Teremoana Teremoana has called out the defending Olympic super heavyweight champion ahead of their early collision course in Paris.
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So keen is the 198cm, 120kg Australian to avenge his 2023 world championships loss to Ukranian Bakhodir Jalolov that he reckons "the gold medal is a secondary goal".
Jalolov is the man to beat when boxing begins at Roland Garros on Saturday.
But he's seeded fourth, just one higher than the Australian, thanks to a peculiar method that seeds the winners of the five qualifying tournaments randomly.
It means the pair, who squared off in Jalolov's Tashkent stronghold in last year's world championship round-of-16, are likely to meet in the second round.
"It's been my goal to avenge my loss; I'm really here for a rematch, the gold medal is a secondary goal for me," he said ahead of Thursday's draw reveal.
"He's supposedly the best. It was a bit controversial in my opinion, the decision last time.
"But this time I'm going to take it into my hands and prove I'm the best in the world."
The Sydney product won gold at this year's Eindhoven Cup in the Netherlands in a walkover, his final opponent opting out after he'd watched the Australian win his semi-final in just 81 seconds.
Amateur boxing is fought over just three rounds but Teremoana boasts eight stoppages in his last 10 wins.
"When I fought him last time, yeah he punches hard but he doesn't punch that hard," he said of Jalolov.
"I reckon I punch harder and I reckon he knows that too. If anyone's to be worried it'll be him, not me.
"I'm so glad that I've got him and even better, beat him (in the second round) and he's the gold medallist and gets no medal.
"That's pretty stink, isn't it?"
One of two Australian boxers with Cook Islands heritage, alongside Tiana Echegaray, Teremoana punched his ticket for Paris by dominating the Pacific Islands qualification tournament and then declaring he would fight for the entire region.
Unbeaten in four professional fights, he had reverted to the amateur ranks in an attempt to boost his profile.
"My name's being said in Paris; I've already done what I set out to do, now I just keep levelling up," he said.
"I think of it like I've got a chisel, chiselling name into the stone and every time I succeed it gets deeper and you can see it more clearly."
Australian Associated Press
