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when you're a boxer you know when you go somewhere you're sizing everyone up all the time you know
you're like oh how am i gonna approach out how am i gonna be them how am i gonna you know what
i'm gonna do so i've met him a few times and there's a way to beat him
boxing's what i do it's like a religion to me i've grown up in the sport
my whole life training running punching bags sparring like to get to the top is a freaking
long journey it's hard man it's a very lonely hard road but i was never stressed i always seen
the light at the end of the tunnel you know what i mean like i always knew what the goal was and
that was the win world title get on the big stages so now that i'm here good i'm the best cruise weight
in the world i want these belts around my waist i'm chasing unification fights there's me and
you know they say we're the top let's fight
joe bataya welcome to straight talk mate
i should have him even i i i'm straight up i know that polynesian surnames are often pronounced
wrong by people like me so how do i actually say your surname you're going to go i hate to say it
you're not i hate to say it
That's good, mate.
Because a lot of people say O, O, O.
And in your language or in the Samoan language,
O is pronounced O as opposed to O.
I'm half Aussie, so I'm learning myself.
But it's pretty important because I've noticed in the rugby league circles now
that commentators have really been careful to say the name properly
because it's sort of semi-disrespectful.
When I get in for my surname, people used to pronounce my surname wrong
when I was younger.
And I used to think, fuck me, get it right.
It's not that hard.
But maybe it is hard for people who don't know the pronunciation.
But I just want to make sure it's right.
Yeah, Opataya, yeah.
And so welcome, mate.
And by the way, mum and dad, so obviously from your surname,
your dad's Polynesian, Samoan.
And your mum's an Aussie woman.
Are they from Sydney or where from?
Yeah, they actually grew up around here.
Around the Dalo area?
Where our studios are.
Just here and there, man.
Yeah, they grew up, you know, they lived across.
I was born out in Westmead.
We lived in a flat in Parramatta for a while.
And then, yeah, we made the move to the Central Coast.
So I'm a Central Coast boy at heart.
Yeah, and actually not.
I'm not a Central Coast boy at heart, but you're a world champion in real terms,
like absolute world champion.
You've defended your title as well.
So, like, well done, mate.
Like, Jeff Fennec's a good friend of mine.
He told me that as far as he's concerned, and this is, you know,
come from a legend, that you probably are the most promising Australian fighter
in the last 10 years.
And that's a big wrap.
That is a big wrap.
Come from Fennec.
Jeff Fennec's, you know, a legend of the sport, you know, and not just here in Australia.
I mean, he's well-known all over the world.
So, you know, that's a massive compliment.
And he did train for a while, though, didn't he?
Yeah, he managed me for a while.
Yeah, because I'm going to take you back a little while, and I said something to you
outside about it, but there was a, his father's a good fighter too, but there was a young
fella here in Australia called Willis Mead, a bit bigger than you.
I think you might have been in heavyweight division.
You would have been like, you would have been in your 90s in terms of kilos.
He's probably, in those days, he probably would have been 110, six foot five.
But I remember watching you spar with, when Fennec invited me, and I watched you spar
a much bigger guy, Willis Mead, and this is, I'm going to take this somewhere in a moment.
Obviously a heavyweight and a very experienced fighter, as was his father.
Father fought for the world title.
Do you remember those young years when you used to just jump in with anybody who would
be put in front of you?
They've, you know, molded my path.
You know, there's like the apprenticeship of where I am today.
And, you know, special shout out to Willis, man.
He was like a brother growing up to me.
You know, we grew up on the Central Coast together.
We were never allowed to go to the same school.
Oh, just because we used to run amok, you know, back in the day.
But I tried to get into his school and, you know, go on there.
There's your parents in that.
Yeah, so, but yeah, man, we spent plenty of time together, man.
We'd done thousands of rounds together, you know, hundreds.
So we grew up moving around together.
We grew up, you know, developing at one stage.
You know, he's always been a tall dude.
He was a bit skinnier, but, man, he really sort of shot off.
And, man, he's a big boy.
He was like six foot five or something like that.
But for someone like you, you know, you're six foot two or something like that.
You're not small, by the way.
But you're a proper cruiserweight.
You know, like, I don't know what you're normally walking around in,
but you can obviously get down a cruiser.
Willis is someone like him, heavyweight.
Does that sort of prepare you for perhaps fighting heavyweights in the future?
I've always just moved around with heavyweights.
