LIAM Pope is the Australian Feather Weight title champion after defeating Olympian Nestor Bolum in Revesby, Sydney, on the weekend.
Coach Steve Pitt, from Hinterland Boxing, said it was Pope’s most commanding fight to date.
Pope won on points – 96-93, 94-96, 97-92 – despite knocking Bolum down late in the final and 10th round with just seconds remaining.
Steve said Pope showed a lot of heart when it mattered the most during the torrid bout.
“He held his shape, he knew what he had to do, he didn’t get caught up in the brawl, he just maintained his composure, stayed behind his jab and kept collecting points,” Steve said.
“He was ecstatic when he found out he won.
“He lost a title against Erik Sokolov last year and since then he’s faced a lot of adversities, had to undergo surgery and other things…
“To get this win, it was more than the belt, more than the fight, it was just a really good personal achievement for him and I’m just so proud of him, and it’s the best win I’ve had as a coach.”
Steve said Pope had a longer preparation period for this fight, training for 14 weeks.
“He stayed active and stayed fit and it paid off,” Steve said.
“He wasn’t even blowing hard at all, he could have gone a bit harder a bit earlier, but he just unleashed on Nestor in the 10th round,” he said.
“Nestor is an Olympian, he’s had 200 amateur fights, he’s a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, so he has a lot of experience and power, but Liam’s conditioning and will was just too strong.”
Liam will go straight back into training, but all eyes now turn to Hinterland Boxing stablemates Dana Coolwell and Tyler Blizzard who have key fight on July 15 at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane.
