By Jonty Ralphsmith
Cranbourne boxer Theo Dounias comfortably took care of business in his first fight of 2024 last Saturday, winning by unanimous decision against Indonesian fighter Wellem Reyk at Flemington’s Melbourne Pavilion.
It was a landmark win for Dounias against an opponent that has 55 fights to his name and 18 years of experience – compared to Dounias who has seven fights across four years.
Dounias’ record improves to 6-1, with his only loss being to Australian champion Mason Smith.
It’s an impressive record given the experience of most of his opponents, with Saturday’s victory Dounias’ first eight round fight.
“Everything came together for me, my speed and timing was too much and my boxing IQ really showed on the night,” Dounias said.
“I could change my game plan round to round and I did whatever I could to get the job done.
“I walked him down, I countered him, I went on the defence when I was in trouble and went straight back onto offence.
“I didn’t gas out and my preparation served me well for the fight.
“I gave the crowd a really good fight and the reception has been significant.”
Dounias has had several fights lined up for 2024 but had opponents pull out for various reasons including injury and missing the weight class, making for a frustrating period.
But he’s been adamant on fighting a fair fight, rather than finding a late replacement that has had significantly less preparation.
“We want a challenge – there are no pretend fights for ‘Team Thunder’,” Dounias said, referencing his moniker.
“Each fight has gotten tougher and tougher for me.
“We train hard and are confident in my ability to get the job done.
“I’ve got no excuse of fighting easy fights or wanting a padded record.
“I put myself amongst the best in Australia, I put my money where my mouth is and take the hard fights.”
Dounias has a fight lined up for early 2025 which is 10 rounds, with the rising star continuing to scale up the length of his fights to allow himself to take on the very best.
“My focuses are just to get fitter and improve my boxing skills and power,” Dounias said.
“Every day I want to try to get better.
“I’ve already got a really good base and we keep building.
“Our team doesn’t want to keep having the same type of fights we’ve already had just because we know we can win.”