You know, I've always, you know, I even moved around with that old man, Cully.
You know, when he was getting ready for fights.
And, you know, just my old man was old.
You know, he would dead set chuck me in with whoever, you know.
And that's the way he was sort of taught to fight and taught to train.
It was just, you know, he told me stories about his old man.
It didn't matter what weight they were.
Everyone was just sparring everyone.
And, you know, you just got to learn to adapt to those styles.
I feel like it sort of gives you more ammunition for when you do need that sort of stuff.
Because stepping out of division, not many Australians have done that.
I mean, Fennec did.
He went up three divisions.
But when he got a fourth division in the end,
which is the Azuma Nelson fight, which they awarded him post the fight,
like 20 years later, 30 years later, whatever it is.
But not many Australians have done it.
Are they ambitions of fighters?
I had Drikus Duplessis in here last week, who's the UFC middleweight champion.
He's talking about going up a division too.
A dream, going up a division.
It's sort of proving yourself.
Is that something that boxers do as well?
Well, once I've completed, you know, everything I've needed to do in the cruiserweight division,
I feel like that is the next step, you know, going up to heavyweight.
And I do lose weight to go down a cruiser.
So I feel like I can make both weights comfortably.
You know, you got to change a few things in your training.
But, man, it's something I'm looking forward to.
So what are you walking around at?
What are you walking around at, Joe?
Probably walk around about 98, 99 kilos.
Like comfortably, you know.
But I can drop the weight easy, you know.
Like I don't struggle too bad.
I don't, you know, I used to be bad back in the day when I was a lot more unprofessional.
And, you know, you wouldn't eat for two days trying to sweat it out sitting in saunas.
It used to be painful.
But now it's good, you know.
I eat the day before weighing.
And, you know, we're very professional now.
So if I could just, you know, because the audience probably doesn't quite understand this.
What cruiserweight weigh-in weight is?
So cruiserweight weight is 90.7 kilos.
So just under 91.
Yeah, just under 91 kilos.
So you walk around at 98, 99.
You've got to drop eight kilos.
You say you can do that quite comfortably.
When you look at someone like Usyk, who's the current heavyweight champion,
you're now occupying his previous division, the cruiserweight champion division.
You look at someone like him.
I don't think he'd be much bigger than you.
No, he's not too much bigger.
I reckon he's maybe an inch, half an inch.
When you're a boxer, you know, when you go somewhere,
you're sizing everyone up all the time.
You're like, oh, how am I going to, you know, approach that?
How am I going to beat him?
How am I going to, you know, what am I going to do?
So I've met him a few times and, you know, I've stood next to him.
So there's a way to beat him.
That's interesting.
As a fighter, you are actually,
I mean, not in an aggressive way, but you're thinking to yourself,
well, if I have to jump in with this bloke, you know,
I'm sort of just getting his shape.
I'm understanding.
I'm sort of profiling him sort of thing with, you know, with your brain.
You're profiling the guy.
Do you feel confident about it?
You know, like do you, you obviously watch his fights.
That's different.
You watch his style.
But just in terms of his physicality, when you meet him, you think to yourself,
man, I reckon, like, I don't feel overpowered.
I feel like, you know, I might be a chance.
You definitely, I feel like everyone's beatable.
You know what I mean?
And I feel like, you know, you train right, you prepare properly.
And, you know, I just feel like everyone's beatable, man.
That's a pretty positive mindset.
I mean, how do you grow a positive mindset?
Because you're a pretty mind getting, you're a pretty shy guy.
Like, cause you're not one of those cocky guys out there carrying on.
You're not a Conor McGregor style person in terms of, you know, like upfront.
How do you develop your positive mindset?
How do you develop your positive mindset?
How do you develop your positive mindset?
How do you develop your positive mindset?
How do you develop your positive mindset about, like, that type of positive mindset?
Boxing's what I do.
You know, boxing's like, boxing's honestly like, it's like a religion to me.
You know what I mean?
Like, it's just, I've grown up in the sport.
I've fought people all over the world.
I've, it's like another language to me.
You know what I mean?
So, I feel like there's just a way.
And I feel like because I've done it for my whole life, I just feel like I gotta find
out that way to beat him, and I can do it.
You know what I mean?
I gotta sort of execute what's right and wrong, minimum mistakes.
And then I can, I personally feel like I can just beat everyone if I fight smart.
