Matt Clark [Manager/Promoter/Matchmaker]

For those who aren't aware of your history in the sport, how did you get into managing, promoting and matchmaking?

I've always been an avid follower of the sport, so it was a natural progression once I got into it. After my rugby playing days were over, I contacted Jamie Myer, a local boxing promoter. It turned out that he needed assistance and it was from there that I learned about the business side of the sport. I eventually ended up getting involved with the matchmaking and just thought "Why don't I start managing some of these guys?". Once I started looking after a couple of the guys and was doing an okay job with them, other fighters became more inclined to sign with me.

Which fighters are you currently managing?

I've got Lucas Browne, the big heavyweight, who's obviously doing extremely well. Damien Hooper and Cameron Hammond, who are two 2012 Olympians that turned professional under the Hatton Promotions banner. I've got Paddy Murphy, an Irish welterweight based here in Australia. Liam Hutchison, the cousin of Paul McCloskey. As well as Kane Cassells, a lightweight based here in Australia, and Bradley Hore, a bantamweight who was a 2004 Olympian.

It's well-documented that no matter how good a fighter from the Asia-Pacific region may be, they often have to do a bit more in order to get their due recognition on the world scene. Nevertheless, did Alex Leapai seemingly coming out of nowhere and earning a mandatory shot at Wlad show that where there's a will there's a way?

Yes, although I think in some ways it is understandable that fighters from this part of the world have to do a bit more to prove themselves. In boxing, Australia is a big fish in a small pond terms of where we are in the world. Also, we simply don't have the depth like you guys do in Britain, especially in the lighter weights. There are only about 200 registered boxers, while only around 60 of them are active. You only have to take a glance at Boxrec to see the contrast when there is literally only one Australian fighter listed below super-bantamweight. As a result of the lack of depth, it means that in order for a boxer to get out of Australia and prove themselves on the world stage, you do have to be something special. Nevertheless, from our pool of active boxers, per capita, I think we have actually been doing very good all things considered. We've had plenty of fighters contesting titles, and while the results haven't gone our way, it still brings some much needed coverage of the sport over here. I actually thought that Alex Leapei has done very well. He wasn't expected to beat Denis Boytsov and was very much brought in as "the opponent", yet he upset the unbeaten fighter on his own card. His performance against Klitschko obviously wasn't the best, but neither does anybody at the moment. Everybody is getting beaten comprehensively by Klitschko.

Ricky Hatton has seen plenty of potential in fighters here and has expressed an interest in young, exciting fighters and also talented guys making their way up from the amateurs. There are also other promoters, such as Gary Shaw, who has worked with fighters like Daniel Geale, while I think he has also one or two others on his books as well. So there definitely are some promoters in the UK and United States that can see that there is some potential in Australian boxing.

Considering the fact that Lucas Browne had an MMA background instead of a boxing amateur background, are you at all surprised at how far he has come in a short space of time and how he is already widely recognised as a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division?

I would have to say yes and no. In some ways I am surprised by his rapid climb, but Lucas is a very quick learner. You show him something and he just picks up on it straight away. People do forget that he didn't have a single amateur boxing fight before turning professional. He had about 10 mixed martial arts fights, but that would be like someone having ten tennis matches before becoming a professional squash player. Obviously they're similar, but they're far from being the same thing. He crammed in 10 pro boxing fights, won the Australian title, signed with Hatton Promotions soon after and has gone from strength to strength since then.

There have been a couple of tune up bouts for Lucas, but we've made sure he had them because that's him practising his craft. He has some things he needs to work on due to the lack of an amateur background and he's the first to admit that. The best is definitely yet to come from him. He's 35 now, but he has no miles on the clock compared to some of these other guys who have had 100+ amateur fights and 30+ pro fights. He's never going to be fluid like a ugar Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali, but he punches like a mule kicks and is a very quick learner!

