The 26-year-old former Otago Spirit loose forward won the New Zealand light-middleweight title at the national championships in Christchurch recently.
She won the eliminator but the final was a walkover. Her opponent got injured and could not take the ring, which was probably just as well.
Henderson, who hails from North Otago, has a record of 12 wins from 13 fights.
Her only loss was during the Australian Golden Gloves and she gave up more than 10kg to take that fight.
Her record is otherwise unblemished.
She blends power with a good technique. Henderson picked up the award for the most scientific boxer at the national championships, a coveted title.
Her coach, Mark Milburn, sees enormous potential.
"She can go all the way," he said.
"She’s currently now in the wider training squad for New Zealand. I feel that she can represent New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games.
"So basically, that’s where I think our target is at this stage."
Wind the clock back four years and Henderson was chasing a spot in the Black Ferns.
She had a standout season for the Otago Spirit in the Farah Palmer Cup and was named in the New Zealand Barbarians squad.
But a couple of years ago she walked into the Fight and Fitness gym in Dunedin and discovered she loved boxing and other combat sports such as jiu-jitsu.
She has actually strung together an impressive record in jiu-jitsu as well.
She is the South Island champion in her weight class and at a recent tournament she won all 12 bouts — 11 of them by submission.
Getting the chance to box for New Zealand "would just be awesome," Henderson said.
"Especially because everyone here puts so much effort into me. So representing them and the gym would be amazing."