But if you don't fight smart and you make one mistake, you're gone.
Cause it only takes one punch.
And it could be just a bit of a careless error.
You've got to be on.
Who else is left in your division now that you would like to aim up against?
The last win was pretty convincing.
Where to from here?
I mean, I'm chasing belts.
You know, there's a Mexican guy, Ramirez, that I really want to fight.
What belts does he hold?
He's got the WBO and the WBA.
So you've got the IBF and you've got the Ring Magazine.
So you're chasing WBO, WBA.
That would be next.
And then there's a WBC who I think he's an African fellow who's got that.
So, man, honestly, I'm not chasing fighters.
You know what I mean?
I don't even watch these fighters unless I have to.
You know what I mean?
The only fighters I watch is if I'm learning off someone that I'm adding to my game.
I don't really watch.
I watch people just for the fun of it because I live the sport.
You know what I mean?
So when I'm at home, I just like to relax.
Otherwise, when I'm watching boxing, I'm thinking about it too much.
I'm like, fuck, I should be at the gym, you know.
You start obsessing.
Seriously, that's what it is.
I always say it's a blessing and a curse.
You know what I mean?
That same sort of thing that can make you, you know,
that drives you and pushes you can also make, can do it too much or, you know,
you can shift it the wrong way or something like that.
Well, so I watched you at Luna Park many years ago.
Oh, yeah, you were there, right?
I went with Jeff.
And I look at yours and, you know, they're all saying styles win fights.
Your style now compared to then, I know I used to think to myself,
this kid, when I watched you that night, this kid could do anything.
So I was thinking, you were only pretty young then.
This must be like eight years ago, seven, eight years ago
when you fought at Luna Park.
And, but I thought you just didn't give, I felt like you were cruising.
Yeah, I thought you just, it was too easy for you.
How have you changed your style?
You know, and what was it that sort of got you to,
hang on, I could be world champion.
I am world champion.
What changed your style?
Who changed your style?
I wouldn't, to be honest,
I wouldn't say it's changed my style.
It's just, I adapt to what I need to adapt to.
You know what I mean?
I feel like that's what makes me, you know,
that's what separates good from great in the ring.
It's not how good you are at one style.
It's being able to adapt to someone who's a heavy puncher,
being able to adapt to someone that's a fast puncher, a counter puncher.
You know, like it's adapting in the ring.
You know, like even with these game plans and stuff like that,
like going in with a game plan, like, yeah,
we go in with like a little game plan and we work on certain punches
that we feel like are going to land more.
But, man, we just perfect the craft.
You know, minimal mistakes is what our main focus is.
So you train not to lose, in other words, by something stupid.
So would you say you're a defense, you're working on your defense
or you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just,
you're just making sure you stay, that could be distance,
that could be anything.
But is that something that's really important to you?
And then you come for the kill when it's time to come for the kill?
It's just a balance of everything, you know.
No one thing in particular.
Yeah, there's not one thing in particular, you know.
Like you look at my last fight, it was a, we punched on.
Like we, there was no backwards step.
The fight before that, the guy didn't even touch me, you know,
and I boxed his ears off.
So it's like, you know.
You need to be able to do what needs to be done.
And I feel like the key to it all is strength and fitness, you know.
Like you need to be able to adapt to any style you need to.
But if you're not fit enough to do it, then that's when shit goes out the window.
Yeah, that's interesting.
I mean, you know, we were talking about Jeff Fennec,
probably one of the fittest fighters ever in history,
according to Johnny Lewis anyway.
You know, fitness is a big deal.
Can you give us a sense of when you are in your training,
when you're in camp, for example, you know,
what can be your 12-week period?
Let's say you've got a fight coming up in, you know, three months.
Would you start your fight camp three months out?
Or I know you're always training, but like when do you start getting serious?
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Um, we stay active, you know, we sort of stay fit and we keep our body moving.
But as soon as they give me the call, you know, as soon as they call me,
well, when we train, we train, you know what I mean?
Like we don't go through the motions.
Like we chase pain, you know what I mean?
Like you got to train smart when you're training hard like that.
Otherwise your body, you know what I mean?
You need to be on top of your recovery.
I'm lucky I got good people around me, you know, like what a great performance coach,
I got my boxing coach, Taps.
I got my assistant coach, Kerry.
And as a team, you know, they, you know, if it's too early and they see me going too hard,
they give me a week, you know, or go fishing for a week or something, you know,
go because otherwise it just drives, drives, drives.
