JAI
OPETIA
CRUISERWEIGHT
Age: 27
Residence: Gold Coast
Record: 22- 0 (17 Ko)
IBF WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION
RING MAGAZINE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION
The crafty southpaw made headlines when he represented Australia at the London Olympics at just 17 years of age. Since turning professional, Opetaia has delivered in each and every performance. His perfect record is accentuated with 22 wins coming inside the distance. Currently rankednumber one with the IBF. His meteoric rise may not end in the Cruiserweight division either. Opetaia may just emulate the likes of Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk and jump up to the Heavyweight division before his career is over.
JUSTIS
HUNI
HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 23
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 6-0 (4 Ko)
At the tender age of just 23 years, Justis Huni carries a huge weight of expectation on his broad shoulders. . In his professional debut he made Australian boxing history by claiming the Australian Heavyweight title in his very first bout. His crushing victory over defending champion Faiga Opelu put the rest of the division on notice. He followed that up by shredding Arsene Fosso and has already destroyed Paul Gallen in an all out war. They say good things come to those who wait, but Huni wants those things right now. Watch this space.
DANA
COOLWELL
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Age: 23
Residence: Beerwah
Record: 8-2 (6ko)
Australian Super Feather Title
Hailing from Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast, Dana "Deadly!(" Coolwell viewed as one of the brightest prospects in Australian boxing. With lightning fast reflexes and dazzling hand speed Coolwell has raced to 8 wins as a professional. His performance on Fox Sports in December 2021 will live long in the memory of Australian fight fans. Coolwell put on a clinic of clean boxing against Miles Zalewski, stopping him in the tenth round and earning himself the Australian title and the Knockout of the Year award. Watching Coolwell's progression throughout 2022 will be thrilling.
LIAM
POPE
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Age: 27
Residence: BUDERIM
Record: 3-1
Titles: Queensland State Super Feather Title
Tasman Fighter's welcomes Liam Pope to our stable of boxers. Liam is a talented boxer who competes in the Super Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. An extremely talented amateur, who represented his country, Liam boxes in an aggressive “take no prisoners” style.
Pope is always in excellent condition, meaning his opponents have little to no time to recover from his all action style. A resident of the Sunshine Coast and already a State champion as a professional, Liam Pope is a boxer to keep an eye on.
ERIK
SOKOLOV
HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 22
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 1 - 0 (1 Ko)
The older brother of Heavyweight sensation Justis, Lopeti is looking to make his own mark on the sport. An accomplished amateur, Huni turned professional in 2022 and stopped his opponent in the first round. An excellent boxer/puncher he transitions between styles with ease, making him easy on the eye. He will look to gain valuable experience while climbing the ranks, with his immediate goal being to capture the Australian Heavyweight title that is currently held by his brother.
CLAY
WATERMAN
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 26
Residence: LOGAN CITY
Record: 5-0 (5 ko)
The man they call "The Weapon” is one of the hardest hitting Light Heavyweights in the country. Waterman possesses fight ending power in both hands. To date, his opponents have yet to test him beyond three rounds since he turned professional in 2020. Waterman has represented both his state and country a number of times as an amateur and is viewed as one of Australian boxing's brightest prospects.
JASON
WHATELEY
CRUISERWEIGHT
Age: 31
Residence: RINGWOOD
Record: 10-0 (9 ko)
Titles: Australasian Cruiser Title
IBF Australasian Cruiser Title
Australia - Victoria State Cruiser Title
WBF Australasian Cruiser Title
IBF Pan Pacific Cruiser Title
Jason “The Warrior” Whateley is a blue chip pedigree Cruiserweight with the world at his feet. A 2016
Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Whateley has raced to a 10-0 (9 KO) record as a professional. Whateley has already added the Australian and IBF Australasian titles to his name, with his sights now firmly focused on international honours.
TEVITA
PANGAI Jnr
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Age: 27
Residence: BUDERIM
Record: 3-1
Known as an enforcer on the footy field, Pangai Jnr showed he is equally as capable of inflicting punishment inside the squared circle, thrashing
a game Gerico Cecil inside of two rounds on his debut last December. Pangai has indicated he wants to have a career in professional boxing that runs parallel to his NRL career, something Canterbury Bulldogs CEO Phil Gould has encouraged. Perhaps a big domestic showdown with the likes of Sonny Bill Williams or Paul Gallen awaits.
ERIK
SOKOLOV
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
Age: 29
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 4 - 0 (2 Ko)
Titles: Australian Super Bantam Title Australia - Queensland State Feather Title
Trained under the watchful eye of Steve Deller and Luke Meldon from the Fortitude Gym, Erik "The Viking” Sokolov has put the rest of the Super Bantamweight division on notice.
In a "fight of the year” contender, Sokolov stood toe to toe with Liam Pope and won the Australian title via split decision. Born in Ukraine and raised in Germany, Sokolov has an extensive amateur background and is looking to continue that form in the punch for pay ranks.
