‘I’ll become a world champion’: Pangai jnr makes stunning boxing claim

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A look at the bouts that will take place as part of the Battle on the Reef in Townsville on Saturday night.

Tevita Pangai Junior v Frank Amato (heavyweight)

Tevita Pangai jnr predicts he will earn more money in boxing than in the NRL and has stated a bold ambition to become heavyweight champion of the world.

Pangai shocked the sporting world when he walked away from a $750,000-a-year contract at Canterbury. The 27-year-old followed in the footsteps of Anthony Mundine by walking away from a guaranteed pay cheque in a bid to make a name for himself on the world stage.

Speaking on the eve of his third professional fight, against Frank Amato, “TPJ” is adamant he could eventually replace the likes of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the top of the heavyweight division.

“I want to be the best, I want to be world champ. That’s what I want to do,” Pangai said.

“I want to be bigger than Choc [Mundine]. He’s the man, but I’m the ‘Bad Man’. That’s my new nickname.

“We hope Fury retires in the next two or three years, and then it hopefully opens up. He’s a bit too tall for me, but anything is possible.

“Look at what Jai [Australian world champion cruiserweight Jai Opetai] did on the weekend, he smashed a British guy who was six-foot-seven. It’s about precision in boxing.”

Tevita Pangai Jnr has big boxing plans.Credit: Kate Geraghty, SMH

Pangai believes the solitude of training alone will better suit his personality.

“I’m my own boss, I don’t have to take any orders off anyone,” he said.

“I was a bit of a loner in team sport anyway, I go out and do my own thing. I wasn’t really a team guy. That doesn’t mean I’m not a family guy, I just like being by myself, doing my own thing.

“Getting told all the time what to do, I was just over it.”

The former NSW Blues enforcer said he will train 9–10 hours a day to fulfil his ambition of conquering the sport. He added that he won’t be sacrificing money to do so.

“I didn’t leave for happiness, I left for money,” he said.

I want to be bigger than Choc [Mundine]. He’s the man, but I’m the ‘Bad Man’.

“I know what I can do, I’ll back myself. I will make more than $750k. I will make that this year alone.

“I’m gonna be busy, I’m going to dedicate my life. I’ve already told my wife, she needs to buy into this lifestyle because I won’t be at home, I will be in the gym.”

Paulo Aokuso v Gabriel Omar Diaz

Paulo Aokuso has cost himself a chance to contest for the IBO Intercontinental light-heavyweight title on Saturday night – and about $5000 – after failing to make the weight for his clash with Gabriel Omar Diaz.

Aukuso tipped the scales 1.5kg over the limit, with his Argentine opponent agreeing to allow the fight to go ahead after negotiating a financial settlement with Aukuso’s team. The drama means the title will only be awarded if Diaz prevails, while Aukuso’s negotiations to take on WBA super world light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol and IBO world light heavyweight Lyndon Arthur have also taken a blow.

Aukuso’s advisor, Fidel Tukel, said it was the worst preparation he had overseen in a 300-fight career.

Paulo Aukuso (right) wasn’t able to make the weight in his fight against Gabriel Omar Diaz.Credit: Stan Sport/Dynamic Events

“His trainer suffered a massive heart attack just two-and-a-half weeks ago that required a quadruple heart bypass,” Tukel said.

“We’re not making excuses, it’s totally unprofessional, but there are medical reasons why he hasn’t made [weight]. I’m his advisor and my advice to him two-and-a-half weeks ago was to pull the plug. He said no.

“Obviously, the weight cut hasn’t worked for him at all. We tried everything, but it wouldn’t come off. The Argnetinian knows we have tried, and they have agreed to take some of his purse. We’ve not only sacrificed the title, we sacrificed beating him and taking his ranking.”

Paulo Aukuso has had a troubled build-up.Credit: Stan Sport

Aukuso is adamant he will still win via knockout.

“One thing about me, I was never going to pull out,” Aukuso said.

“A lot of it is my fault, I didn’t do things the right way. It’s a lesson for me. I’m still going to take this guy out on his back.”

Reagan Campbell-Gillard v Jason Taumalolo (heavyweight)

Eels props Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo have often been described as the best one-two punch in the NRL. Now they can prove that is literally the case.

The pair have been sparring each other regularly ahead of their respective fights.

Cowboys star Jason Taumalolo is ready for this boxing debut.Credit: Dynamic Events

“Junior was one of the main pushes to do it,” Campbell-Gillard said.

“Being my trainer partner as well made it a bit easier. Junior is the better one, he’s very good. Over the last two weeks, he’s sharpened me up.”

This will be the boxing debuts for both Campbell-Gillard and Jason Taumalolo.

“It’s nerve-wracking, I haven’t stepped into the ring and neither has he,” Taumalolo said. “There’s a bit of uncertainty, but that will all go away when the bell rings.”

Nelson Asofa-Solomona v Jarrod Wallace (heavyweight)

Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s two-metre frame weighed in at 131.6kg.

The Storm behemoth struggled to find an opponent prepared to stand in front of him until Jarrod Wallace obliged.

“It can go one of two ways,” Asofa-Solomona predicted. “He can get punishment for three rounds straight or I finish it early, and we can get to the roulette table or play some blackjack together and just chill out.”

Melbourne Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona will make his boxing debut at the Battle on the Reef.Credit: Dynamic Events

There is not a more imposing figure in the NRL and fans will be intrigued to see whether “Big Nasty” can marry pugilism and power. Not that Wallace is concerned.

“Definitely not,” Wallace said when asked if the plan was to trade blows while standing toe-to-toe.

“Six foot seven and 135kg, that’s not the plan. I’m going to make sure if he wants the win, he’s going to have to come and take it.”

Junior Paulo v Ben Hannant (heavyweight)

The departure of Paul Gallen from the boxing scene has left a void for a big-name NRL player to fill. Junior Paulo believes that could be him.

“First and foremost, I’m a rugby league player, every day,” Paulo said.

“You wanna be able to respect the sport of boxing and you gotta be able to put in the hard work. I’ll take it fight by fight but who knows, I could maybe transition into it full-time. It’s something that I’ll definitely be comfortable doing.”

Junior Paulo is ready to make a statement.Credit: Stan Sport

Matt Cooper v Justin Hodges (heavyweight)

This has got a State of Origin flavour to it. The star centres clashed many times at club and interstate level, so who was the better footballer.

“Because our rivalry was so big, there wasn’t really a winner,” Cooper said.

“Every time we played against each other we played so hard and we didn’t want the other player to get one over us.

Matt Cooper has a score to settle with Justin Hodges.Credit: Stan Sport

“I feel it was a tie between the two of us, our rivalry. So I feel like I feel like this is the decider, this is gonna prove who the winner is.”

Order Battle on The Reef, live & exclusive on Stan Pay-Per-View this Saturday night from 6:30pm AEDT.

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