contender boxers

This show should be a TV night.
Hamden V Sherrington will be as interesting a match as we've had all year IMO.

 

Hamden vs sherro should be a *******,absolutly should be on tv,early prediction hamden by KO.And alex easily ko!!

 

Agreed Rodin - we've been subjected to lesser contests in recent times as PPV!

 

Alex Leapai V Darnell Wilson USA the Dingaling Man.............lets get behind our fighter as this could be his last fight in Australia then makes his move overseas......Alex & team LIONHEART is ready to go.:good

 

Ready to go where and who?

 

Alex is ready to rumble.......he can't wait to get in the ring.


http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2010/11/27/boxing-gym-alex-leapai-noel-thornberry-gatton/

 

Overseas to fight who?

 

METROPOLITAN gyms tend to be filled with wannabe champions and backslappers wanting to ride the coat tails of others to the top.

Alex Leapai doesn't buy into that scene, opting instead to train in the rural surrounds of Noel Thornberry's home gym at Lower Tenthill, near Gatton.

Leapai travels from his home at Woodridge, near Logan in Brisbane's southern suburbs, to train with Thornberry, himself a former Queensland middleweight champion.

The pair work in a home-made ring in a shed at the back of Thornberry's home and it is this venue that has developed Leapai into Australia's top heavyweight and holder of the WBO Oriental heavyweight title.

No entourage, no hype, just Thornberry, Leapai, his father Faataui watching on and Thornberry's children wandering in and out of the gym.

“The biggest step I've taken is move to Noel,” Leapai said in Thornberry's gym this week.

“Ever since I've moved to Noel, it's changed my boxing and I've made the right step.

“Whatever Noel's got me doing, it's got me from four or five years ago to coming through to taking on the world and being number one in Australia.

“That's just being with Noel and what he's taught me.

“I've learnt a lot of things here because boxing is not just about using your hands and all of that. It's a mental game and he teaches me all of that.

“That's why I like coming here, and plus the drive home, it gives me that time to think about what I'm doing.

“I like it here. Me and Noel, we train and we have a bit of a laugh and that, but when we put our heads down and train, we train.

“And dad's always here for support and make sure I'm training hard.”

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His career has also begun to stagnate as opponents and sparring partners are hard to find.

Consistent sparring is a big problem, so much so that Thornberry, a former middleweight, is always the one to don the gloves and take on Leapai.

“I'm having trouble getting sparring,” Leapai concedes.

“A lot of people pull out. A lot of people don't answer your phone calls and don't return your calls.

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Sparring is a concern ahead of Leapai's next fight, against American Darnell Williams next Saturday at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

Thornberry and Leapai are expecting a tough bout but are confident they have prepared well enough to handle Williams, who is making the step up from cruiserweight.

“Every fight is going to be a tough fight,” Leapai said. “We don't take any fight lightly.

“With the heavyweights, it's that one punch that changes the whole story.

“But we're ready for whoever they throw in.

“The only problem we've got is lack of sparring. Noel's my sparring partner.

“We're talking Brisbane, Sydney, the whole of Australia.

“You name any of the tough fellas going around in MMA and bring 'em here.

“We've just got to go with what we've got at the moment.

“I know America, they've got heaps of sparring and that's why we've got to move.

“It's just something we've got to do to move forward to the next step.”

And taking that next step is what drives Samoan-born Leapai.

“I want to be the first Australian to become world heavyweight champion,” he states.

“No one has ever done it and I want to lead the way for Australian heavyweights.

“I want to bring it back home to Australia, but to do that I've got to go overseas.”

The Williams fight could be Leapai's last in Australia but Thornberry is toying with the idea of having another bout before making the move overseas.

Any possible follow-up fight will have to wait until after Saturday though and Thornberry says Williams will be a difficult opponent now he is making the step up to the heavyweight division.

“He's never been knocked out,” Thornberry said.

“He got stopped in his last fight ... but he says that's just because he couldn't make the weight.

“He's moved up to heavyweight because it was just killing him at cruiserweight.

“He's 105kg at the moment as opposed to 90.7kg in his last fight, so there is a big difference.

“He says he hasn't been able to make it for a long time and kept starving himself but now he feels a lot better, a lot stronger.”

 

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Darnell WilsonDing-A-Ling Mancruiserweight

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2000-2009
Takoma Park, Maryland, United States

 

Ding is an experienced fighter and this is a decent match up for Alex , the move up in weight shouldn't be to much of an issue for Ding either because his frame can take it , what is he 5' 10 " ISH ? Alex is just 6'0" so no great difference in height either , has the makings of a decent affair this , Ps i would have thought Alex would have be appealing for decent boxing sparring not guys from an mma breeding , what could possibly be the gain in a boxer sparring a lump of meat that charges at you ? , counter attack i suppose but that's just about it surly Alex needs to spar v technically sound boxers even if they ain't of a heavyweight structure . L/Heavyweight / Cruiser weight etc would all suffice i'm sure ( not every spar needs to be a gym war ).

 

Should be a great fight. Alex is on a bit of a roll of late... would love to see a Commonwealth title challenge in 2011.

 

hey josey
Alex spars alot our top & also upcoming aussie fighters guys like Shane Maconville,Ben Edwards,Brad Pitt,Anthony McCracken,Haumono,J.Szgeti,etc:good

 

I thought in the article your bro said he was having to spar his trainer Noel for this fight with Ding !!! Do you recall last year when i suggested Alex should head out of Oz and train here in the UK or Germany for the higher standard of sparring ? this is what i mean't then and it sounds as if your brother and Noel realise it's the case , good luck .