Alex Winwood has at all times dreamed huge.
From the second he turned professional in November 2022, Winwood has had the said objective of successful a world championship in fewer fights than Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Famer Jeff Fenech, who took seven bouts to realize the feat.
The 27-year-old Winwood (4-0, 2 KOs) from Mandurah in Western Australia will get the chance to beat that document when he challenges longtime WBA strawweight champion and Ring Journal quantity 4 ranked contender Thammanoon Niyomtrong (24-0, 9 KOs), who bins underneath the identify Knockout CP Freshmart, at HBF Stadium in Perth, Australia on September 7.
The bout will likely be televised stay and free on native streaming service 7plus as a part of the Premier Boxing Sequence.
“It’s the dream come true, clearly,” Winwood instructed The Ring. “I’ve put it on the market and been fairly outspoken about successful a world title very quick and to lastly have the chance is strictly what we’ve been after. I’m simply pleased to be on this place.”
Thailand’s Niyomtrong, who will likely be two weeks shy of his thirty fourth birthday once they struggle, has been a mainstay of boxing’s lightest weight class. A 12-year veteran of the professional ranks, the ex-Muay Thai fighter received the interim WBA 105-pound title simply two years into his profession and was elevated to full champion by the Panamanian-based sanctioning physique in 2016.
Niyomtrong has held the title ever since, making 11 profitable defenses throughout these eight years.
Picture from Dragon Fireplace Boxing
If there’s a knock on Niyomtrong, it’s his lack of exercise. He hasn’t stepped by the ropes since outpointing countryman and former longstanding WBC titleholder Chayaphon Moonsri (55-3, 19 KOs) two years in the past.
“He’s received a world of expertise on me,” mentioned Winwood, who had a profitable novice profession that noticed him symbolize Australia within the flyweight division on the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“He’s a really powerful Thai, as all of them are. He’s received a robust guard, he’s pleased to sit down within the pocket and type of put on them and stroll his opponents down. He’s clearly robust, however I believe age is likely to be attending to him a bit. He’s additionally been on the sidelines for 2 years, so I believe that every part may simply swing in my favor a bit extra. Pace may outdo energy.
“He may attempt to compensate along with his expertise within the recreation, however I’ve been across the recreation a good whereas myself. Clearly he turned a world champion after I began boxing, however I’ve combined it with some actually good fighters and are available by with flying colours within the final two years as a professional. I’m very assured on this struggle.”
Winwood is an aesthetic boxer-puncher with good reflexes that permit him to land fast, sharp photographs. In his 4 professional fights so far he has proven nice versatility, generally urgent the motion, different occasions in search of counters.
Requested to explain his model for individuals who haven’t seen him field earlier than, Winwood laughed: “I’m like a cross between Roy Jones Jr and Mike Tyson in a five-foot-two body!”
Winwood has some critical backing in his nook. Together with achieved supervisor Tony Tolj, retired former titleholder and Perth native Danny Inexperienced has additionally been offering steering and counsel.
“It’s unreal. I’m speaking to an individual who’s been there and completed that, he’s not simply saying ‘yeah, I understand how you are feeling’. He genuinely does know the trials and tribulations you need to undergo as a boxer and what it takes to get to the highest,” mentioned Winwood, who was named the Nationwide Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Sportsman of the Yr final weekend.
“He’s given me his inside data and his experiences about what does work and doesn’t work for him and he has been attempting to mentor me and information me as a lot as he can. That’s invaluable.”
It’s not misplaced on Winwood how uncommon a chance it’s for a boxer to problem for a world title in their very own yard, however the proud Noongar man is refusing to get forward of himself.
“I at all times thought that when we received a crack on the world title, we’d be going overseas,” Winwood mentioned. “However we’ve received an awesome workforce behind us. There’s a number of individuals concerned to make this occur and for them to have the ability to draw the struggle over right here is a part of the story.
“I simply have to get in there and end the job for this fairytale to return true.”
