Conor Wallace is ready to ‘shoot for the stars' as he prepares for Dylan Colin fight
Conor Wallace will return to the ring this weekend to take on Dylan Colin as chief support to his stablemate Jai Opetaia vs Claudio Squeo in Australia.
The Irish-born Aussie had a busy 2024, fighting three times. He outpointed Jerome Pampellone between two knockouts over Jack Gipp and Asemahle Wellem.
Wallace has had a brief lay-off after having surgery on his hand but is happy for the time off and feels as though he will be back better than ever as he continues to rebuild from a loss to Leti Leti in 2021, which he avenged via knockout eighteen months later to get back on track.
Wallace said: '[After a couple of hand surgeries] I've gone from strength to strength. Having that loss to Leti Leti - then rematching him and knocking him out is probably the best thing that could have happened. I got that loss out of the way, it made me hungrier. I wasn't an undefeated prospect anymore.'
Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev trilogy fight - with many top-ranked fighters waiting for their opportunity.
Wallace is ranked number two by the IBF and number seven by both the WBC and WBO. He said the state of the division is frustrating for the top fighters at the moment due to the uncertainty surrounding the belts.
But he doesn't want to focus on that - instead relishing the opportunity to fight again and stay ready for any opportunities that may come.
He said, 'It's frustrating, we have done all this good work to get to number two in the IBF.'
He added: 'It is what it is, all that stuff is out of my control. My job is to stay focused, and I've got a great team around me, and I'm happy to be given the chance to stay active'
Having only fought in Australia so far, Wallace has gone through all the top opposition domestically at 175 lbs and is ready to take the next step to fight internationally because he has nothing left to prove at the national level.
Wallace said: 'I can't get any higher [ranked] than I am without fighting an international opponent. I've taken the risk many times in Australia with Jack Gipp and even fought the South African guy [Asemahle Wellem]. I've got everything to lose and nothing to gain in those fights.'
He continued: 'We are happy to go wherever for the big fights, we have done all the hard work to get into the position I am now, so the main thing is to beat whoever they put in front of me, and no matter where that is, we will go.'
The Aussie said he will fight anyone to achieve his world title dream sooner rather than later, and is not overlooking Colin, but represents the next step on his journey to the top of the light-heavyweight division.
Wallace said: 'My goal is to win a world title, and I'll fight whoever for that.'
He added on his future: 'There is only so long you can wait. Hopefully, everything goes to plan. I'm not overlooking this opponent, but hopefully we can get through him, and hopefully we can get a big fight towards the end of the year. You've got to shoot for the stars.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
36 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mind games are part of Lions' folklore - and here we go again
Verbal jousting on British and Irish Lions tours is as much a part of the deal as the rugby itself - and the mind games started anew in recent coach Joe Schmidt (a Kiwi) on one side and Lions general manager of performance David Nucifora (an Australian) on the other. The psychological bunfights have described Sione Tuipulotu (Melbourne-born) and Bundee Aki (Auckland-born) as the "southern hemisphere centre partnership" in the Lions' opener against Argentina on Friday night. And they are. But was it an innocent remark or one with a bit of edge? Bet the house on the would know well that this is a touchy subject for some in Lionsland, most notably the great Willie John McBride, who is not on board with so many 'foreigners' playing for the Lions. In the squad there are two South African-born players, three born in Australia and four born in New had a little jibe of his own, all before the Lions plane took off for Perth. "I'm sure that lots of mind games will go on..." he told the Daily Telegraph, while mentioning the "mental spar" of Lions called Schmidt a "deep thinker" which he is. "Sometimes, if you think too deeply you'll confuse yourself," he added. "So, hopefully he gets confused overthinking things." Another grenade hard to pinpoint the precise moment when mind games began on Lions tours, but we have an impeccable witness in plumping for 1896 in South Walter Carey was on that tour. As well as being a rugby player he became the Bishop of Bloemfontein in later life, so if a man of the cloth says that the trash talking began in 1896 then who are we to argue?Carey wrote about South African psychological tricks, one of which centred around a man they would play in upcoming games. Wrote Carey: "We were told that the great Jack Orr, supposed to be a regular man-killer, was waiting to put us all in the hospital."Shots fired, as we say these days. Orr got injured before he could annihilate anybody so, mercifully, nobody ended up in the emergency this stuff, in many different forms, has been going on for 