Australia and New Zealand over the years have produced many elite fighters in MMA and boxing. In MMA, there are legends such as Alexander Volkanovski, Robert Whittaker, Mark Hunt, Dan Hooker, and Israel Adesanya. In boxing, there are also legends such as David Tua, and Kostya Tszyu and current elites such as Jai Opetaia, Liam Paro, Skye Nicholson, and Tim Tszyu. There are also rising prospects such as Nikita Tszyu, David Nyika, and Justis Huni, and now we have a new one Teremoana Teremoana Jr.
Teremoana is a 26-year-old, 6’6, 270lb Australian heavyweight who just recently had his return to the pro ranks after a hiatus. He is currently 5-0 in the pros with a 100% KO rate and in the amateurs amassed a record of 16-7. He is notable for his size and aggressive style.
Teremoana’s Beginnings
Teremoana has a very interesting amateur career as initially he didn’t have much success and had long periods of inactivity. His debut in the amateurs was in 2013 at the Australian National Champions 80kg jr final, where he lost on points. He then did not fight again until 2016 when he crossed Justis Huni at the Australian Youth & Junior National Championships 91+ Kilo – Youth – Final and lost on points. Then he would fight Toese Vousiutu at the Australian National Championships – 91+ Kilo – Quarter Finals in 2017 and lost on points. He would then have a massive hiatus from the amateurs until 2023.
In the meantime, he would make his professional debut in 2020 securing a 2nd round TKO. He would have 2 fights in 2021 and securing Tkos in rounds 1 and 2. In 2022 he would have another fight and get a round 1 tko. After this stint as a pro, he returned to the amateurs in 2023 and would see a lot more success. Again, he had some teething issues after winning his return, having some mixed results, losing 2/4 of his first 4 fights back. In fairness, one of those losses was to 2 time Olympic gold medallist Bakhodir Jalalov, who himself is a dark horse in the heavyweight division.
Teremoana’s Success
Following the defeat to Jalalov Teremoana would go on an impressive winning streak of 14 wins most being stoppages or KOs. He would win the 2023 Australian Elite Championships & Pacific Games Qualification 92+kg – Finals. He would also win the 2023 Pacific Games – Olympic Qualifiers – Finals. Teremoana then won the Eindhoven Box Cup.
After all this success and experience in the amateurs and qualifying for the Olympics, Teremoana had his chance to shine. He would win his first fight at the Olympics defeating Dmytro Lovchynski in the prelims making it to the quarter finals. In the quarter-finals, he would again encounter Bakhodir Jalalov however this time Teremoana was more experienced.
Teremoana would give Jalalov all he could handle in those 3 rounds. He would push the pace on Jalalov and land plenty of good shots. However, Jalalov made use of some nice footwork and countering. Ultimately, Jalalov would get a close decision with fans being split over who won. Jalalov would go on to win his 2nd Olympic gold medal. Despite not getting the decision many were impressed with Teremoana’s performance. Teremoana however was unsatisfied and decided to go pro full-time.
The Return
Teremoana, following the Olympics, would announce his decision to commit to the pros on the ASB Podcast. Then not too long after this Matchroom would announce their signing of Teremoana on social media. Following that came the announcement that Teremoana would be fighting on Matchroom’s Monte-Carlo Showdown card on December 14th. His opponent would be Volodymyr Katsuk a 36-year-old Ukrainian who at the time had a 5-1 record. A suitable opponent given this was Teremoana’s first pro fight in over 2 years.
Teremoana would weigh in at 267.5 lbs and carried the weight well on his hulking 6’6 frame. As expected Teremoana got the win and did so in style with a round 1 KO. He started off aggressively, stalking his opponent and throwing heavy shots. Teremoana targeted head and body securing 3 knockdowns and the fight was waved off an excellent debut showcasing what the Aussie is all about.
Capitalising on this success Matchroom announced that Teremoana will be fighting on the undercard of Jai Opetaia vs David Nyika. This will take place January 8th 2025 in Australia at the Goldcoast Convention Centre. Teremoana’s opponent is yet to be determined. Most likely, it will be a small step up in competition but someone who Teremoana can beat and look good against.
Although it is only early days for Teremoana’s pro career he looks to be someone to watch out for. He has the ingredients to do well with his experience in the amateurs, his size, his power, and his aggression. We will see what the future holds for Teremoana Teremoana and how he will do in a thriving heavyweight division.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