And you know what I mean?
They try not to burn me out.
But, you know, honestly, man, I don't have the,
I don't have the special recipe for you.
You know what I mean?
We just, we just show up every day and we try our best.
But maybe that is a special recipe.
Just try every day and do your best.
Rock up is the first one.
And Joe, is it hard in Australia to find spa partners and you have to bring people in from overseas?
Or how does that work?
You know what I mean?
It's like who you're fighting, you know, what styles you need.
You know what I mean?
We're a bit limited.
You know, there's a big jump from, you know, world class and then there's, you know, going lower from that.
But, yeah, there's a big difference between a good pro and a world class.
You know what I mean?
But there's boys out there, you know, the Australian boxing is getting huge and it's in a good spot at the moment.
So it's, it's progress.
Well, there's a few out there, man.
So I guess Rob Whittaker is not going to jump in.
I don't think he's going to jump in anymore with us.
You're amazing, Rob.
Well, he's a, he's a completely different style.
You know what I mean?
And he's a good dude.
And he's a, he's a crafty little fighter.
You know, he's tricky.
And those awkward shots is when you get hit.
So, you know, you've got to be switched on when you're fighting.
So if I just go, you just mentioned fishing.
I mean, you've said it a couple of times.
So obviously fishing is something that you love doing.
Is it because it's full relaxing?
Or do you completely take your mind off what you do, other things?
I think it's just that sort of escape, like just doing something that sort of, you know,
when you're fishing, you're only thinking about catching the fish.
You know what I mean?
So I think that's why I like that sort of just escaping, being outside as well, the
Being on the water.
I think you're, you're a world champion and you're on the world stage.
And, you know, boxing is still extraordinarily popular, like extraordinarily popular and,
you know, more, more eyes watch boxing than UFC still.
You get to mix it up with the Saudis.
You know, you go to those sorts of environments, you know, where like everybody's full of praise
for you, yet your humility and humbleness is still there.
Like you just want to go fishing.
You want to go to, you know, fishing a yamber down from the Gold Coast where you live these
Um, how do you keep humble and, and, uh, and keep your humility?
Where's that come from?
Man, I'm honestly, bro, it's a weird balance, you know what I mean?
Sometimes I, uh, you know, like I, I am, I am on the big stage now.
Like I am rubbing shoulders with greatness.
You know what I mean?
Like where I am and, and the award nights I go to and the events I'm at and it's starting
to spin me out because I used to look at them and be like, oh, I'm not going to be able to
be like, oh, you know, there's this thing, there's this thing, but these greats are doing
You know what I mean?
They're coming out of their way to talk to me.
So it just, it blows my mind.
And then, you know, I'm grateful for it all.
You know what I mean?
But sometimes you do lose track, you know, like sometimes I come home and my normal conversations
with my, you know, my normal people, uh, you know what I mean?
I'm talking like this, but you know, really?
I'm like, oh, well, well, you know, relax, relax.
So I feel like it's a balance you got to try and find.
And, you know, like I said before, I haven't got the recipe.
Like I'm, I'm not sure.
You're learning as you go.
I'm trying my best every day and I feel like that's all we got to do.
You're just had a baby.
Or your partner's just had a baby?
Um, what did, what'd you have?
Uh, I just had a girl, Lila.
That brings you back down.
Yeah, definitely.
Especially when they.
You got to change a nappy or they're screaming because they got sore tummy or just wake up
in the middle of the night.
Um, how have you been dealing with that?
Oh, it's been good.
Um, you know, I've got a really great partner, you know, who's, um, who's been with me for
a long time, you know, so it's, um, it makes life a lot easier when you got someone that's
got your back and, you know, she, we're both in this together.
You know what I mean?
We're, we're both in, in this journey.
We've been together for a long time together.
So she's been with you for a long time?
For a long time, yeah.
Since, since we were young, so.
Before Joy was the world champion.
That's important.
When I, when Joy was a little shit, you know what I mean?
She, she'd been there.
She believed in the dream, you know.
I was fucking, I had nothing, you know, she, uh, she really supported us and, and, you
know, took care of us and made us, you know, supported the household, was the breadwinner
Um, I was going off sparring, training, camps, fuck, we weren't making no money, like, you
know what I mean?
And she stood by it.