129 years. And here's more of it. Erasmus and the hour-long video of woes - South Africa 2021 A mind game, not against the Lions directly, but psychological pressure stacked on top of officials who were in line to referee the Boks in the second and third the Lions won the first Test in 2021, the Springbok director of rugby went to war on referee Nic Berry and his assistants with a stinging attack by way of used 26 clips that, to his eyes, showed injustice against the Boks on the part of Berry and his colleagues. On top of myriad claims of poor decision-making he also said that Berry had treated the two captains differently, stating that Bok captain, Siya Kolisi, wasn't given the same respect as Lions captain Alun Wyn was some truth in what he claimed and much victimhood nonsense. The whole thing was deeply unsavoury. Erasmus was later suspended for 12 months. Was it an effective mind game? Did he get in the heads of the officials in Tests two and three? Well, they won both of them, so it could be argued that way. Hansen tries to kill the Lions with kindness - New Zealand 2017 Mind games come in different shapes and sizes and in 2017 in New Zealand, the All Blacks coach came at it on multiple love-bombing the tourists and saying how great they were he attempted to put the burden of expectation on them. "I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time," he all good mind games, there was a large degree of truth in it. The 2017 crop was an extremely strong then went for it: "It's going to be a very good side and they'll come with a lot of expectation which I think is going to be interesting to see how they cope with that... a lot more expectation than they've been used to, because people expect them to win."The 'kindness' didn't last, of course. The better the Lions looked the more Hansen spoke. He criticised their style of play, questioned their demanding schedule of games and wondered aloud about the potential mistake of not picking England's Dylan Hartley for the tour. Approaching the Test series he said: "We'll see if he [Gatland] has anything up his sleeve apart from his arm." That was pretty desperate and transparent - everybody could see that the Lions had plenty going for them. It was quite a performance from Hansen and quite a sensational series, which famously ended in a draw. Did Hansen's mind games knock the Lions off their stride? No. Andrews tries to get inside Johnson's head - South Africa 1997 The big Springbok lock had won the World Cup two years earlier, an achievement that appeared to confirm his legendary status in his own mind."I don't believe in false modesty," said the admittedly brilliant Andrews. "I can, without blushing, say that I'm the greatest forward in my position on the planet."He was then asked about Lions captain Martin Johnson. This is when Andrews began to lose the plot. "I've heard a lot about him," replied the Bok bruiser. "I just hope he can live up to what is written about him. He could get very demoralised if it doesn't work out."When the real stuff happened, Johnno didn't seem too bothered about Andrews in word or deed. He was immense in leading his team to a storied series win. So, yes, it did work out and, yes again, he did live up to what was written about him. Mind game fail. Farr-Jones sounds a warning after the Battle of Ballymore - Australia 1989 A decisive third Test is always going to have an incredible preamble but few of those occasions could hold a light to the final game of the 1989 Lions had made it 1-1 in the Battle of Ballymore, a Test marked by wholesale punch-ups and all-round fury. The Australia media launched rockets at the violent tourists in the wake of the game, with a lot of coach Bob Dwyer questioned some of the injuries his boys suffered - 'are you listening, third Test officials?' - while the Australian Rugby Union went into emergency session about the ugliness of it all. The Wallaby captain went a lot further, though."To me, basically, it's open warfare," said Farr-Jones before the final Test. "They've set the rules. They've set the standards. As far as I'm concerned, if the officials aren't going to control it, we're going to have to do something about it."You've been warned, was the crystal clear message. "I don't care if I get 100 stitches as long as we are on top on the scoreboard at the end," added the rallying cry to his own players, part message sent to the heart of the Lions, it didn't work. The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese. Connor writes off the Lions before they arrive - New Zealand 1971 It was Barry John's tour but it began badly. Hungover from an almighty boozing session in Hong Kong, the Lions took a hellish flight to Brisbane for a warm-up game against Queensland. Exhausted from the high-living and heavy travelling, they played appallingly and lost."I wanted to lie down and die," said lock Gordon Brown. "We had no idea what time, day or place it was," remarked Gareth Edwards. "I wouldn't say I was playing, but I was on the field," said Connor was the Queensland coach. As a player he had won 12 caps for Australia and another 12 for the All Blacks. With the Lions now heading to New Zealand for the tour proper, Connor was euphoric."These Lions are hopeless," he trumpeted. "Undoubtedly the worst team ever to come here."Er... By the mid-point of the tour the Kiwi public were shocked at how mesmeric the Lions were and by the end-point, with a historic first and still only Lions series win on New Zealand soil, they were eulogising them as the greatest team they'd ever epic mind game fail was a reminder that judging the Lions on early performances is unwise. It was daft in 1971 and, after Friday night's loss to the Pumas, Andy Farrell will be hoping that it's just as daft more than a half a century later.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Link with Tuipulotu has 'got to get better'
