Yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand, a slimmed down Lucas Browne returned to action in style as he flattened journeyman Junior Pati in the fifth-round. Browne cracked his relatively small (5’11”) and over-matched foe with a left hook/right uppercut combination, leaving the 36 year old out cold. Browne is now 27-1(24) and the 39 year old is targeting a bigger fight/test for his next outing. Pati falls to 12-23-1(6).
Browne, who was considerably heftier back in March when he was taken out by Dillian Whyte, has clearly been working hard in the gym. Back in September, “Big Daddy” returned to winning ways with an easy KO win over the towering Julius Long in a rematch of an earlier fight and he is now 2-0(2) in his latest comeback. After yesterday’s easy and straightforward KO win Browne expressed interest in fighting Adam Kownacki, Charles Martin or Joseph Parker next.
Either of these fights would be a considerable step up for Browne, compared to his last two fights anyway. A fight with unbeaten Polish warrior Kownacki would likely result in a fan-friendly fight, while Browne against New Zealander and former WBO heavyweight champ Parker would be a big deal in that part of the world. Browne has said he does not plan on continuing boxing for too long, that he will look to get as many big fights as he can and then walk away.
Browne did look pretty dreadful in the nasty KO loss to Whyte but he has since whipped himself into far better physical condition (why the wait, some fans will no doubt ask). On a good night, who knows, maybe Browne can make some more noise in the division. It seems a long time ago now when Browne beat Ruslan Chagaev to win a portion of the heavyweight title. Due to all that followed after the win – two failed drugs tests and enforced inactivity – Browne has boxed just four times since that night in March of 2016.
Browne against a hot prospect such as a Daniel Dubois would be quite interesting to see.