JASON
WHATELEY
CRUISERWEIGHT
Age: 31
Residence: RINGWOOD
Record: 10 - 0 (9 ko)
Titles: Australasian Cruiser Title
IBF Australasian Cruiser Title
Australia - Victoria State Cruiser Title
WBF Australasian Cruiser Title
IBF Pan Pacific Cruiser Title
Jason “The Warrior” Whateley is a blue chip pedigree Cruiserweight with the world at his feet. A 2016
Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Whateley has raced to a 10-0 (9 KO) record as a professional. Whateley has already added the Australian and IBF Australasian titles to his name, with his sights now firmly focused on international honours.
CONOR
WALLACE
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 26
Residence: Fortitude Valley
Record: 9-1 (6 Ko)
Titles: Queensland and Australian
Light Heavyweight champion.
WBA Oceania Light Heavy Title
IBF Pan Pacific Light Heavy Title
Born and raised on the mean streets of Newry, Northern Ireland, Wallace now calls Brisbane home. His talent
is obvious, so much so that UFC legend Conor McGregor regularly brought Wallace to Las Vegas to help
him prepare for his fights with Nate Diaz. Wallace was an exceptional amateur, representing Northern Ireland on a number of occasions but identified Australia as the ideal base to launch his professional career. So far, the decision has been proven to be correct as the heavy-handed
southpaw won the Australian title in just his seventh bout.
LOPETI
HUNI
HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 22
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 1 - 0 (1 Ko)
The older brother of Heavyweight sensation Justis, Lopeti is looking to make his own mark on the sport. An accomplished amateur, Huni turned professional in 2022 and stopped his opponent in the first round. An excellent boxer/puncher he transitions between styles with ease, making him easy on the eye. He will look to gain valuable experience while climbing the ranks, with his immediate goal being to capture the Australian Heavyweight title that is currently held by his brother.
TAYLAH
ROBERTSON
BANTAMWEIGHT
Age: 24
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 6-1 (2 ko)
Titles:
IBF Youth World Super Flyweight Title
Australia Female Bantam Title
Taylah started boxing at the age of 12 and won her first Australian title as a junior at 15 in Perth. She went on to win more titles and joined the National Team of Australia,
competing internationally over four years, winning a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and participating in the 2019 World Championships. In early
February she had her first professional fight in Brisbane at bantamweight, winning in under 56 seconds by technical knockout (TKO). Taylah went to the US to train in
California, at Justin Fortune's gym. Her trip was cut short by the COVID-19 and she returned to Australia. Taylah is Tasman Fighters first contracted female fighter and
is a large part of our team moving forward. She is simply World Class.
TEREMOANA
Jnr
HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 24
Residence: Brisbane
Record: 3-0 (3 ko)
Standing at an imposing 198cm (or 6'6) and weighing in at around 118kg Teremoana Jnr has boxing industry tails wagging. The Brisbane based giant proudly represents his Cook Islands heritage and looked extremely composed while making his professional debut on Fox Sports in December 2020. He showcased both an incredible arsenal of punches but perhaps equally as important, a personality that connected with the viewer. He danced and sang his way into the ring and the smile on his face could light up Sydney Harbour. One of the few boxers to hold a win against Justis Huni in the amateurs, the pair are now teammates and regular sparring partners. The sky truly is the limit for "The Punisher”.
JACK
GIPP
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT
Age: 23
Residence: Mornington
Record: 6-0 (3 ko)
Jack "Golden!(" Gipp was a 5 time Australian champion and Commonwealth Games Youth bronze medalist as an amateur. Signed by Tasman Fighters in early 2022, Gipp certainly appears to have a "Golden!(" future ahead of him. At just 23 years of age, Gipp will look to win the Australian Super Middleweight title this year. Fighting out of Melbourne, his record as a professional is a perfect one, sitting at 6-0 (3 KO).
HONE
HUNI
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Age: 25
Residence: RINGWOOD
Record: 1-0 (1 ko)
Hone Huni put Australian boxing on notice when he made his debut as a professional on the Justis Huni v Joe Goodall undercard. Hone destroyed his more experienced opponent in just two rounds, in a display that had boxing insiders raising their eyebrows. The cousin of Justis and Lopeti, Hone has blinding handspeed and is fleet of foot. The sky truly is the limit for the latest instalment of the Fighting Huni Family.
MAT
SHEEHAN
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Age: 30
Residence: Diamond Creek
Record: 9-1 (6 ko)
Titles:
WBC Australasian Light Heavy Title
Australia - Victoria State Light Heavy Title
Known as "The Machine” has captured the Victorian State Light Heavyweight title and has his eyes firmly set on capturing the national belt. Boxing out of Croydon, the crafty southpaw has shown that once he has his opponent hurt, he can close the show. Not one of Sheehan's opponents has managed to hear the final bell since 2019.
Ranked #32 in the WBC and climbing fast!