyika's next opponent named
David Nyika will make his comeback from his devastating knockout loss against Jai Opetaia six months ago against Nik Charalampous — an Aucklander who today described the Kiwi Olympian as "overrated". The man known within New Zealand boxing circles as "Nik the Greek" said that for effect in a press conference today but will almost certainly believe the opposite. The 32-year-old Charalampous, a fulltime boxing coach who has a 23-6-2 record as a professional and went the full 10 rounds against the now cruiserweight world champion Opetaia six years ago, is too experienced to truly think that. "I've known David for a long time," Charalampous told 1News. "We've done heaps of sparring over the years. We know each other very well. It would have been nice to have been given 10 weeks' notice for the fight, but I have been consistently training so my body is ready to go into that next gear." ADVERTISEMENT Charalampous, a father of a 12-year-old daughter and 17-month-old son, last week signed off on the fight, to be on the undercard of the Sonny Bill Williams v Paul Gallen main event grudge match in Sydney on July 16. His last fight in a high-profile event was on the undercard of the Nyika v Tommy Karpency main event in Auckland in September last year. Charalampous's opponent was former All Black Liam Messam and the result was a draw, but he arrived out of shape at 107kg and there is no doubt he will take this assignment against a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist far more seriously, albeit at catchweight. (He is likely to tip the scales at around 95kg, with Nyika likely to make the cruiserweight limit of 90.72kg.) Nik Charalampous knows the odds are against him. (Source: Photosport) His defeat by decision in Sydney to Australian-Samoan Opetaia — widely considered the best cruiserweight in the world — remains one of his best achievements in the ring. "I just remember before the fight watching the highlights of him knocking everyone out," Charalampous said. "I was pretty nervous… I'm happy I lasted the 10 rounds with him. I'm not going to be a world champion or anything but when I talk to my grandkids or people I train with, I can say I fought some of the best of my generation." ADVERTISEMENT For his part, Nyika, who was viciously knocked out in the fourth round by Opetaia on the Gold Coast in January after taking the world title fight on short notice, left no doubt about his goal. "If I can't get past Nik I should probably retire," Nyika, now 10-1 as a professional, said. "It won't be an easy fight. I know what Nik is capable of and how much trouble he's given the top guys. For me, it's very much an opportunity to prove what I can do. If I can't stop Nik, it won't be a success for me but, if I lose the fight, it makes it a very hard comeback. "My eyes are still set on the world title and that re-match with Jai… the setback is just another ingredient to the stew. We have so much further to go. "It's not easy to come back from a loss and this was a big loss. This is my livelihood and a big part of my identity today… it's a big step towards the ultimate goal of becoming a world champion." Charalampous, who recently took several of his boxers to Golden Gloves success, is a classic journeyman comeback opponent for a world-class fighter who has suffered a setback. His relatively late signing is also an indication that few potential opponents were willing to sign on for the money on offer, but promoter David Higgins today said he thought Charalampous would do his job well. ADVERTISEMENT The initial plan was for Nyika, who revealed recently to 1News that he couldn't remember being knocked out by Opetaia in the IBF world title fight, to make his comeback on the Gold Coast this month. "Nik is tough," Higgins said. "He's very durable – he's never been put down by a punch. He's very experienced and is used to being on the big stage." Nyika's trainer Noel Thornberry thought the same. "David needs rounds – he's never been past five rounds and Nik could be the one to provide them," he said. "There's no time like ring time."
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Racing: Dame Catriona Williams vows to continue spinal cord work
Two thoroughbred industry stalwarts have been bestowed one of New Zealand's highest honours in the King's Birthday honours list, including Catriona Williams, who has been appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to spinal cord injury research and equestrian sport. Williams, the founder
