Jordan is in the hunt for his first professional championship when he fights Fano Kori on September 1st (Photo: bigrigs_gym/Instagram)
In recent years, Australia has seen the emergence of high-calibre combat sports talent. The next up-and-comer is Perth’s Jordan Laruccia (5-0, 3KO), who fights for his first championship next month.
On September 1st, Laruccia will fight for the vacant ANBF Australasian Super Welterweight title when he faces Fano Kori (8-6-1, 5 KO) at Thunderdome 43.
The fight is considered a massive opportunity for the Perth Native, as a win would undoubtedly take him one step closer to the big stage.
When he got the call, Laruccia said he was thrilled to be given the opportunity.
“It was a bit surreal to be completely honest with you,” Laruccia told The Inner Sanctum “I knew that I was due for a step up in my career in terms of opponents.
“Then I got the offer for a title shot it was fantastic to hear, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be fighting for an Australasian title this early in my career, but I’m very fortunate to be given the opportunity and even to headline the show is fantastic.”
In his last outing Laruccia made quick work of Jack Dolu, as he finished his international opponent in 16 seconds.
Although fans weren’t able to make an evaluation of the Aussie’s talent, Laruccia is eager to make a statement against his much more durable opponent on September 1st.
“That Jack Dolu fight was a quick one, definitely wasn’t what I was anticipating,” he said “He looked very good on paper but with international opponents, you never know what you’re going to get.
“There wasn’t much of an evaluation when it came to my performance, but I am excited for this next one, coming up against someone renowned to be tough and has a bit going for him as well.”
His next fight will be no walkover, his opponent Fano Kori has shared the ring with the likes of Koen Mazouider, Jesse White and Ben Mahoney.
Out of Kori’s eight wins, five of them have come by stoppage. Given the danger factor that his opponent possesses, Laruccia is respectful but alert as he faces the biggest fight of his career thus far.
“I’ve got the utmost respect for Fano” he said.
“He does have the experience over me, but we’ve been doing the work in training in the gym with my team at Big Rigs Gym with Dale Phillips.
“It’s fantastic that he’s fought [Mazouider, White and Mahoney] but we wouldn’t have taken the fight or even entertained the idea if we didn’t think I wasn’t ready for the step up in my career.”
Given his impressive start to his pro boxing career, Laruccia caught the eye of Tony Tolj, one of the country’s best boxing managers.
Managing the likes of Alex Winwood and the Moloney Twins, Tolj is very respected in the boxing community and Laruccia says that he knows that he is heading in the right direction with the manager by his side.
“I’m very fortunate to have Tony Tolj as a manager” Laruccia stated, “he does as much as he can for all of his fighters, he gives them the best opportunities.
“He manages the Moloneys that fight on Top Rank, as well as a couple of other big names in the boxing industry in Australia who are going on to do some fantastic things in their career.
“He keeps his fighters’ best interest at heart, he always picks the right opportunities for the right time.”
Given the high aspirations for his career, a win over Kori would most definitely take Laruccia to the next level, inserting his name into the conversation for bigger domestic fights with the likes of Nikita Tszyu, Koen Mazouider and Ben Mahoney.
Although this progression is a main goal over the next 12 months, the Aussie remains focused on the job he has to do on September 1st.
“In the past, we have had a couple of chats with Nikita Tszyu’s team in terms of teeing up a potential fight in the future.” Laruccia revealed.”[Mazouider and Mahoney] are definitely a couple of fights that we would also be interested in.
“Obviously, my focus is pretty much on September 1st to get through this next fight, then we’ll reevaluate where we are at and who to go for next.
“But those types of names have been floating about and I’d be keen to get on other platforms as well and have the opportunity to come up against those other guys too.”
You can watch the fight on the live broadcast on FITE TV here (Purchase Required)
About Author
