Josh King talks US debut, blockbuster domestic match ups

 
WITH each passing win, WBO #8 rated Josh King continues to move towards an increasingly likely world title shot.

 
A week removed from his most recent win – this time in the US – televised live on CBS Sports, King outpointed a crafty Rogelio Casarez at the W.C. Handy Pavilion in Memphis, Tennessee.

 
Now back at his Townsville base and with his WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental regional titles still in his possession, it’s fair to say that King (now 20-3-1, 9 KOs) is a very happy man.

 
“The experience of fighting live on American television through CBS was unbelievable,” said King in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “The Americans are boxing crazy and the support I received was incredible,”

 
“I enjoyed every second of it,”

 
Having fought both of his fights for this year abroad, including a fifth-round stoppage over Phompetch Twins Gym in Bangkok, Thailand, King is becoming comfortable with the idea of fighting on the road.

 
Despite the big home following that King has, the world rated lightweight is eager to establish himself in the US in order to gain bigger fights.

 
When asked about what the most difficult part of this process was, the likeable King was refreshingly honest.

 
“The biggest thing I found was dealing with the time change but that’s why we went into America so early which allowed us to acclimatise.”

 
“I didn’t feel no pressure at all fighting on television,” King admitted. “It was all about winning the fight.”

 
The way that King, 30, and his team, led by head trainer Joe Pennisi and manager Adam Wilcock see things, he is realistically a fight or two away from an elusive world title shot.

 
With that in mind, King will continue his progression with continual fights in the US. It appears likely that the Townsville-based King will be in action again in August.

 
“At the moment, as you know, I can get called up to fight for the world title at anytime,” King continued. “I’ll just get back into the gym and keep training to get ready for what’s next in my career,”

 
If the world title fight doesn’t eventuate by the end of this year, King is more than open to defending his regional titles and his world ratings in blockbuster domestic showdowns against Will Tomlinson and Michael Katsidis.

 
“These two fights are something that I am one thousand percent interested in,” said King in closing. “But at the moment I’m scheduled to fight back in America in August,”

 
“My prime objective is to get a shot at a world title and I have no doubt down the track our paths will cross,”

 
“A fight against either will be great for Aussie boxing fans, the support Townsville has given me over the past two weeks and my whole career is unreal,”

 
“I’d love to get these fights on in my home town of Townsville,”

 
 
Photo: Provided