The date is set for the biggest boxing event Bairnsdale has ever seen.
On Saturday, October 12, Wildfighter Round 3 is coming to the Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre (BARC) and promises to be an event like no other.
The third promotional event of former International Boxing Organisation super featherweight world champion and Bairnsdale boy, ‘Wild’ Will Tomlinson, is stacked with local talent with fighters such as Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Jason Whateley, the promising Blake Wells, and former Western Bulldogs premiership player, Clay Smith, who is making his pro debut, all entering the ring.
On the stacked undercard there will be more local fighters including Roy Siana, Max Reeves, Bayden Ashwood and Kade Alexander.
Tomlinson turned his attention to the boxing promotion market following a decorated career and short stint operating popular Melbourne gym, Tribute Boxing, and
already produced two highly successful rounds of Wildfighter at the Timber Yard in Melbourne.
Having previously fought at the BARC twice as a professional, most recently in 2011, Tomlinson is thrilled to bring the brand he built to his hometown.
“Wildfighter Round 3 at the BARC is going to be a huge event for Bairnsdale,” he said.
“Tickets have been on sale now for a couple of weeks and it is going phenomenally well. We are closing in on 1000 tickets sold so far. We are hoping to get around that 1500 to 2000 mark.
“I am excited to be bringing Wildfighter back here. Being a Bairnsdale boy and having fought at the BARC, I am very excited to bring my new baby back to Bairnsdale and put on a show for all the locals.
“There is a huge demand for the event in Bairnsdale. So far we have had a lot of tremendous feedback about the event and a lot of interest. This is being reflected in ticket sales.
“My plan is to make sure there is a good show for everybody. If everyone has a good time, I will continue to come back and do more events.
“A lot of the people are coming from down the line and even interstate, boosting the local economy and putting Bairnsdale in the headlines.
“We have got talented athletes fighting on the show so that should get Bairnsdale out there.”
PART OF THE JOURNEY
Jason ‘The Warrior’ Whateley, who Tomlinson described as “one of the best cruiserweights in the country”, faces Lance Bryant for the vacant Australian National Boxing Federation Australasian cruiserweight title.
With the ultimate aim of joining the elite ranks of Australian boxing, Whateley said he can ill-afford to underestimate Bryant as the 38-year-old New Zealander, who has a professional record of 12-6-0, will be prepared.
“The Australian title is something I have been chasing since I started. I have been trying to get it since my second fight,” he said.
“Fighting for this Australasian title should put me in good stead to fight for the Australian title in my next fight.
“This is definitely going to be a good fight, I can’t look past it. Lance Bryant, is very experienced, had a good amateur career and did pretty good in the pros as well.
“It is going to be a real tough fight, but that is what I want. I wanted to come into the pro game and fight good fighters.
“My record speaks for itself. I haven’t been just fighting guys with negative records, I have been taking tough fights and putting them away.
“I am looking forward to this and doing the exact same thing.”
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist is yet to taste defeat in his professional career and showed why he is considered so highly with a round six TKO of Victor Oganov in Wildfighter Round 2.
“I think you learn from every fight you have. In my last fight I fought a guy called Victor Oganov for the Victorian title,” he said.
“He had close to 40 professional fights and it was a real tight fight. I got rocked in the second round with a shot that he caught me with.
“It was good for me to see that I could still get through and put him away in the end. I survived the second round scare and then came through with a good stoppage against a quality opponent.
“I had a bit of a break after that one. I have just built myself up now and I am starting to feel fit and strong.
“I will start my proper sparring next week and by the time I get there I will be flying.”
Whateley is keen to perform in front off his home crowd.
“For such a little town Bairnsdale has always produced amazing fighters,” he said.
“I think there is no secret there. It is just great to be back here. I have always had such great support from East Gippsland when I was going through the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and now as professional as well.
“It is just great to be back here and be able to put on a show.”
BACK ON TRACK
Blake Wells’ fight against Mark Smith for the Victorian super middleweight title caps of a remarkable turnaround for the Bairnsdale product, who only returned from a long stretch of injuries following his professional debut against New Zealand’s Fabian Purcell earlier this year.
With his boxing career now back on track and a perfect record at the first two Wildfighter events, the local southpaw has big plans.
“I have been busy. We are back to where we wanted to be in supper middleweight,” he said.
“Hopefully this fight goes well and pushes us to where we should have been after the layoff.
“We are doing everything right. I have a dietitian and I am training flat out twice a day, which is good.
“Hopefully we get through this bloke, which I am pretty confident of doing, and then try to get a shot at an Australian title.
“I am looking forward to that. I really want the Aussie title.”
Wells can’t wait to accomplish his life-long dream of fighting professionally in front of friends and family in Bairnsdale.
“I always envisioned fighting for a title, but I didn’t know when or where,” he said.
“It is awesome to be doing it in Bairnsdale. I couldn’t have asked for a better spot to do it. This is what I wanted to do growing up – fight in front of a Bairnsdale crowd. I finally get to fulfill my goal.”
CLAY FINDS A CAUSE
After retiring from the AFL in July 2018 due to a persistent knee injury, Clay Smith was not sure what the future held until he put on the gloves.
“I was a bit lost after footy. I wasn’t really doing much work and I just missed that competitive side of my life,” he said.
“I needed something to train for. I went down to the local gym that I have done a bit of work and said I wanted to get fit.
“That turned into me wanting to fight and having a fight.
“I have been training three or four nights a week in the gym. I go to work six days a week and try and get in the gym as much as I can. I am just honing my craft and getting better each day.
“I haven’t been doing it for that long, maybe four or five months, so I still have a lot of learning to do, but a lot of growth too.”
Tomlinson knows Smith will have a successful career using the same attitude that earned him an AFL premiership with the Western Bulldogs.
“Clay is very hungry and motivated to get in there and have a crack,” he said.
“He expressed interest about turning professional and having a crack at a decent pro boxing career. I am keen to work with him and take him as far as I can.”
PICTURED: Former International Boxing Organisation super featherweight world champion and Bairnsdale boy, ‘Wild’ Will Tomlinson (second from left), is bringing Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Jason Whateley, the promising Blake Wells, and former Western Bulldogs premiership player, Clay Smith, to Bairnsdale for Wildfighter Round 3 on October 12 at the BARC.
