YOU’D think there would be nothing better than being a fighter who hasn’t been beaten.
But surprisingly for Joel Brunker it was increasingly becoming more of a burden in recent times.
Brunker’s last fight was a points decision win against Edgar Riovalle in Sydney on July 13 and before jetting off to America for his next bout he said, that night, the pressures of maintaining his undefeated record showed.
“I’d been thinking about that too much,
trying to keep it [winning streak] going and it was all I was thinking about which was
stopping me thinking about how I can fight better and improve myself,” Brunker said.
“The last fight I let everything get to me too much and was probably doing it all for the wrong reasons.
“I’ve just got to get back to doing what I
like instead of panicking too much, chasing the win.
“It [undefeated record] got me too anxious and I went in and went after him too hard. I’ll be more relaxed this time.”
Brunker left Australia for the US yesterday and will fight a Mexican on October 27 in California – but he’s not 100 per cent sure who he’ll face.
“We’ve got two Mexicans in talks, but I’m not sure which one I’ll fight yet,” he said.
“We’re on the Gary Shaw card and he’s the same promoter that does Daniel Geale and he’s with me.
“I don’t really care about who I’m fighting. I just worry about myself. Once I’m in tune and everything is perfect with me I know everything else will sort itself out.”
Brunker said it was his chance to show the American public all his skills as he tries to make a name for himself in a country that is a boxing Mecca.
“It should be good to go over there and get a start. The main thing is that we get our face shown over there,” he said.
“Americans love a good fight and I’ve got the perfect style for that. I won’t back down and they love that. I can take a shot and they really like seeing people who can do that.
“Preparation has only just started and I’ve only just been easing into things because I know I’ve got a long of time in America before the fight.
“I don’t want to burn out too much here because I’m going to be flat-out once I get there.”
Brunker said America was the next step in his career, but stressed that despite having a perfect record, he was still learning his craft.
“I’ve only been pro for three-and-a-half years and I’m only still learning. I’ve squeezed a lot of fights in and because of that I haven’t really had time to stop and adjust what I’ve been doing and sit back and work out what I have to do differently,” Brunker said.
