Josh King on Will Tomlinson – “I believe I win this fight”
IN the midst of a five-fight win streak, world rated lightweight Josh ‘The Real Thing’ King is in the form of his career.
Since making the well overdue move down in weight, the Townsville-based King has been in tremendous form, dropping no less than a handful of rounds combined in virtual shutout victories over durable imports Koichi Ito and Chaiyong Sithsaithong.
“I had a great fight against Koichi Ito, he was a tough and durable opponent, with a great skill base. It was a great fight that certainly entertained the crowd.” said King in an exclusive interview with Aus-Boxing.
“I’m really enjoying boxing at moment, our fight preparations for these twelve round bouts have been perfect and I am getting more and more comfortable fighting twelve round fights.” he continued. “I’m having fun because I’m doing everything right from nutrition, to conditioning and mental preparation for each bout. I love fighting at lightweight and I feel very strong and I’m getting stronger with every fight at this weight.”
Having fought at a variety of weights – varying from lightweight to welterweight – not to mention a variety of rounds, King, 29, truly believes he has not only found his right weight, but also a comfortable fighting duration in the form of twelve round title fights.
“I thought my performance was great, I did everything we worked on in the gym and was able to adapt and change our strategies throughout the fight. It was another great learning curve and another twelve rounds under my belt.”
Having comfortably disposed of his opposition thus far as a lightweight, King is looking to land a marquee domestic opponent. In his eyes, King sees a tantalising potential match-up against former amateur foe and former IBO super featherweight champion Will Tomlinson as an ideal fight to bring more notoriety to his name.
“I consider Will Tomlinson to be one of Australia’s best prospects. I fought him in the amateurs and won, I’m sure he would love to even the score. I believe I win this fight and as they say styles make fights and this will be a cracker something I’m very hungry for.” King explained.
King’s manager and trainer Joe Pennisi allegedly reached out to Tomlinson’s camp earlier in the week, citing a possible fight between the two hard-hitting prospects. Given Tomlinson is looking to now campaign as a lightweight, this is a fight that King sees as suitable for all parties involved. Despite Tomlinson’s last fight – a loss to Jerry Belmontes in March – King believes Tomlinson will bounce back in style.
“Will is very professional and I believe he will bounce back from his loss. I would like the opportunity to fight him and believe both my management and his management have started talks. I’m governed by my manager Joe Pennisi and ultimately fight who ever he puts in front of me.”
King claims that his recent success goes down to the new mindset he now has towards training, diet and nutrition as well as reigniting with former trainer Joe Pennisi, who King believes brings out the best in him.
“I joined back with my old trainer Joe Pennisi who has always had my best interest at heart, we had huge success when we were first together and it was great to link up again after my loss,” King explained. “He has always believed me to be a lightweight and made it clear to me if we wanted to go to a regional level and further, lightweight was where I needed to be.”
“I cannot believe how strong I am at this weight and it has educated me on the key to nutrition what I need to do to be a professional athlete.”
“I have another defence of my WBO Oriental title in September and I only focus on the fight in front of me, until I tick that box with a win I don’t want to think past that point.” he said. “Obviously, my team is working behind the scenes but Joe keeps his cards close to his chest and only allows me to focus on my next up coming fight. My team is currently negotiating with a number of fighters as we speak.”
Photo: Hayden Hooper
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