PARIS (Reuters) – Super heavyweight Teremoana Junior will be among the favourites to win a medal when boxing begins at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, but the Australian says he has accomplished his goal of honouring his family name even before he steps into the ring.
The towering 26-year-old, who has Cook Island heritage, began training seriously after the death of his grandfather in 2018 and won four professional fights between 2020 and 2022.
“I came back to the amateurs to try and build a profile, to get more fights when I go back to professionals,” Teremoana told reporters on Wednesday.
“Now we’re here, we’ve qualified and this is just another step towards my personal goal, which is to put my grandfather’s name down into history, which is my family name, which is my name…
“When you asked me a question today, you said ‘Teremoana’. My name is being said in Paris, in another country and for me that’s success. I think of it like I’ve got a chisel, I’m chiselling my name into stone and every time I succeed it gets deeper and you can see it more clearly.”
Teremoana has been outspoken about his chances of winning a medal in the build-up to the Paris Games, insisting he will be standing on the podium when the medals are handed out at Roland Garros.
“I know what I am capable of, it’s just the colour of the medal which depends on me and how hard I’m willing to train,” he said.
“I believe I’ve done everything I can to put myself in the best position. All I can do is do the best I can.”
Standing between him and a first Olympic medal is the defending Olympic and Asian Games champion Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan, who beat Teremoana en route to World Championship gold in Tashkent last year.
Jalolov and Teremoana have been seeded fourth and fifth respectively, putting them on course for a meeting in the earlier rounds, which the Australian is adamant he can win.
“The World Championships loss last year was my last defeat and since then it’s been my goal to avenge it,” Teremoana said.
“I’m really here for a rematch and the gold medal is a secondary goal for me. I’m excited to put myself to the test, because he’s the reigning gold medallist from the last Olympics and the last World Championships, so he’s supposedly the best.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Paris; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