In his last fight he got 12 rounds under his belt against Andriy Rudenko, which was a good experience for him. He definitely learned a lot from that fight. Also, Lucas was telling me that Rudenko has a head like cement! His hands were literally sore from hitting him. Rudenko is a very tough guy and that fight against Lucas was his first fight in a year. I could definitely see Rudenko being in the mix eventually himself. I think he has shown enough to suggest that.

Lucas has been building up a profile in the UK, especially after his stoppage victory over Richard Towers. What are your thoughts on the UK heavyweight scene and what do you think the chances are of Lucas once again fighting a top British heavyweight?

Yes, definitely. That's generally been the idea ever since signing with Hatton Promotions. The rapport that Lucas builds with his fans is also second to none. He is always interacting with his fans on social networking sites. Even if he receives some slack from someone, he still gives them the courtesy of a reply.

Lucas has now boxed five times in the UK in various different cities and has been building up a UK fan base. If it leads to a big fight with someone like Tyson Fury or Dereck Chisora, it will be more than worth it. The British heavyweight scene is honestly fantastic. Even the veterans on the fringe like Skelton and Sprott are still above almost everyone that we've got here in Australia.

Everyone knows that Lucas has a punch on him, but in addition to that, Wladimir perhaps wouldn't have much success with his leaning and holding against Lucas, since Lucas is a big strong lad and to be fair, he has been grappled by some behemoths from his MMA days. So, considering that Wlad wouldn't be able to effectively bully Lucas in the way he does almost every opponent, plus the fact that Lucas has the power to hurt Wladimir, surely even by virtue of those factors alone, Lucas would be a very interesting challenger for Wladimir?

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Lucas does have that understanding of wrestling and grappling which can come into play during the clinch. I think that once his fitness is where it needs to be that he will be even more effective in the clinch, although he leans on opponents naturally anyway and is a big guy to carry around. It definitely slowed down Rudenko a bit, who surprised me a bit with the amount of holding he was doing as I thought he was much more effective when he was trying to get inside. As for the threat of his punching power, I definitely have no problem saying Lucas could knock Klitschko out. There's no two ways about that. Lamon Brewster was able to knock Klitschko out and Lucas definitely hits every bit as hard at the very least as Brewster.

After the Leapei v Klitschko fight, Lucas told me that if he gets in there with Wladimir, it's not going to be a boxing match. He'd let his hands go, make it ugly and try to turn it into more of a street fight. If you stay at the end of Klitshcko's jab, you're in for a very long night. Too many of these guys try to box along with him when they get in there and I don't know why. He has such an effective jab and the only thing you can do is try to rough him up and go for broke. Lucas knows that.

Of course, there is also the WBC path which has oppened up after the retirement of Vitali Klitschko. Lucas is currently ranked #8 with the WBC, I believe?

That's right. Obviously Bermaine Stiverne is the champion at the moment. I watched Stiverne's rematch with Arreola and for me it was probably the most exciting heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis v Vitali Klitschko. It was like a breathe of fresh air for the heavyweight division. I have so much respect for the Klitschkos and what they have achieved, but they are like watching paint dry for me. Jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, and eventually land a right hand. It's effective, it works for them and they do what they have to do in order to win. Wladimir has effectively cleared out most of the division, but to be honest, I just don't want to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to watch him. I will however make sure that I catch Stiverne v Wilder. I'll even take a day off work to watch that one! It has the makings of an explosive fight, anything can happen and it's a fight that fans want to see.

What are your thoughts on Deontay Wilder?

Deontay is very fun to watch and I always download his fights if I'm unable to catch them live, but I do see some flaws that are exploitable. I definitely think that Lucas and Deontay would make for a superb fight. You'd have two guys who just want to blow each other away, you just know that it probably wouldn't go on for longer than 4 rounds one way or the other. Lucas feels more than ready to test himself against one of these guy at the top given the opportunity to do so.

