By JARROD POTTER
WITH the last rounds of Olympic qualification coming up, Berwick boxer Jason Whateley has a ticket to Rio within his reach.
Whateley has claimed back-to-back Australian titles and is in peak form with only two qualifiers remaining.
The 196cm man-mountain punched his way through the 2016 Australian Championships last week as he successfully defended his 91kg heavyweight national title and advanced another step closer to his dream.
In defeating fellow Victorian teammate Adrian Paoletti, the championship victory also closed the chapter on Whateley’s 2012 attempted qualification, where he finished second and just missed out on advancing.
“It’s huge – I remember getting silver at the 2012 Australian nationals and there were no challenges then, so you had to accept it and move on,” Whateley said.
“I remember how heartbroken I was to lose that one, so it was great to win this time and it was four years in the making.
“I’ve had a great year this year – picking up both Australian titles has been great and going into an Olympic year that’s the dream, that’s the goal – so it’s the right step forward.”
He needs to fight Paoletti again this weekend in a challenge bout, and if Whateley wins he’ll be off to the Asian Championships in March with one goal in mind – finishing top three to secure his Australian Olympic spot.
“It’s the first step of qualifying for the Olympics – I have a challenge bout on the 5th in Melbourne, I’ll fight against the finalist (Paoletti) again,” Whateley said.
“A win puts me into the Asian Championships where I have to get a top three there – if I get that I get to go to the Olympic Games.”
It’s not just against other Australians he’ll battle for the Olympic spot – only the top three athletes in the Asia and Oceania region who will qualify in his weight division.
It might seem a daunting challenge, but after 70 bouts Whateley knows what it takes to fight towards his ambitions.
“I’ll be the only Aussie to go from my division,” Whateley said.
“It’s a lot tougher for the lighter guys, but for the heavier guys there aren’t as many competitors in Asia, so I’m pretty confident.”
Whateley wanted to thank Zagames Berwick for their support as the venue held a fund-raiser to help him get to the Worlds recently.