Bundee Aki says it was "frustrating" that he did not link up better with midfield partner Sione Tuipulotu in the British and Irish Lions' defeat by Argentina in Dublin on Friday. Andy Farrell's side were beaten 28-24 by the Pumas in what was their sole warm-up fixture before they head to Australia for a nine-game tour that includes three Tests against the there were encouraging signs with ball in hand, too often key passes did not stick and Aki felt he did not "connect well" with his fellow centre."We all know how Sione is as a player, he's class," said Aki, who was also on the Lions' tour to South Africa four years ago."The frustrating thing for me was I wasn't able to connect well with him. He's an unbelievable player and there's no excuse, we've got to get better as a partnership going forward."After the stuttering start for the touring side, Aki believes individual combinations improving will be "better and beneficial for the group"."He speaks out loud, which is good because that's what we need, him being himself and I just feed off him and he feeds off me. So it's brilliant."We've just got to be better at it and keep learning together, the more we grow as a partnership and then as a group, it's going to be better and beneficial for the group."Tuipulotu and Aki would both more regularly be deployed as inside centres, while fellow tourists Garry Ringrose, Huw Jones and Elliot Daly are all more used to wearing the 13 has an established partnership with Jones for both Glasgow and Scotland, while Aki and Ringrose know each other well from Irish sides. Aki added: "Whoever it is, Garry, Huw, Elliot, as a unit we've got to make sure we gel together and try to get that cohesiveness fairly quick because we need to be better."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Footy great tears into Aaron Woods branding him a COWARD after he ignited a storm of controversy with his shock one-word spray sledge of Billy Slater
Former New South Wales second-row Ryan Hoffman has torn into Aaron Woods, branding him a 'coward', for his comments igniting a war of words with Billy Slater last week. Woods, also a former NSW player, had taken a shot at the Queensland coach's character, branding him a 'grub' during a live radio show. Slater hit back prior to his side's 26-24 victory against NSW in State of Origin II but had appeared to link Paul Green's death in 2022 with a mental health issue and not Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Slater would later apologise to Green's family, both publicly and privately and was praised by Hoffman for his courage. 'Bill [Slater] wrongly made the point about linking it to Paul Green,' Hoffman told ABC Sport's Offsiders podcast. 'But the point he was trying to make was perfect. Speaking on Woods, he added: 'Just throwing out those comments, you don't know what people have got going on in their lives - you don't know the effect that that can have. In the end, all you're doing is allowing other people to say those comments in the name of "banter". But where do you draw the line? Is calling someone a grub where you would draw the line? 'Is calling someone worse, is it making sexist, racist comments to people allowed because it's in the name of "banter"? 'Just throwing those ridiculous comments out just gives more people avenues to say what they want to who they want without any repercussions. 'Aaron Woods was a coward for standing behind a microphone and throwing that out there. 'Billy Slater showed courage going out there on a microphone and talking about responsibility. 'He made a mistake and apologised to the Green family but he fronted up in front of the camera, in front of the microphone, every single time.' During an episode of Triple M's Breakfast show, Woods had brought up how Slater had kicked Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis in the head during a game in 2006. 'I want to see the real Billy Slater come out - the grub that we know of. This is a bloke who kicked John Skandalis in the head and got a six-week suspension. Everyone wants to go "Oh he's such a nice bloke",' Woods had said. Hoffman, taking note of the storm of controversy that has followed, then added that Woods overstepped the mark. 'If he were to come out and make a point about Billy Slater's tactics, about Billy Slater's selection - that's fine. But to purposefully call someone a "grub", to purposefully degrade someone like that, someone that he knows, someone that he made sure his son got to meet and have a photo with. 