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In part 2 of my interview with Lucas Browne, hear the Australian heavyweight’s memories of the fateful trip to Chechnya, his plans for the future, and his take on the renaissance of boxing.
Cam Stokes: The last two years have obviously been a bit of a rollercoaster, what you taken personally out of that experience?
Lucas Browne: A few things. Number one, don’t trust anyone. And that’s across the board, you know, even your own people to some extent, whether it’s your own promoter, you can just never really trust anyone, unfortunately. When it comes to boxing, it’s all about money and politics.
Thinking back to the experience in Chechnya, and the insight we got from Graham Clark’s book (Lucas Browne: The World Champion That Never Was), which really told a fantastic story, what are your feelings when you think back to that period?
It was surreal. When we were there going through it, it was like, “Wow, this actually happening,” sort of thing. Looking back, as a reflection I’ve got both anger and jubilation all in one go.
Obviously it was one of the best times in my life, winning a world title, but at the same time I was getting cheated. So yeah, it got taken away from me before I even got a chance to celebrate it, and I still don’t have a belt to this day, even though I’ve been cleared, so it does have a lingering effect on me, but at the same time there’s sensational memories and no one can ever take that away from me as well.
Is that a motivator for you?
100 per cent, yeah. I think there’s so much more for me to give, so much more for me to show, and I think, where I was supposed to be after that word title fight was at a certain level, and I was supposed to be going one, two, three levels ahead from that.
I’ve somewhat had to start from scratch, but I think this fight in particular puts me back up to a very similar level. So yeah, two years of hanging around, but we’re back to where we should be with a win on this one.
Do you find yourself thinking past your next fight? Or is it simply a matter of focusing on this one and worrying about what happens after this? Do you have one eye on what might be next?
I think it’s only human to have one eye on what’s next, at the same time, I’m fighting for the WBC Silver Title, which is the one under the world title. Now Deontay Wilder is fighting (Luis) Ortiz on March 3, so that will have an impact on what happens next, as well as [Anthony] Joshua and [Joseph] Parker, a week after me, and that may have an effect on what happens next.
So I can’t look or plan towards anything, because I’m not sure how it’s all going to go. But one thing is for certain, I’m 38 years old, I’m turning 39 in April, so I want money. Whichever route gives me the money is the route I’m going to be taking.
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Is the body clock something that weighs on your mind and comes into your decision making?
Yeah, not that I feel old or anything like that, but obviously I am getting older. I haven’t been beaten around the head all those years, or had any major injuries, so my body’s sensational, so I’m very happy with all that.
My mind is still where it should be, which is good, so I don’t want to be in it for the long haul and come out with injuries or with some damage of some sort. I want to get in and get out, with some money, and with everything still intact.
It’s not that I’m getting old, but I don’t want to be in it for too long either.
It feels like there’s a renaissance in boxing at the moment, certainly in this country and in the UK as well, particularly in the heavyweights. Is that something that you can feel as someone who is part of that, and is it exciting to be a part of?
Definitely. I think there was a point where it really dropped off the radar, and it’s due to [Wladimir] Klitschko. And it’s not his fault so to speak, he’s just boring, and he dominated, but there was no excitement that came with it.
I grew up watching Mike Tyson and he’s one of the people that made me want to do boxing, because it was just exploding, and people wanted to watch him knock people out – he was an animal.
I think there’s a bit more excitement coming back, because obviously Klitschko’s gone. I think that was one of the best things to happen in the heavyweight division, unfortunate for Klitschko, but it’s really opened up a few more doors for everyone else, and its sparked a little bit more action so it’s a great time.
Everyone wants to watch the big boys punch on, and that’s just the way it always has been. I think the heavyweight title has always been one of the best titles you can have, just for the fact that it’s the big boys punching on.
Lucas Browne fights Dillian Whyte at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, March 24 (Sunday, March 25 AEDT).
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