Don’t drown your sorrows just yet. Daniel Geale can end the Pommies’ rampage.
The Australian boxer is set to take on Englishman Darren Barker in Atlantic City on the 17th of August in defense of his IBF middleweight world title.
Boxing in Australia doesn’t often make it to the front page of the sports news, but Geale is trying to change that by venturing into America, the home of boxing.
Geale punched his way through Anthony Mundine in January this year and with Sam Soliman out of the picture after failing a drug test with the IBF, the door is open for a Barker.
Geale has won two world titles in Germany and has forged a name for himself in Australia, but despite his success, Geale knows that tackling boxing’s biggest market is the next step in his career.
Geale has thrown himself into the ring against Barker, one of the top middleweights in the world in an attempt to silence his critics and give hope for Australian boxing, which has struggled in recent times.
Boxing in Australia is relatively quiet due to a succession of mismatches and a lack of big fights that capture the public’s eye, but Geale is set to turn this around.
Our best bet for Australian boxing is not hanging up his gloves after his appointment with Barker and has future plans to take a swing at WBC champion Sergio Martinez, who knocked him out in the 11th round two years ago.
The 32-year-old Aussie is out to prove he belongs in the upper tiers of the sport and has signed a deal with the Mike Tyson of boxing entertainment (HBO). This marks the start of his quest for world domination and he may just have what it takes to win over the hearts and minds of key figures in the boxing world.
It is a sport that is renowned for a great deal of hype, egotism and controversy around fights but Geale versus Barker is certainly one to look out for, considering the circumstances.
Both fighters have only lost once and Barker is starving for a shot at the world title as much as Geale is desperate to retain it.
This year has marked great success for England and grave sorrow for us Australians with the recent tribulations of the Lions Tour and the Ashes series.
However, Geale, the middle-weight boxer from Tasmania, could just be our best chance yet to knock the pommies lights out and draw some attention to boxing in Australia on a grander scale.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Here in England, Geale's been made out to be some sort of bum with a belt. They couldn't be more wrong. Whilst I've been a big critic of Geale, he was the unified IBF/WBA middleweight champion. Barker is very talented, but he's not top 5. Geale should win this fight. I can't see a fight with Martinez happening. Martinez has two fights left. One in Argentina and a unification with Golovkin
Branna
Guest
Would be nice to see boxing on the front page and nice to see us get one over the poms too. However Barker is definitely not one of the best middleweights in the world. I don't even think he makes the top 5. He's not even the best in the UK. Geale has everything to lose and nothing to gain from this fight. Americans aren't particularly interested in either of these two fighters. In fact most of the audience will be expat Poms and a couple of Aussies. Americans won't respond to Geale's weak volume punching style. They should have had this fight in the UK during the Ashes. Australia vs England rivalry peaks in England during the Ashes. This fight would have been a box office hit. There are so many Aussies over there right now as well who could have attended.