Up And Coming NZ Talents Keanu Naden and Kyan Hand Set To Shine

Two of New Zealand’s rising boxing talents will test themselves against a pair of local veterans on Friday night with Peach Boxing’s ‘The Proving Grounds’ seeing Keanu Naden (5-0) and Kyan Hand (4-0) put their undefeated records on the line when they square off against Alistair Boyd and Dylan Wright, respectively.

Naden and Boyd will be the main event of the evening, with Hand-Wright serving as the co-main event. The card will take place inside Auckland’s ABA Stadium.

Boyd and Wright have previously trained under Naden and Hand’s trainer, Isaac Peach, with both men having earned reputations as tough, no-nonsense fighters.

Naden comes into this fight on the back of five straight first-round victories, with his most recent win taking place on foreign soil when the 27-year-old defeated Fiji’s Apisa Naciqa. A self-described “pressure puncher” who only took up the sport in his early twenties, Naden teamed up with Peach after making the national amateur finals while training himself in his garage.

Naden’s natural drive seems tailor-made for Peach Boxing, which prides itself on the work ethic and grit inherent in all the gym’s fighters. In Boyd, Naden will take on a fighter who has competed on some of New Zealand’s biggest boxing cards, including Joseph Parker vs. Alexander Flores, as well as multiple televised fight nights.

Standing at 6’2”, Boyd has been in numerous wars throughout his career and will provide the perfect test for Naden at this stage of his career. The Papakura-based fighter knows what a win over a seasoned veteran like Boyd will mean for his future prospects.

“Bigger and better fights, more opportunities, and you get to see me against better opponents,” he explains.

“This is the start of my professional career and closing off the amateurs.”

In the co-main event, Hand is coming off a third-round stoppage win over Fiji’s Isimeli Dautokidavui. The 20-year-old fighter has plenty of power in his shots, with all four of his fights ending before the final bell. Wright, with 15 fights to his name is an established fighter on the local scene and he and Hand will no doubt put on a show for the crowd.

Naden and Hand represent the next generation of Peach Boxing fighters, with the gym already producing one world champion in Mea Motu and multiple world-ranked fighters, including WBO world title challenger David Light and the highly ranked Emma Nesbitt. It will not be a surprise to local fight fans if they soon see Naden and Hand starting their own climb up boxing’s Mount Everest.

Fans wanting to get along and see the action live can purchase tickets at Peach Boxing