'But for him to say that just to provide extra spice ahead of Origin - that's rubbish.' Woods has since refused to back down over his 'grub' comment despite Slater echoing Hoffman's comments stating that Woods had neglected his responsibility as a radio host by making the shock comment. 'Those comments I made last Tuesday, I stand by them,' Woods told Triple M's Breakfast show last week. 'You say something about a person, that person is owed a right to reply. He [Billy Slater] has had seven days to reply... he has taken his time, he's been very well thought-out, he's been very measured in what he's had to say. 'A lot of the comments, I agree with. 'But one in particular comment that he did make, I just thought Billy went a little bit over the boundary, and I just think it was really - I just think it was completely unnecessary for the situation.' Slater had fired a dig back at Woods, appearing to make a point that he did not deserve his position in the media, adding that those holding the microphone have a responsibility. But he mistakenly appeared to reference Green. 'I sit in that position most weeks and you amplify your voice to millions of people. You're not talking to your mates in the pub. 'I know Aaron Woods. I actually ran into him three or four weeks ago at a footy game and he didn't voice that opinion then. He actually brought his son over to introduce him to me. 'When you degrade someone personally in a derogatory manner, you probably don't deserve one of those privileged positions that we're all in. 'You don't know what people are going through. 'And although I might be able to handle it, the next person mightn't be. Maybe our last coach didn't.' Green had coached the Maroons in the 2021 Origin Series before Slater had taken over in 2022. The former North Queensland coach had been living with a 'severe' case of CTE. His widow, Amanda, also lauded Slater on his courage to apologise. 'To begin with, I would like to say how very courageous it was of Billy to call me, completely unprompted, yesterday,' Green said in a statement to The Courier Mail. 'My heart breaks for Billy Slater as a partner of someone who has been in his position. 'I completely understand the pressures of the role. 'It shows a lot about his true character and what a fine role model he is for young men. I commend and admire him for that. 'This statement is not about rehashing the events of yesterday. 'However, in saying that, yesterday's commentary did highlight to me just how far we still must go in raising awareness and understanding around CTE. Green's wife Amanda, (pictured left and right) also lauded Slater for his courage in immediately reaching out to her to apologise after making the comment 'Paul was diagnosed with Stage Three CTE. Severe CTE. He was living with a very advanced brain disease. 'CTE is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. CTE is caused in part by repeated traumatic brain injuries. 'I now have a responsibility to use my voice to help others, to help those who have lost loved ones, those who are currently struggling themselves or those who are supporting a loved one going through this horrendous disease.' 'Aaron Woods crossed the line,' he said on ABC Sport's Offsiders podcast. 'If he were to come out and make a point about Billy Slater's tactics, about Billy Slater's selection - that's fine. But to purposefully call someone a "grub", to purposefully degrade someone like that, someone that he knows, someone that he made sure his son got to meet and have a photo with. 'But for him to say that just to provide extra spice ahead of Origin - that's rubbish.' 'Media around Origin time is absolutely horrific. Both states are guilty of it. Both states just throw things on the back of their headlines 'cos they need to create this artificial spice. "The build-up to Origin I was boring", it wasn't boring! There is enough to talk about in these games without having to throw ridiculous comments around. 'Media around origin needs to be better. People who get to talk about origin and put their voices into people's lounge rooms or in the car over the radio - you have a responsibility and a privilege of being up there so you really need to watch what you're saying because it does have an effect.' 'Bill [Slater] wrongly made the point about linking it to Paul Green. But the point he was trying to make was perfect. Speaking on Woods, he added: 'Just throwing out those comments, you don't know what people have got going on in their lives - you don't know the effect that that can have. In the end, all you're doing is allowing other people to say those comments in the name of "banter". But where do you draw the line? Is calling someone a grub where you would draw the line? 'Is calling someone worse, is it making sexist, racist comments to people allowed because it's in the name of "banter"? 'Just throwing those ridiculous comments out just gives more people avenues to say what they want to who they want without any repercussions. 'Aaron Woods was a coward for standing behind a microphone and throwing that out there. 'Billy Slater showed courage going out there on a microphone and talking about responsibility. 'He made a mistake and apologised to the Green family but he fronted up in front of the camera, in front of the microphone, every single time.'
