Alex Leapai wants Lucas Browne in 2018: “It’s a fight that needs to happen”

FORMER world title challenger Alex Leapai is already eying off future opponents ahead of his comeback fight against Thomas Peato at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on October 13.

The Samoan-born heavyweight has undefeated former WBA regular titleholder Lucas Browne in his sights and says that a fight between the two of them is a natural.

“It’s a fight that needs to happen,” says Leapai, who went five rounds with longtime undisputed heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko when he challenged for the title in 2014.

“It’s a big heavyweight fight in Australia and it’s something that Australians want to see. For sure, one of us is going to get knocked out.”

With enough power between them to solve Australia’s energy crisis, a clash between Australia’s two leading heavyweights would produce the type of explosive entertainment that boxing fans yearn for.

“Forget about war on the Korean Peninsula,” says Paul Keegan of DDP Sports Management, who promotes Leapai (30-7-3, 24 KOs). “When these two fight they’ll be dropping more bombs than North Korea and the United States combined.”

Perth-based Browne (25-0, 22 KOs) won the WBA regular heavyweight title from reigning champ Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan in March last year, but was stripped of the title after testing positive to clenbuterol. The ruling was subsequently overturned, clearing him of any wrongdoing.

While preparing to fight American veteran Shannon Briggs for the the vacated WBA regular title last November, Browne failed another drug test – this time for ostarine – claiming that the positive test was the result of a tainted pre-workout supplement he ingested.

Leapai, 37, isn’t afraid of matching his power and notorious iron-chin with the might of Browne, who owns a remarkable 88% knockout ratio.

“I come to fight and I know he’ll come to fight,” says Leapai. It would be a good fight, for a while.”

But before that can happen, Leapai has to get past New Zealand’s Peato.

“He told us he is coming to fight and records will mean nothing on October 14th,” says Keegan. “It is a huge opportunity for him and he recognises that. He says that just like Alex, he has the power to change everything with just one punch. Someone is going to hit the canvas.”

The Peato fight will be Leapai’s first bout back after a two-and-a-half year retirement.

Words: Press Release
Photo: Getty Images