Daniel Geale: “I know I still have a lot left in me”

DANIEL Geale is yet to write the final chapter of his storied professional career.

The former unified middleweight champion is heading back to where it all started when he faces talented Indigenous prospect Renold Quinlan for the vacant IBO super middleweight strap at Launceston’s Silverdome Basketball Stadium on Friday night.

Many have been quick to write the 35-year-old off after he suffered knockout losses in two of his last three outings against lineal middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin and most recently future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto, but as the Tasmanian-born Geale admits, his finals days at middleweight were far from memorable.

“Since my last fight, I pretty much decided that I wasn’t going to campaign at middleweight again,” said Geale in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “It had been too tough. My plan was to go up in weight and campaign at the next weight division up, which is super middleweight,”

Life hasn’t been easy for Geale (31-4, 16 KOs) recently. The quietly spoken former Olympian lost his mother Michelle earlier in the year after she lost her hard-fought battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Like many before him, Geale has found his therapy inside the ring and will step through the ropes on Friday night for the first time in sixteen months with his mother very much in his mind and heart.

After a successful nine-year stint at middleweight, Geale will start his journey as a super middleweight with hopes of not only reigniting his career, but going back to the fundamentals that made him a force to reckon with for the best part of a decade.

“I guess a few things have happened with my family, mum was pretty sick,” he said. “I guess I needed a little bit of time to get everything sorted in my head. It probably gave me a little bit of time to adjust and build a little bit of strength for the new weight division.”

“I wanted to get back to some of the things that made me successful, which got away from me a little bit. I wanted to get back to using my skills a little bit more and not just standing in there trading with guys and putting myself at risk. I want to start boxing again. Start using my feet and my skills.”

“It was tough,” said Geale about his long-standing battle with the scales. “I was dropping a lot of weight to get down to middleweight and then I guess I thought I was going to be okay.”

“Then they wanted me to fight at a catchweight with Cotto. I mean, fighting a guy like Cotto was a great opportunity. I thought, I’ll just do it hard. I thought I would have been okay. I put in a pretty good training camp. But that’s the way things go sometimes.”

While Geale was reluctant to publicise his reasons for not performing at his best, he did admit that the required changes have been made within his camp and that he will be reinvigorated with an impressive performance against the unfavoured Quinlan (10-1, 6 KOs).

“I knew I had to make a few changes and things are going really well now,” he continued. “Looking back on it now, I would have loved to have gone up in weight earlier, but the time wasn’t right. I probably didn’t feel the need to at that stage.”

“I was pushing my body and trying to get as much out of my body as I possibly could. It wasn’t until that moment when I pushed it too far that I realised that I need to make a change. I was probably going through the motions with some of the training I was doing. I needed to freshen myself up.”

A lot is riding on this fight for Geale. In many ways the pressure is off as this fight will be his first untelevised appearance in just under a decade. But even with the cameras off and the expectations somewhat lowered, he still understands the importance of not only winning, but doing so with poise.

“The biggest thing for me will be winning this fight. I can’t wait to get out there and get back to what was making me successful before,” he added. “I want to show my skills, show my boxing ability. I know Renold is going to be a tough fight. He comes with plenty of strength and power.”

“He is going to be very determined to put on a good show as well. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight to watch.”

When dealing with a fighter that is as accomplished as Geale, it is a given that opportunities from abroad will continue to present themselves. But as Geale admits, his team are working diligently behind the scenes to ensure that the big fights, just like the aforementioned Golovkin and Cotto opportunities, continue to present themselves well after the dust settles on Friday night.

“I know my team are working really hard at trying to get me some big fights overseas,” he continued. “Which I think will lead to some more titles as well, that always serves as great motivation. I’m definitely putting in the effort for that right now.”

Geale will be the first to admit that his absence from the ring and general inactivity has been far from ideal. However, he sees a silver lining in his situation and wants to be a positive role model for those experiencing adversity, as if to show that there is indeed a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

In an amazing act of both kindness and generosity, Geale will donate the entirety of his fight purse to Lymphoma Australia, in what should serve as a tremendous boost for the foundation.

“With what happened with my mum, it sort of works off that a little bit,” said Geale of his charitable donation. “I want to give back a little bit and help out a little bit because I know just how much they did for my mum when she was going through all her troubles with the illness.”

“The big thing was we wanted to help out as much as possible. I have great support down in Tasmania and by having the fight in Tasmania, we thought it was a great opportunity to do that. That’s why I’m donating my whole purse to Lymphoma Australia.”

“It is a gesture, I suppose, to say thanks for everything that they did and the support my mum received and my family received. It’s a little thing we can do to help those guys. She was always very supportive. She wasn’t one for watching the fights but she would always be there.”

“A lot of my professional fights she couldn’t make it to because they were away. But if she had the chance, she would be there. She would be at the venue but she wouldn’t watch the fight. But she would be asking everybody around how it was going. She was a very nervous mum, which was probably to be expected.”

To his credit, Geale refuses to admit that he has his back against the wall and his self-belief and determination to succeed has yet to wane, despite having more than enough reasons to ride off into the sunset. He has won multiple world titles, fought at some of the biggest venues in the world and has acquired considerable wealth along the way.

But this is about more than money for Geale, and it is definitely about more than fame. It is about proving the naysayers wrong one more time as he takes the first step to solidifying his legacy as one of Australia’s best professional prizefighters.

He admits that Quinlan will be motivated and hungry to upset the odds, but as far as he is concerned; it won’t be enough.

“Renold is going to be really hungry; I know he has trained very hard for this as well,” he concluded. “He knows this is a big opportunity for him. I’m expecting him to be a very tough opponent and very hungry to get a win and further his career.”

“But that’s why I have trained so hard. My team have been working with me very closely and pushing me the whole way and things are going extremely well. My plan is to make sure I get in there and fight confidently with Renold.”

“Even though I have stepped up to a higher weight division that he has campaigned at for a long time, I want to go out there and show my strength.”

“At this stage I have my goals set, I want to win more world titles. My first goal is to beat Renold on Friday and after that I know my team are working hard to get me some big fights as well. Travelling back overseas and fighting some of the best super middleweights in the world is what I want to do.”

“I want myself to continue to improve. I know I still have a lot left in me. I’m not doing this for fun, but I love the sport; it’s the best sport in the world. My goals are set very high.”

“I’m pushing my body to achieve those goals.”