BOXING
AFTER his stunning second round knockout, champion Richmond boxer Joel Brunker could be on his way to the USA.
Brunker stopped Filipino brawler Rey Las Pinas seven seconds before the bell for the end of round two in his comeback fight at the Richmond Club last month.
In front of a healthy home crowd, Brunker was dominant from the outset and scored his 28th career win in his first fight back after suffering the only loss of his professional career so far in October.
Brunker said the result had provided him the opportunity to chase his next career goal – a fight in America.
“At the moment we’re looking at California in May,” he said.
“My manager in America will sort out some opponents and we’ll go from there.”
Brunker said he was happy with his performance but admitted he was surprised to have had such an early night.
“Obviously it was good to get back out there after a loss to try and fix a few things,” he said.
“I was surprised because he (Las Pinas) is a tough customer. That’s why we picked him. He’s beaten some tough guys so I was surprised but it looks good on my behalf.”
The Filipino’s awkward approach was vastly different to Brunker’s last fight, a ninth-round technical knockout at the hands of Welshman Lee Selby in London.
“At first I was a bit unsure of him,” Brunker said.
“He was a bit awkward, trying to make things difficult. He was throwing his head around a bit which can be dangerous.
“It would have been nice to have been stuck out there a bit longer but that’s boxing, it can only take one punch and when I saw the opportunity I took it.”
The 28-year-old said he was much happier with his preparation for the fight in front of his home crowd.
“The Selby fight I trained hard but I’d had 14 months without a fight,” Brunker said.
“This one was good, we set it out perfectly.
“I had 10 or 12 weeks training because if I go any longer I can get burnt out.
“I always love to come back and fight in Richmond. I wish we could do it more often.”
