Keilor Downs boxer Joel “CamaKO” Camilleri is preparing for the biggest fight of his career.
Camilleri will take on Victorian champion Anthony Buttigieg at Hisense Arena this month for the Victorian light middleweight championship.
A win for the 24-year-old would allow him to jump from 12 to number seven in the Australian rankings for the category and open the door for fights against the best in the country.
Standing in his way is the undefeated and similarly styled Buttigieg.
“Everyone has been asking for this fight for about a year now,” Camilleri said.
“We have both always been known as front-foot fighters. When you’re fighting someone who has the same style as you, you’ve got to try and mix it up.
“He is really tough and brings his A-game every time. He will come forward and is a big puncher.”
Not to be outdone, Camilleri also brings a rock solid record to the bout.
From his eight professional fights he has six wins.
His most recent bout was in October when he won in a third-round technical knockout.
Camilleri’s forthcoming fight is part of the undercard to Anthony Mundine’s main event against Sergey Rabchenko.
With the winner of that fight able to challenge American superstar Floyd Mayweather, a huge crowd is expected to be ringside.
“My other fights have been at the Melbourne Pavilion and the Melbourne Town Hall,” Camilleri said.
“There you would be lucky to get 1000 people. Hisense Arena will hold quite a few thousand so I am really looking forward to that.”
Crowds in the thousands are a long way from where Camilleri began his sporting career.
Before boxing, he was a soccer goalkeeper.
He made the jump to kick boxing before switching to boxing.
While his immediate attention is focused on Australia, Camilleri harbours aspirations to make a name for himself overseas.
He trains at Derrimut 24:7 Gym in Airport West with fellow rising star Blake Caparello and under the guidance of his coach, Sam Labruna.
Caparello has already made the jump from fighting nationally to internationally and Camilleri is hoping to take the same path.
“The aim is pretty much to win this fight, after that the aim is to win the Australian title,” he said.
“If I am able to do that, then I will look to seek some fights and some exposure overseas.
“Blake has already gone overseas to America. We have got the contacts. I was able to go over to Vegas with him last November.
“It was a great experience to see what the guys at the top do.”
