How Rocky inspired a young kid to pull on the gloves

On Friday April 5th, Canberra boxer Ferdi ‘The Bull’ Bartulovic will step into the ring for just his fourth professional fight, taking on Fijian Welterweight Simoni Mario.

A journey that started at St. Francis Xavier College in Florey will continue with Capital Fight Show #16 at the Hellenic Club in just over two weeks’ time.

Bartulovic is one of the hardest working fighters in the ACT. Not only does he work full time in an office Monday to Friday, he works nightclub doors weekends. He also trains up to four hours a day at Hill Sports Academy in Belconnen and Stockade Training Centre in Fyshwick.

He is currently under the watchful eye of Canberra boxing royalty with Dean Toussaint and Garry Hamilton as his coaches. The guys who trained Canberra’s favourite son ‘Diamond’ Dave Toussaint.

At the age of just 13, Bartulovic picked up a Rocky book in the school library and knew he had found his calling. He started training at Charnwood PCYC and never looked back.

His first amateur fight was in 2009 at the age of just 15. He took on Olympian Jai Opertaia. Later that year he travelled to Sydney to take on Tim Tszyu. He has never backed down from a challenge and usually fights guys with a lot more experience than him. The guy has a big future in boxing.

In 2014, Bartulovic won silver at the annual Golden Gloves tournament in Brisbane, a very prestigious tournament.

The twelve-year career of the welterweight leads him into the ring next month against a solid opponent in Mario. The fight has been a long time coming. These two fighters are primed and ready to go. Bartulovic will look to impress the home crowd as he looks to secure bigger fights down the track, locally and in the United States.

It is one of his lifelong dreams to grace a ring that his heroes have fought in. Bartulovic has attended world title fights New York and Las Vegas and firmly believes he can make it into the ring. He has applied for his green card and recently quit his day job to focus more on his boxing and other ventures.

“No sport makes you look better than boxing, if you’re good at it. No sport can make you look terrible, if you’re bad at it. Boxing is the hardest sport in the world, since turning pro it’s become a business and a lot less of a sport”.

Training with Floyd Mayweather Sr last year and Johnny Lewis (trainer of Kostya Tszyu) in the past, Bartulovic knows the tricks of the trade.

In this day and age, it’s important to grow your brand. Bartulovic knows this all too well.

“I try to stand out on social media, I’m actually a pretty nice guy but with my tattoos and boxing persona it doesn’t appear that way. So, I like to play to that and try to be creative with Facebook and Instagram. People are going to pay to see me because they like me and want to see me do well or they want to see me get smashed”.

“One of Canberra’s most well-known fighters taught me, the importance of social media. It’s free advertising and promoters all over the world would rather ask you how many followers you have over what’s your record?”

Bartulovic, IT graduate at the University of Canberra, knows that you need brains to box because tough guys get hurt.

He wants to be remembered for being “A humble boxer, who eventually donates an entire pay cheque to charity”.

There is a lot to like about a guy who knuckles down, trains hard and get the desired results. You will never hear him say a bad word about an opponent.

In the ring, he possesses a quick left jab, great feet movement and a wonderful ability to move his upper body often making his opponent miss his mark.

He is a handful, as seen in his last fight, when he took on a guy a foot taller than him.
Something he has worked on and honed day in, day out for years.

Capital Fight Show has been front and centre of the boxing scene in Canberra for years. They are always looking to promote the fight game in the nation’s capital.

Also, on the card for Capital Fight Show #16 will be the battle for the vacant Australia Female Featherweight Title. Bianca Elmir takes on Reanne Ware. With the main event being for the NSW Super Featherweight Title between Ben Dencio and Tc Priestly.