Aussie boxer’s late grandfather driving him towards historic gold at the Paris Olympic Games

Teremoana Teremoana Jr lost his grandfather in 2018. Until then, life was just drifting along. Now, the 26-year-old is a genuine hope for what would be a historic gold medal in Paris.

He is Australia’s 120kg boxing man mountain who has Olympic rivals running scared.

Sydney-born NSW Origin fan Teremoana Teremoana Jr has revealed how the death of his grandfather is driving him to win gold in Paris as he goes on a rampage in the super heavyweight division.

Australia has won just five medals in 100 years of Olympic boxing competition. None have had the shimmer of gold.

But in Teremoana, a frightening 198cm, 264-pound giant, Australian boxing has a gargantuan gold-medal hope at next month’s Games.

The 26-year-old last month won gold at The Eindhoven Cup in the Netherlands, not only producing a savage 81-second knockout of his Algerian rival, but scaring off others in the process.

Teremoana celebrates his Eindhoven Cup win in a photo posted on his Instagram. Picture: Supplied

Brazil’s Abner Teixeira Junior won bronze in the heavyweight division at the last Olympics in Tokyo. He was slated to fight Teremoana in the final. He never entered the ring, standing nearby in his tracksuit as Teremoana claimed first place by walkover.

Towering Teremoana knows it won’t be as easy in Paris, but Australia’s biggest ever Olympic pugilist is on a seek-and-destroy mission and primed to shock the boxing world.

“The goal is to win gold and I believe I will,” Teremoana said as Australia’s record 12-strong team kicked off a pre-Olympic camp in Brisbane last Thursday.

“I don’t fear anyone.

“Everyone can go down in the ring, including me, and this is why I am preparing hard.

“The Eindhoven Cup gave me a lot of confidence and I believe the gold medal will be mine.

“I know I have got the goods to do it. As long as I do my best to give it my all, I will be happy with whatever the outcome is.”

It’s a mindset shaped by tragedy. Teremoana quit boxing at 19 and was drifting along until the death of his grandfather Teremoana Tangauru, who lost his battle with cancer in 2018.

Late grandfather driving Teremoana Teremoana Jr in Paris. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images for AOC

Now based in Brisbane, trained by Australian assistant coach Shara Romer, Teremoana found his purpose. He wants to win gold to establish a family legacy.

“The turning point for me was finding the reason to fight,” he said.

“I would love to succeed for my whole family but when my grandfather passed away, that was a huge thing in my life.

“He died and then I turned 21 a few months later and from that day I decided I would get serious about boxing.

“It was God’s plan for him to leave and me being at the Olympics is an outcome of that.

“My name reflects my family and I believe I have to achieve something because anything I accomplish will directly affect my family and elevate us.”

The Australia team is training out of The Boxing Shop gym run by Romer and her partner Gareth Williams, who believes Teremoana is on the cusp of Australian Olympic history.

“Teremoana is going so well. He is a real chance of winning gold,” he said.

“I had Damien Hooper at the 2012 Olympics and I was hoping he would medal, but I wasn’t as convinced about Damien as I am this time with Teremoana.

“He has already knocked out the Brazilian who won a bronze medal at the last Olympics. Not once, but twice.

“He was meant to fight the same Brazilian in The Eindhoven Cup final recently and he refused to get in the ring

“There is a fear of him.

“I don’t want to put the mocker on him by saying this but he can make history. Teremoana believes it’s a gold medal. If you mention any medal, he corrects you and says no it’s a gold medal.

“He has the self-belief and I would not be shocked at all if he wins our first gold medal in Paris.”

Tokyo gold medallist Bakhodir Jalolov is back to defend his top-dog status in Paris. But Teremoana is adamant he can upset the 201cm Uzbekistan behemoth, who has a 14-0 record as a professional.

“100 per cent I can beat him,” Teremoana said.

“Everyone is just a piece of flesh with a heart. Everyone can bleed. Everyone can go down.

“There is nothing special about him.

“He is pretty good but I don’t see anything too great that I can’t handle.

“Every dog has their day … I believe it’s my time to take my chance.”