Irish super-middleweight prospect Tommy Hyde is preparing for an April 11 fight in Melbourne, Australia.
The 10-0 (7 KOs) Hyde, 25, is scheduled to fight Tanzanian Anuary Mlawa, 8-2 (4 KOs) over eight rounds at The Melbourne Pavilion. Only three of Hyde’s pro fights have been in Ireland.
“I have a lot of friends living in Australia and we knew there was a huge Irish population,” Hyde said. “So, we decided to get a fight and build a fanbase here. As an amateur, I boxed all over the world in places like South Africa, Canada, America, and Russia, to name a few, but I never got an opportunity to fight in Australia.”
Hyde had more than 100 fights as an amateur, made it to the quarters of the world juniors in 2015, and won the Haringey Box Cup in 2019.
“Wherever you go in the world, you’re going to find an Irish bar because the Irish are everywhere,” said Hyde. “We support our own and no matter where I fight, I seem to get brilliant support from the local Irish people.
“I love to travel, and I love to fight, so to be able to do both in one trip is like hitting two birds with one stone. I’m getting so much valuable experience fighting all over the world and when I’m stepping up to the world stage, I think that will put me in good stead.”
Hyde’s father and manager, Gary, believes the experience on the road will stand his son in good stead.
“I believe fighting away from home will stand to Tommy when he fights in bigger fights,” Gary added. “He is no stranger to the big shows as he has attended massive shows since he was nine years old. The brighter the lights, the better he will perform. He doesn’t fight with the added advantage of being in the home corner, which will also benefit him when he is in big fights.”