It's been a long journey, you know, it's, it's, so, but we're here now, you know, it's
all paid off and, but we still got a lot of hard work to do, you know, you never get comfortable
and, um, you know, you know, you in a relationship yourself.
You know, you, you know, they're, they're working things, you gotta constantly work
on them and, you know, they're roller coasters.
So, and I, I guess, Joe, um, given that you now have Lila, um, your little daughter,
seven-month-old daughter, probably, sometimes could be waiting back here for you on the
Gold Coast, when you fly in over Cooling Out Airport or Brisbane Airport or Sydney Airport,
whichever one you fly in from, from, from an event, how relieved do you feel to be looking
at the thing and I'm back?
of where i go the best part of the trip's getting walking through my front door i'm not joking man
i've been all over the world you know i've rubbed shoulders been met met great people the best time
of my trip every time is walking through my front door yeah and you're and i i read somewhere that
your religion is an important part of your life yeah your your faith more probably more important
not so much religion but your faith um has faith always been a part of your life was that something
you've adopted more recently um no i've always been pretty religious you know i come from you
know being samunders you know god's always been a very important key to you know our life you know
it's it's um everything's a gift from him you know it's not it's not ours it's it's it's a journey
that sort of he's man i i don't know how to put it in words but
we're always grateful to god you know what i mean we're always thanking god for before every fight
we say our prayer before every meal we say our prayer you know just things like that i notice
similar for his christian faith um he's very um overt like obvious he doesn't mind hiding it
and uh he said he doesn't sorry he doesn't mind showing he doesn't try to hide it um and i guess
if you are truly a person of faith you're not going to be able to hide it um and i guess if you
are truly a person of faith you're not going to be able to hide it um and i guess if you are truly a
person of faith then that's the sort of person you're going to be you're going to be prepared
you don't have to promote it yeah but you've got to be prepared to stand up for it when when the
time comes have you noticed that about yusik too because i see where's the crucifix on his chest and
uh he kisses before he goes into the fight yeah it's good to see young men because you know
relatively speaking you're both young men um prepared to stand up for what they believe in
similar to other faiths too not just us not just christianity i mean we see that with
sonny bill williams with his muslim faith etc
being proud of their faith that's an important factor in i think in people's success today
yeah do you find having that faith is part of your success yeah definitely i feel like god's
a massive part of my success but um you know it's a working relationship as well you know
i'm trying to be better and and be a better just better every day at everything you know
better son better better brother better partner to my fiancee
you know better religious person you know like my religious journeys
it's weird you know but it's it's it's mine so you know what i mean it it it's not that i try
and hide it but at the same day it's no one's business you know what i mean so we're just
trying to figure it out and and and be better but do you think jay it's funny because when you get
to your level um in the world on the on the world stage on the world boxing stage especially or is
it just as a world sporting stage or is it just as a world sporting stage or is it just as a world
stage you know because you know it covers a lot of sporting sporting um a variety of sports
this this sort of sometimes is a presumption people assume that you're flawless you know like
you don't make mistakes there's an assumption that jai will not make a mistake uh or anybody
else for that matter which is not right because we're all human and we all make mistakes but the
game here is to be able to be prepared to learn from our mistakes and be better at
what we do not just not just not just in an ethical or moral sense um not just as a brother
or a son or a partner but also as a boxer as well and if you have that it seems to me you've got
that attitude in relation to everything you do i'm just going to get better i accept that i make
mistakes but i'm going to get better and i'm going to get better i'm going to get every day get
better is that sort of like an attitudinal thing that you've got and you've always had um i don't
know it's just life bro i don't know i think
it's just sort of you know learning on the way and um i don't know it's a hard question to answer
right yeah um you know i think there's things in life that make you sort of think fuck you know
it's time to sort of wake up and stop being a you know little kid yeah so grow up you know yeah you
got to grow up put your big boy pants on and fucking start moving forward so let me say one
thing to joe like it's nearly 70 years that i've aged next year mate i'm still doing it so and it
never stops my man died at 90 like he told me the same thing you just you're always pulling yourself
up give yourself an uppercut get on with it be better try and improve and i think you're doing
i actually think i i mean the humility and the humbleness i'm getting from you like just
overwhelming overwhelming for me for someone who is at the same time the world champion in a
boxing division which by the way not many australians ever get there and they plenty try
plenty with great talent never really get there and to and you've also defended your your you know
