With
arguably the biggest fight of his career virtually right in front of him,
Australia's own undefeated phenom and IBO 130-pound champion “Wild” Will
Tomlinson, 20-0-1 (12), is looking forward to not only fighting veteran
opponent, South Africa's Malcolm “Stone” Klassen, 27-5-2 (14), but defeating
him in a convincing manner, proving to all that he is out to dominate the
130-pound division.
When asked
about the preparation for this fight, Tomlinson responded, “I could not have
had a better preparation than what I have had. My team, Fidel Tukel and Lincoln
Hudson, have organised it to a tee. The sparring has been tremendous, sparing
numerous former world champions regularly. I believe I am in the best condition
of my career.” Training out of UTC (Ultimate Fight Gym) in the Western Suburbs
of Sydney, Tomlinson has been sparring and training with the likes of Gary St
Clair, Vic Darchinyan and former Olympian Luke Boyd. “I have put the hard work
in like never before and after all the comments Klassen has made about my
experience level and that I have never faced a decent opponent, I guarantee he
will regret his words. None may be his calibre, for he is a great former
champion, but like my other opponents, I am sure he will be eating his words
once he feels my power. I just hope he doesn't run like the rest of them.”
When asked
about the new WBC super featherweight champion, Japan's Takashi Miura, Tomlinson
said, “Once I have defeated Klassen, hopefully with the help of my manager,
Fidel Tukel and my international promoter, Gary Shaw, I will have the chance to
take that WBC belt off Miura. That WBC super featherweight title belongs in
Australia. Jeff Fenech deserved that victory when he drew with Azumah Nelson in
their initial fight in 1991. My goal is to bring that title back for my mate,
Jeff, and for Australia.
“That said,
I want any 130-pound champion after this fight, [WBO titlist Roman] Martinez, [WBA
titlist Takashi] Uchiyama, [IBF titlist Argenis] Mendez, any of them,” he
added. “I want to unify my IBO title and then move to the 135-pound division to
then conquer that. There are huge fights out there, Adrien Broner, Yuriorkis
Gamboa, Ricky Burns. These are all fighters that I know I can go toe-to-toe
with and beat. Hopefully I will have the opportunity soon to prove it.”
The undercard also features
Australian “Contender” champion and current contender Garth “From the Hood"
Wood, 11-3-1 (7), fighting South Africa's Virgil Kalakoda, 24-8-3 (16) in a
fight for the vacant WBA Pan African middleweight title. After unsuccessfully chasing
a rematch with Former 3 division champion Anthony Mundine (who he sensationally
knocked out in their first fight in 2011), Wood has decided to chase WBA middleweight
champion Gennady Golovkin, 26-0 (23). “Hopefully after I take care of my tough
South African opponent, I will get the opportunity to fight Kazakhstan’s king,
Golovkin. For some reason, everyone seems to always underestimate me and takes
the fight with me thinking I am too inexperienced but I always tend to crush
those ‘easy to beat’ thoughts by the end of the fight,” Wood said. “Hopefully,
by fighting and defeating someone of Golovkin's caliber, I might have the
opportunity to also fight other big names such as [World Middleweight Champion
Sergio] Martinez, [IBF titlist Daniel] Geale or [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr. in fights
I am confident I can win.”
Also on the
card is WBC number three-rated 130-pounder Sipho “Tsunami” Taliwe, 20-2-1(14),
of South Africa facing off against Australia's Matt Garlett, 10-1(6), for
Taliwe's WBC International super featherweight title. Both fighters made their
compulsory seven-day weigh-in limit with Taliwe weighing in at 60.10 kilograms
(132.5 pounds) and Garlett weighing 62.10 kilograms (137 pounds). This
show is promoted by Fidel Tukel and Empire Boxing Promotions. For international
viewers, this fight will be available on live stream for free at the link
below.
