Making just his second appearance on U.S. soil, hard hitting Australian featherweight “Aussie” Joel Brunker (26-0 15KO’s) looks to make his next chance count so he can finally make a big splash on the international scene. Fighting this Saturday at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City, NJ on the undercard of Geale-Barker; he will face tough featherweight stalwart Mike “Machine” Oliver (25-4 8KO’s) in a 10 round bout that could possibly lift him in the rankings in a division that is wide open. Looking to win impressively, Brunker and his team were able to relocate their camp to Las Vegas and during his preparations, he was able to take a short break and call in to Tha Boxing Voice for an interview for our faithful listeners.
Tha Boxing Voice: What do you know about your upcoming opponent Mike Oliver and what do you expect from him?
Joel Brunker: “I don’t know too much… I’m expecting a good fight, I know he’s fought some good guys… and he’s very crafty and I expect a good fight… it should be a good learning curve for me.”
TBV: Have you seen any tapes of him fighting? What do you know of his style?
JB: “I’ve seen a little bit of him, I know he’s a southpaw with fast hands but I don’t get into too much of what they do but what I got to do. “
TBV: When will we see you in with the big names in the division?
JB: “I’m happy to fight anyone, I just have to do what my management tells me they’re the ones organizing everything but I’ll fight whoever. It’s just when they tell me when and I’ll do it. I can’t go around demanding who I want I just have to lay back and take what comes my way. We want to get to number one and after we get to number one hopefully Gary Shaw can start pushing more for me and get me a shot and get out there. There’s only one way to find out what’s in you, just have to put yourself in there and have a go at it.”
TBV: Do you think it’s an advantage to be fighting here in the states with the exposure and level of competition?
JB: “Oh definitely, everyone wants to fight in America and of course the best fighters come from here (the US) and if you want to be the best you have to come here and fight all the top guys, be good at your game and your craft.”
TBV: What prompted the move from training back home in Australia to moving your camp to Las Vegas?
JB: “Well we got a guy we work with every time we’re in America, we try to get there as much as possible and work with him to try to add more things to our game, improve ourselves and we try to do it more often. And once we start getting the bigger fights for more money we’ll do it more often and spend more time here but you know it’s expensive to fly here.”
TBV: How did it feel fighting on the undercard of Geale-Mundine in front of your countrymen for such an important fight back home?
JB: “That was a big fight and a big fight for me too. I got to be seen by so much of the Australian public which I’ve had trouble getting TV time as well because we can’t get any big fights to come to Australia…it was good to be on that card and it did me wonders…I’ll just keep winning and we’ll get more big cards in Australia, but even in America it’s all about keeping my face out there, putting on good fights, that’s what people want to see.”
TBV: How excited are you to be fighting at this new location, it’s the first fight ever at the new Revel Casino, Does that get you excited to know you’ll have a packed casino watching you fight?
JB: “It’s a huge fight for me, and it’s good to be fighting on the same card as Daniel and fighting here in America. I have looked at the casino and yes it’s definitely big and it’ll be good but every time I fight in America I’m hoping it’s going to be on one of these big cards. It’s such a big thing for me that I’m doing what every fighter wants to do and put on a great show for all the fans, that’s all I can ask.”
TBV: What’s your opinion on the current IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich?
JB: “He’s a tough guy, comes forward, he’s what his name says “Russian Mexican”. He pushes, he comes to fight, I’d imagine he won’t box he’ll just start punching.”
TBV: So what are you expecting come next Saturday?
JB: “I’m expecting a very smart and fast opponent and it’s going to be a good fight and hopefully all my hard work pays off.”
TBV: What are your future goals? Where do you see yourself by the end of the year? How far are you from a title shot?
JB: “At the moment we’re not quite sure what’s going on but I definitely want a title shot, and I want to find out exactly what I have in the tank. I want to go into these hard fights and I just want to go out there and give it my all…hopefully we can start here and I can get a victory and then move on, I’ll be happy to fight whoever, it doesn’t bother me, I want the big fights, I want to see where I’m at”
TBV: How can fans follow you on social media? Would you like to say anything to your supporters?
JB: “Definitely everyone can follow me @JoelBrunker on Twitter and Joel Brunker on Facebook and I’ll keep you updated on everything and on the future and I love the support and I hope everyone can watch me fight and enjoy the fight and continue to support me.”
