Australian Boxing: Super Boxer Series, Tim Bell, Sam Soliman and More

By Srithar Visuasam: Australian boxing is set to be injected a healthy dose of energy with the launch of the Super Boxer series in July 2009. The four event series scheduled across Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra will be broadcast on free to air television by Network Ten’s One HD on four consecutive Thursday nights between July 9 and July 30. At a media conference for the series on Thursday 18 June in Melbourne, Australia, two of the promoters of the events David Deicke and Fidel Tukel, spoke to ESB at length about what benefits this series will have on Australian boxing and sporting fans alike..

Tukel states, “What this series is about is unearthing the best Australia’s got.” Deicke continues, “What Super Boxer is going to do is turn these fighters into household names. They are gonna become like footballers, they are gonna become like cricketers where they are on tv and you have kids growing up seeing who they are, mums and dads, they are going to be household names and marketable to attract sponsors.” After the four shows, the series is set to continue thereafter on a monthly basis.

A key ingredient to the success, they believe, is the quality of the production and broadcast which will help transcend this series from the ring to the lounge room. Tukel states, “It’s about the production, the entertainment. We’ve got a light and sound [show] that no other has had done in Australia. This is so it looks like Vegas inside and looks like Vegas when you are looking at it on tv… We’ve got people in America working on the editing and this will be at least on par or better than ESPN Friday Night Fights.”

One of the stars of the series they are excited to reveal to the wider public is light heavyweight ‘Tiger’ Tim Bell (16-5-1, 13 KOs). Bell is currently ranked #8 by the WBA and on July 16, Bell faces WBO #15 Tongan Walter Pupu’a (11-3, 8 KOs) in an OPBF, PABA & WBO Oriental unification bout at the Melbourne Town Hall. The prize for the winner: A guaranteed top 5 ranking by the WBA and top 15 ranking by the WBO and WBC. Deicke claims that this bout will be the “fight of the series.”

After a number of losses early in his career, Bell has rebounded and is in stunning form of late, having dispatched the best light heavyweights Australia has had to offer, including Daniel ‘Porky’ Lovett and Sonni Michael Angelo. Tukel has high hopes of Bell, “Tim Bell is the most underrated fighter in Australia… There’s no man tougher than Tim Bell, there’s no man tougher. You watch the Australian public fall in love with him when he comes out in action and does a stoppage.”

In the lead up to his July 16 showdown with Pupu’a, Bell states, “This is the hardest and the best I’ve ever trained. So in the ring I’ll be in the best shape I’ve ever been and will fight the best I’ve ever fought.” Sparring partners Bell will be using for his fight include Dominic Vea and Les Sherrington.

Assuming Bell gets past Pupu’a; Bell is looking to fight former WBA super middleweight champion Puerto Rican Manny Siaca later this year. As for a match up with former WBA light heavyweight champion and compatriot Danny Green, who has recently returned from retirement, Bell states, “We wanna win the WBA light heavyweight title first then offer Danny Green a shot at it.” As for how he’ll fare against Green “I reckon I’ll beat him no worries. Especially with the training regime I’ve got at the moment, I’m training like I have never before.”

Former Contender star and WBA super middleweight Title challenger, Sam Soliman (35-11, 13 KOs) will headline the July 30 show on the Super Boxer series, taking on undefeated Ghanaian Osumanu Adama (13-0, 9 KOs) in an IBO middleweight Title eliminator bout. Sam is halfway through a 10 week training program in the lead up to the fight. Sam’s thoughts on Adama are “good fighter, Commonwealth champion, undefeated and we are taking him on cos he’s the best there is.”

Assuming Sam gets past Adama, his plans are to “fight for the world title, the vacant world title if Mundine (Anthony Mundine – current IBO middleweight champion) vacates. Then a few defenses.” Sam is not only looking at the IBO as he will improve his ranking within the WBO and IBF should he win on July 30.

Other fighters set to feature in the Super Boxer series that will be exposed to the wider sporting public include Australian super bantamweight champion Mark Quon (6-2, 1 KO) and Victoria State heavyweight champion Andre Meunier (5-1, 1 KO).

Quon has been in the professional ranks for three years, but was out of the sport for 18 months due to a shoulder injury between 2007 and 2008 and now is ready to step up to the next level. His plans for the next 12 months include “Doing a few defenses (of his Australian title) and get a shot at the PABA title.” The PABA title guarantees the holder a top 15 ranking within the WBA.

Meunier is an emerging heavyweight with a kickboxing background. To keep active before his next boxing fight on July 16, Meunier is taking part in a kickboxing show next weekend against New Zealander Felise ‘Da Fob-Father’ Lenui. His approach to interchanging fight styles comes down to “As a heavyweight it’s hard to keep warm, so I fight both styles to keep me fresh”. He’s also starting training to compete in MMA bouts later this year, which will further increase his fighting versatility.

The Super Boxer series commences on July 9 with dates and main events as follows:

Thursday 9 July: Luna Park, Sydney
Billy Dib (22-1, 11 KOs) v Kenichi Yamaguchi (15-1-2, KOs)

Thursday 16 July: Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
Tim Bell (16-5-1, 11 KOs) v Walter Pupu’a (11-3, 8 KOs)

Thursday 23 July: AIS Arena, Canberra
John Hopoate (11-3, 11 KOs) v Bob Mirovic (29-20-2, 18 KOs)

Thursday 30 July: Docklands, Melbourne
Sam Soliman (35-11, 13 KOs) v Osamanu Adama (13-0, 9 KOs)