you defended that position and now you're talking about going on getting a wbc and wba wbo so you
also got a whole lot of ambitions ahead of you that is uh sort of nearly the opposite type of
personality i'm feeling they're coming from you and it's just great to see someone like that when
you see you know tyson fury who has a totally different sort of personality or conor mcgregor
in the ufc totally different personality and it just goes to show you that you're not just a
show anyone australian who's an aspiring person you don't have to be a certain personality to be
the best in the world and that's a that's a big um exposure to australians do you feel any pressure
at any stage as jai opitaya to continue on as that aspirational person aspiring other young
australians not just in boxing in sport generally anything for that matter do you feel any pressure
there there's always pressure you know there's always pressure to do better
pressure to fucking you know win fights become a better person and uh i don't know man i'm i'm
honestly just focused on myself you know what i mean and i feel like that's what that's what they
that's why i get to just do it the way i can do it you know what i mean i'm just trying to
i don't i've always said i don't want to be the most famous fighter you know what i mean i don't
want to walk past someone and go oh you know he's a superstar
i want to walk past people and they go he's the best fighter i've seen you know what i mean and i
feel like that is that's where boxing is getting two different sort of there's the soap the show
biz of boxing and then there's the boxes you know what i mean that so i feel like a fighter's fighter
i fought i i want to be a fighter that i used to watch you know what i mean the my old man used to
come here come sit down like i used to be upstairs and i used to be like i used to be like i used to
play in my game it's like get downstairs come here watch this you know what i mean like the i want to
be a fighter that a coach makes their fighter watch you know what i mean like get a coach gets
their pen and paper out and goes oh that that's what you know it's a craft you know not not this
fucking superstar and talking shit and you know who's got the best argument and who's winning
that's never really interested me you know so that's interesting so
and but boxing the fight the fight game all sports are entertainment at the end of the day
to a large extent um there is entertainment value in there what do you think of the saudi
entry into well serious entry into the boxing scene now promoting fights i mean because it's
and it is showbiz a little bit of showbiz there's obviously pay-for-view and all that stuff you've
got to make money out of the thing they've got to make money out of it to promote it
what do you think about that or or do you rather just see you know
the old u.s style system you know everything's controlled by one person or two or three no
i think this uh re-ad season stuff's the best yeah honestly i am being a part of it
like i feel like the thing that gets away of um the best fighting the best is actually
not the fighters it's the promoters you know what i mean a lot of promoters that don't
see eye to eye and you know who's going to get the bigger card or who
wants their organization to be more involved on the fight night but when it comes to re-ad season
they all it is re-ad season and then everyone's a part of that you know what i mean and i'm like
that's what they really needed the sport needed that um you know making putting promoters in the
same room that have that have never even spoke to each other you know what i mean but money talks
you know and now we're seeing some of the best fight night fighters in the world you know and
it's in the world so i feel like this re-ad season's the best thing that's happened to boxing
for a long time and do you think that it's i mean at the very top level traditionally they get a lot
of a lot of dough i mean they get paid a lot of money per fight but then if you sort of drop down
into different other levels that you know boxes don't relative to what they're going to put
themselves through they don't earn enough money do you think the um the entry of um saudi saudi
arabia or riad which is the capital there um do you think that's going to be a big part of that
that has actually sort of um made it a bit more fair everybody's getting paid more money sort of
thing and you know you're getting paid for what you do properly as opposed to sort of not being
totally recognized in a financial sense the way you should be in the old system because you know
they're putting money into it yeah and people and you're going to get paid well that's important
yeah man i feel like they're we're getting paid what we deserve finally you know what i mean it's
been a a long journey man yeah
you know like what was i i was 20 i think i was like 20 maybe even 20 20 you know you know what
i mean what am i 27 what's up i don't even know my own record yeah 27 26 but i honestly think i
was 19 and 0 before i got my first paycheck yeah man crazy like and and this is what this is what
a lot of fighters don't understand these days is they're they see the big dollars and they see the
big sign you know what i mean then they just they ask for too much straight away but they need to
invest in themselves you know what i mean that it's not always just money but it's time effort
you know you need to invest in yourself and you need to build and build and the opportunity will
come you know like man we were just my whole paychecks were going towards just getting on the
card for for a long time you know what i mean so that's interesting could you explain a little bit
works because a lot of people don't understand is you know like you're you might be fighting on a
