Papua New Guinea Olympian John Ume will face New Zealand’s Dane Edge in the BX-9 Welterweight Championship semi-finals on July 31 after advancing through a hard-fought quarter-final victory in New Zealand.
The winner will progress to the tournament final, where the champion will claim NZ$14,000 and an international boxing title.
Ume earned his place in the semi-finals after defeating Australian Alex Lual by split decision in the quarterfinals on May 2.
The Papua New Guinean has built an impressive professional record with victories in Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, and is regarded as one of Oceania’s rising boxing prospects.
His semi-final opponent, Dane Edge, enters the contest after producing one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by defeating previously unbeaten Leon Budgen by unanimous decision.
Edge began his combat sports career in kickboxing, Muay Thai and mixed martial arts before switching to professional boxing.
Although he holds a professional record of three wins and three losses, Edge has established a reputation for upsetting more fancied opponents, including Budgen and Hunter Ioane.
Another Papua New Guinea boxer, Warren Warupi, will also feature on the card as he makes his professional boxing debut.
Warupi brings extensive amateur experience, having won a silver medal at the 2019 Pacific Games and multiple national amateur titles.
He also defeated Australian T-Jae Nati during the 2025 Kokoda Cup Challenge.
Warupi will meet New Zealand’s Tawhiri Toheriri Hallett, who has represented both New Zealand and the Cook Islands in international amateur boxing.
Hallett’s career highlights include competing at the 2025 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Both Ume and Warupi’s bouts will be broadcast live on pay-per-view through CSN.WATCH.
The fight card will also feature several regional and international title contests, including the WBA Oceania Super Middleweight title, the WBA Gold Atomweight title and the WBA Oceania Super Bantamweight championship.