He’s got an eye on fighting for an Australian title at the end of the year but firstly Cowra boxer Josh O’Brien is itching to reclaim a belt he was forced to give up.
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O’Brien returned from a six month holiday of Europe in October, found out he’s lightweight belt had swapped hands so began training towards getting it back.
O’Brien (8-2) will face Brendan Micallef with the NSW title on the line at Best Of The Best amateur fight night at Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool on Friday night.
The 21-year-old Cowra fighter said it was disappointing to relinquish the title after winning it against Koby Duncan last year.
The plan is to win the title then defend it in Cowra.
- Josh O'Brien
“It was a shame to not get to defend it but I had the plans already in place and that’s the way it goes,” Josh O’Brien said.
“As soon as I got home in October I began training again. I had an exhibition fight at Dubbo before Christmas and found out who had the title while we were there. We called them out that night.
“The plan is to win the title then defend it in Cowra.”
Since booking the fight O’Brien’s focus has been fitness.
He’s training six days out of seven including sparring sessions once a week with Sam Ah See and Jack Littlefield in Orange.
He also trains in Dubbo on Fridays under the tutelage of Robert ‘Gummy’ Toomey.
Fitness is key, O’Brien said, especially when he doesn’t know a lot about his opponent other than he’s had more than 20 fights.
“The most important thing is to be fit enough to control the pace of the fight,” O’Brien said.
“My fitness is great. I was really disciplined over Christmas and I’ve been training each Wednesday and Friday at Orange and Dubbo.
“Not knowing a lot about him [Micallef] means I really need to feel him out early. We’ll work out in the first round how to go about the fight.
“It’s a step up,” O’Brien said.
On Wedensday afternoon, the Cowra prizefighter had a half-an-hour pad session, did some running and fine tuned some skills in an effort to shed a bit of weight to get below 60kgs.
He said making weight is difficult at times but he’s not concerned ahead of the weigh-in on Friday afternoon.
If O’Brien clinches the title he’ll defend it at the Battle In The Bush on March 31 at the Civic Centre in Cowra.
His goal this year is to string bouts together and fight for an Australian title.
“I’ll be trying to string fights together one month at a time. I’ll be putting in a full 12 months of training. I really want a crack at an Australian amateur title.
“I’ll be taking it one fight at a time.”
The O’Brien and Micallef bout is the co-main event.