a night at the st louis park but they're expecting you to sell tickets you know or your management
team to sell tickets because that's how they make their money you know and uh sell tickets for the
night i'm talking about it might not have been televised it might have been televised but you
know after you pay everybody there's not a lot of dough left for not at all joe like it's not me
you might have got 25 35 40 000 there's not a lot of dough relative to what you but you give up
you're lucky to get that much yeah honestly like you're fighting for aussie titles and stuff like
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19 and 0 like literally oh i had won titles new south wales titles aussie titles and like
i was getting fucking peanuts you know what i mean like but i was never stressed like i wasn't
i always seen the light at the end of the tunnel you know what i mean like i always knew what the
goal was and that was to win world titles and get on the big stages so i always knew about this time
you know we're investing in ourselves we gotta keep training we gotta keep you know keep pushing like
it's hard man it's it's a very lonely hard road especially when you get punched in now that i'm
here good you know like when they pay me well like i'm like you know i feel like i deserve this you
know i've done all my apprenticeship i've been fought i'm my first fighter eight years old
whoa you know and like my whole life training running punching bags sparring like
it's just never ending so you know when they when they say we're getting paid a lot so we should
to get to the top is a freaking long journey so yeah and and and you're not going to be fighting
when you're 40 so like it's it has a time limit on it too you know like so you've got to you got
to make your money in a short period and that's going to last you for the rest of your life and
your family and everybody else yeah how important are the people like eddie hearn in the world like
eddie hearn like you know how important are those sorts of individuals in the fight game
you're in the boxing game to bring to life the money and the more eyeballs and more interest
and and a better better entertainment too i mean have you had you know like have you any thoughts
about that like those sorts of individuals um yeah i've got a little bit to do with eddie hearn
you know like i try and just keep it nice and short you know what i mean like we're there for
a purpose at the end of the day you know what i mean i my job is to go there win a fight
come home and look after my family that's all i think about you know what i mean i'm not going
over there to be friends with people and you know make mates and you know get get in their good
books and stuff like that all i got all i'm thinking about is winning that's all they care
about you know what i mean and i'm not trying to bad mouth them or anything like that makes sense
i'm just i'm there for a job you know and unless i do my job mate i'm out someone else is in that's
i'm just i'm driven i'm i've got a fucking goal to do you know i'm there for a purpose so
let's because so apart from uh sort of taking on um the wbo wba and wbc belt holders and sort
of consolidating all the belts into one division the next outcome for you would be obviously going
up into the next weight division which is heavyweight when do you think assuming everything
goes according to plan
when do you think you start to train for that in other words um maybe put more weight on or
whatever the case may be when do you start to take that process on because you know like
you're a planner looks like to me you've been when you're 90 you know you're still thinking
to myself how do i get to 27 28 20 how do i win a world title you're planning way ahead
and you're being patient about that way ahead plan my gut feeling is that you're you're probably
still already thinking still now thinking to yourself i've got a five-year plan ahead of me
something ahead of me
i'm gonna do i'm gonna i'm gonna hit that milestone i did that milestone
and then i'll be in the heavyweight division um what is your how long far out do you plan
oh man i don't i don't want to put a time on it you know how old are you now joe i'm 29 so you
you've probably got five years good yeah yeah i mean heavyweight can take an older age of course
but we just see how we go yeah you know i i want these belts around my waist i'm chasing
unification fights you know like
you know i'm not gonna do that i'm not gonna do that i'm not gonna do that i'm not gonna do that
i do not understand why these aren't happening you know i'm i'm the best cruise weight in the
world you know there's me and there's me and ramirez you know they say we're the top let's
fight why are we beating around the bush why wouldn't ramirez fight you i don't know i got
no clue i don't know i mean like who is he is he fighting anybody else oh i think he's got a fight
coming up but and i'm telling you it's an easy fight to make i'm ready for that fight to happen
fuck i'm just gonna tell him i just want the fight to happen you know what i mean i feel like i've
been running around in circles every time i fight someone that's like oh you know then you get i've
been chasing this wbo that and then every time i win a fight oh wbo is next then i gotta fight
someone else oh wbo is next man you know it's just it becomes annoying you know i'm trying to
tick boxes and and get this shit done and then but at the end of the day i'm not gonna fight
i can only fight who they put in front of me so yeah but so the but the matchmakers aren't are they
sort of saying to you it's coming or they're just no he's not he's not ready for ramirez it's coming
