PAUL FLEMING KICKS OFF INAUGURAL MJA PLATINUM PROMOTION AHEAD OF WORLD TITLE RUN IN 2019.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (12 December 2018) – Australian boxing’s best kept secret Paul ‘Showtime’ Fleming 25-0 (17) is looking forward to returning to the ring this month before making a world title run next year with reigning WBO super featherweight champion Masayuki Ito 24-1-1 (12) of Japan in his sights.
The 30-year-old Sydney southpaw is keen to get some momentum going after a year on the sidelines.
“The last time I fought I took care of Filipino strongman Vergil Puton in seven rounds,” says Fleming. “I had him cut-up, busted-up and closed up his right eye. By the time I was finished with him it looked like his face had been put through a meat-grinder.
“It took WBO 130-pound champion Ito two more rounds to get rid of Puton than it did me – and that was after I’d already carved him up.
“If this Japanese kid is everything he’s cracked up to be, we might have an entertaining fight on our hands. If he’s anything less, I’ll put him away the same way I did Puton. It’s as simple as that.”
Fleming is set to headline MJA Platinum’s inaugural card when he takes on former two-time WBO bantamweight champion Panya Uthok 52-5 (35) of Thailand over eight rounds at the Emporium in Bankstown, Sydney on December 21.
“This is a great opportunity for me to knock off some rust and set myself for a title run in the new year,” says Fleming. “Uthok won’t last the distance and neither will Ito if I can get my hands on him.
“If the Ito fight does happen I won’t be sitting on the outside waiting for him to throw, I’ll be using my speed and giving him those southpaw angles and making him work every minute of the fight.”
The card will also feature the return of former world title challenger Luke ‘Action’ Jackson 16-1 (7) of Hobart, Tasmania who is having his first fight back since his lone career loss to interim WBO featherweight champion Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton 26-1 (15) at Windsor Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland in August.
“I won’t lie, the loss hurt,” says Jackson. “But I took some time off for the first time in my career and sat down with my trainer Billy Hussein to figure out where we go from here.
“I was keen to go round again but I needed Billy’s sanction to do that. He gave me his blessing and we are both very excited to get the monkey off my back after my first professional defeat and return to the winner’s column.
“Next year is going to be my year and you’re only going to see a new and improved version of ‘Action’ Jackson in 2019.”
The show will also feature natural-born entertainer ‘Gelignite’ Jack Brubaker 14-2-1 (7) against big-hitting Indonesian Larry Siwu 27-11 (23) as the Cronulla prospect prepares for his own world title run.
“I didn’t have much of an amateur career so I’m still learning on the job,” says Brubaker, 27.
“But now I have the right team behind me with my management team of Mike Altamura and MTK Global along with my trainer Graham Shaw, so I’m confident I can get the fights I need to stay busy.
“I will be ready for the Terence Crawford’s and Errol Spence’s of the world within the next 12-18 months.”
Also on the card will be hot prospect Youssef Dib 9-0 (4), younger brother of former IBF featherweight world champion Billy ‘The Kid’ Dib, in a six round welterweight contest.
Exciting junior welterweight Dylan Emery 19-1 (12) returns from a 14-month layoff in a four round bout while bantamweight Moey Ibrahim will also be in action in another four round contest.
FEATURED FIGHTERS
Paul ‘Showtime’ Fleming
Undefeated super featherweight contender Paul ‘Showtime’ Fleming 25-0 (17) is a proud indigenous boxer originally from the cane-cutting town of Tully in Far North Queensland. The 30-year-old represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China in the featherweight division. The 2006 World Junior Championships bronze medallist turned professional in 2008 and moved to Sydney two years later to train under acclaimed coach Billy Hussein at the Bodypunch Boxing Gym. The classy southpaw is a clever boxer-puncher with a strong finishing instinct that has seen 68% of his opponents fail to hear the final bell. Fleming is promoted by leading American promotional firm Top Rank where he has been a stablemate of modern-day legends Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. He is managed by Dubai-based international management firm MTK Global.
Luke ‘Action’ Jackson
Former amateur standout Luke ‘Action’ Jackson 16-1 (7) is a world title contender in the featherweight division. The 33-year-old Tasmanian compiled an impressive record of 113-32 in the unpaid ranks, earning himself a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne at featherweight and captaining the Australian boxing team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India and the 2012 London Olympics where he competed as a lightweight. A late starter in the sport, Jackson didn’t pick up the gloves until he was 18 but displayed enough natural talent to come third in the Australian titles in his first year of competition, claiming the national crown in his second year. In August Jackson travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland to challenge interim WBO featherweight champion Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton 26-1 (15) at Windsor Park, losing his first professional contest to the former two-division world champion when his corner threw in the towel in the ninth. A smooth boxer not afraid to mix it up on the inside, Jackson is on the comeback trail after his lone career loss. He is trained by Billy Hussein and managed by Mike Altamura.
‘Gelignite’ Jack Brubaker
Welterweight prospect Jack Brubaker 14-2-1 (7) has carved out a name for himself as the most exciting fighter in Australia. A later starter in the sport, Brubaker has often had to rely on his uncommon toughness and tenacity to overcome his lack of ring experience. It is this crowd-pleasing style that has earned him a legion of fans and seen him claim the OPBF and WBC Youth titles early in his career. In his last outing Brubaker turned the tables on experienced Englishman Tyrone Nurse, 35-3-2 at the time, outboxing the boxer to earn a 12-round unanimous decision win. The 27-year-old from Cronulla was unlucky to be stopped on cuts in six rounds by Toowoomba’s Kris George in their fight for the Commonwealth welterweight title last year in a fight that Brubaker was leading 50-46 on one of the judges’ scorecards. Under the guidance of Mike Altamura and MTK Global alongside highly-qualified trainer Graham Shaw – who guided Daniel Geale to the unified middleweight championship of the world in Germany – Brubaker now has the team around him with the skills and experience to take him right to the very top.
TICKETING INFORMATION
To secure your VIP tables of 10 ($3,000 first row, $2,500 for second and third rows) please contact +61 414 302 754. General admission tickets are available at the door at the Emporium in Bankstown, Sydney on December 21 for $70 each. Doors open at 6:30pm with the first fight commencing at 7:00pm sharp.
MEDIA CONTACT
Anthony Cocks
Media Manager
P: +61 435 920 510
E: press@mjaplatinum.com