Meanwhile, veering far away from the heavyweight division, I know there was talk of Cameron Hammond getting a WBC regional title fight. It didn't come off but fortunately he was able fight for a WBA regional title instead. Ricky Hatton has recently been quoted as saying he's struggling to get opponents into fight him. That's got to be a compliment and a testimony to how well Cameron has been doing since turning pro?

Cameron has been doing well. He was going to fight for that WBC regional belt, but unfortunately his opponent couldn't get a visa and the whole thing fell apart. As you mentioned, he did end up getting a WBA regional title instead. It has been hard getting opponents over here to fight him. That being said, there are some good guys out there who would fight him, they just want a lot of money to do so.

Cameron does have a long way to go in terms of improvements needed, but it's clear that if he remains dedicated to his craft, he can go on to be something special when he is the finished article. He is a bit of a sleeper at the moment since we haven't put him on many tv shows. Because he hasn't been making much noise, it allows us to take things a little bit slower, building him up gradually and to make that full transition from amateur to professional boxing. Cameron had a lot of amateur fights and had a very effective amateur style when boxing on his toes whilst utilising his excellent handspeed. We are just trying to find that fine balance in his style so that he has it in his locker to setup a stoppage rather than comfortably outboxing his opponent.

Damien Hooper's power was visible for all to see in the amateurs and it's now even more blatant in the pro game. After cramming in 9 fights, winning a WBC youth title and a WBC regional title as well, how would you assess his progress so far as a novice pro?

He's coming along nicely as well. We probably struggle even more to get opponents for him, if I'm honest. Case in point, we were in talks with one guy to fight Damien on his debut and he wanted around $10,000 to do so! There's not much chance he'd get that much at any stage here in Australia, let alone in a 6 rounder. I'd say that probably speaks volumes about highly Damien is rated. There have been some things we've had to work on stylistically with Damien. For example, he got in with this Korean fighter and did everything beautifully offensively, but kept standing in the pocket after finishing his work rather than covering up or moving out of range. So he was getting caught with shots he could have avoided and ended up getting a cut as well. He learned a lot from that fight and his next two performances have been by far his best so far as a professional. He absolutely boxed the ears off his last two opponents. His last fight against Joel Casey for the WBC Eurasia Pacific title was built as a grudge match and Damien just made him look silly, simply put. Damien is going to be such a fun fighter to watch as his career progresses. It's not so much just his power, but the way he makes his opponents miss and makes them pay by grinding them down with clean punching. That's pretty much what we focused on after his fight with Korean. Basically telling him to be himself rather than trying to be this Mike Tyson type hitman and to use his boxing skills. He will still get stoppages, but if anything, he'll stop them earlier and easier than he would do if he was constantly looking for it.

Paddy Murphy hasn't boxed this year yet due to injury, but word is he's fighting soon? How are things going with him?

Yeah, he's got a fight coming up in September and it will be his first fight since December of last year. It's been frustrating for Paddy, but he's back on track now. He has got good skills and a lot of amateur fights. He has a couple of draws on his record which should have been wins. The draw in Hong Kong was the worst I have ever seen, but that's boxing. I also felt that he deserved the win in Northern Ireland, too. He is developing under the radar and even a lot of fans here in Australia don't know about him yet, but they soon will.

What are some of your interests outside of boxing?

Well, I eat, drink, sleep boxing. I'm also like following other sports, particularly rugby league and rugby union. I also love football and am a big fan of Celtic. I like to socialise like everyone else and I like spending time with my family.

Final words or anything you'd like to add, Matt?

I think it's important that boxing fans continue to support boxing. To get on Twitter, Facebook and message boards in order to offer their views. Without the fans, the sport is nothing. A lot of people think that boxing is treading a downward spiral, but I don't see it that way at all. Attendances and PPV figures are still good all around the world. I mean, you had 80,000 people turning up for Froch-Groves. That is not the sign of a dying sport to me.