apparently we got one more fight and then it's next he's got one more fight you got one more
fight both of us both of you and so that'll be this year then i hope so yeah probably 2025
yeah because i hope so because you must be having a fight company you would have something coming up
here earlier this year or before the june this year um yeah they're talking and unless there's
contracts in front of you know what i mean it's all say but they're talking around may or something
like that but man we we just we just wait for the phone call as soon as i call we get ready
and who negotiates it for you like who does all the the deal i've got a great team behind me
you know i've got a whole board of it you know i got mickey francis for tasman fighters
or scott evans um you know i got scanner
we all sit down we all make a team plan and but um i don't care just chuck them in let's fight
so did you ever think to yourself that did you ever play footy rugby league yeah i used to play
footy when i was younger yeah up at central coast did you ever think to yourself i'm going to become
a rugby league player really dream it i was i was always boxing yeah and i was even like i was
always missing a lot of my footy games because i was had fight coming up and stuff like that so
i was always going to be a you know fighter so given you're born around the eastern suburbs
who who's your team uh who do you go for man i'm new south wales blue absolutely all day totally
totally yeah i know you live in queensland now but you're never going to be a queenslander
i'm i'm waiting for north sydney bears to come back so north sydney bears come back mate i'll
tell you what i'd be wearing a jersey yeah yeah that's home you know i want to be connected to it
who's your favorite footy player like someone you from the past say when you're a kid well
one of my favorite footy players that um the big pommy dude that a fucker and took that hit up and
broke his cheek sam sam burgess from south i think he's an animal he the way he used to play
no fear the way he take those hit ups he's just in it for the boys like he just loves it straight
off the back fence
that's what it's about mate running that hard i i remember you know it's funny that night i went
to watch you at um luna park because his brother luke fought on that night yeah and uh and i saw
luke and uh luke's in nevada fight before and i remember he gassed after the first the other guy
did too they both gassed after the first first round i think someone got injured and the fight
got called off but um yeah sam he is an animal like he was fantastic yeah like he's a leader
yeah totally a leader yeah totally the way he runs that ball is how you should run up and
what about state of origin who's your uh you know one of the legends that you watch love watching
oh man honestly i've got so much love and respect for gala yeah paul gallon yeah paul gallon just
his work ethic he's just an animal bro that mindset you know just he's for the team that
when he wears the jersey it means something and a great engine too oh good engine he's a much even
in the in the boxing gym you know he's a good guy he's a good guy he's a good guy he's a good guy
you know what i mean he's got a good engine he's always trained on he still does still does some
big sessions yeah i watch i follow him on instagram and uh he's doing some mad stuff
it's funny you know uh choc um announced today bare knuckle fighting he's uh him he's gonna do
with conor mcgregor to own the bare knuckle uh oh he's gonna own it in australia in australia
no he's not gonna fight in australia um and uh and it's been approved in queensland and victoria
but uh the combat commission hasn't approved here in new south wales at this stage um and uh
that bare knuckle process is pretty scary stuff what do you think about the bare knuckle fighters
you know the you know and by the way allegedly you know tyson fury's father was a you know
the king of that you know literally they called him a king of bare knuckle fighting in ireland
it is what it is man people need to get paid yeah you know people that's interesting they
they do because they got nothing else to do they got no other way of making a quit
it's their way of uh fighting you know it's it's it's pretty barbaric you know and
you know it's easy to sit here and judge them when we're sitting in these nice chairs
fancy microphones in front of us these guys are bare knuckle fighters so
they love it you know they would they they're not there because they they're there because
they want to be there they choose to be there so who are we to take that away from totally well
and i'll probably get in trouble for saying it but i actually like it i like watching it
they do put raps on but it's not quite bare knuckle but they got raps on but
still i like watching it i mean it is barbaric but
the story it's a the best man wins you don't have to be there no one's forcing you for sure if you
want to do what you want to do it um joe i i want to say to you um what i want to say to you is that
um please feel know that um and feel that australians are very much behind what you're
doing like we love australian i mean i'm a fight fan but australians love what you are doing on
the world stage for us and for boxing in australia we
have a great boxing scene here but you're by far the leader in australia right now thank you and
i think that what i would like to say to you as a you know as a much older person is to say that
it's really refreshing to talk to someone with such humility and humbleness but at the same
time very self-assured knows exactly what his deal is and what he's got to do what his job is
so joe bataya thank you very much for coming in and mate i wish you all the very best and i can't
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