Former Queensland delivery truck driver, Alex Leapai just signed a $6 million dollar contract to fight Wladimir Klitschko for the unified world heavyweight title on April 26th at the Konig Pilsener Arena in Germany.
Samoan-born Leapai, will be the first Australian to compete for this title since Bill Squires, 106 years ago – in 1907.
Alex Leapai’s powerful Samoan build was first noticed by Noel Thornberry (a Queensland middleweight boxer and manager) in 2004 when he came into Thornberry’s Gatton gym for a few spar rounds. Leapai’s talent was immediately noticed, and from that point on Thornberry followed Leapai’s professional boxing career.
Leapai, a 34-year-old working-class father of six, has been training with Thornberry for nearly a decade. He’s climbed the ranks, boasts a record of 30-4-3 (24 KO’s), and will soon be stepping into the ring to compete for the title of heavyweight champion of the world. Leapai will earn $1.5 million, just to step into the ring.
Although Leapai is confident, he faces a powerful opponent. Wladimir Klitschko has a 61-3 record (51KO’s), he’s sponsored by Mercedez-Benz, and became an Olympic gold medallist in 1996. His brother could very well become the next president of Ukraine, and he dates American actress, Hayden Panettiere. Klitschko is a powerhouse.
He’s one of the most known Ukrainians, he’s our Heavyweight Champion, He is Wladimir Klitschko. pic.twitter.com/Ou8DUB2M1K
— WBA (@NewsWba) January 9, 2014
“He has never felt the sort of power I have in these hands and he is going to get the shock of his career when he does.”
Leapai’s journey is a true underdog story, and we can’t wait to see how it unfolds!
Sources
ABC | News
The Australian
BoxRec
Sydney Morning Herald Sport
SkySports