Hinterland Boxing, Dana Coolwell headline major Sunshine Coast fight night

A number Sunshine Coast boxing talents will step into the ring in front of a home crowd on Saturday night as one fighter prepares to break into the world rankings.

Dana Coolwell (right) is chasing a world ranking. Photo: Patrick Woods.

The Sunshine Coast boxing scene will come alive on Saturday night with a series of major fights at the Mooloolaba Bowls Club.

The Hinterland Boxing Club will headline the event with local favourite Dana Coolwell, along with stablemates Liam Pope and Joel Walsh.

The night will also feature a rugby league v Aussie rules corporate bout featuring Kawana Dolphins A Grade star Liam Taylor.

Coolwell, 24, will contest the night's main event, fighting for the IBF Pan Pacific featherweight title against Angelo Beltran, who has won eight out of nine fights, six of which have been KO‘s.

A victory for Coolwell will slot him inside the top 15 world rankings.

Dana Coolwell knocks out Miles Zalewski in Brisbane back in late 2021..

“With Dana, we’re finally going to be able to have a crack at getting into the world ratings from a sanctioned body, which is massive,” HBC owner and head coach Stephen Pitt said.

“If he can win this IBF title, he’ll fit into the top 15 to 10 in the rankings in the world, so this is the fight where we can look at getting stuck into the real work.

“This time next year, with a world ranking, we could be looking at a world title bout, so the stakes are getting bigger and bigger.”

After securing the national featherweight title in June against Nestor Bolum, Pope now has his eyes on the Australasian super bantamweight title on Saturday night.

Pope, 28, will take on Jack Tresidder, a super bantamweight from Newcastle who has won two of his three bouts so far.

“He’s looking to hold the belt in every division, so this will no doubt be a tough fight,” Pitt said.

“We expect to have a bigger athlete in front of us, but Liam has done the rounds, has the titles to back it up and has the experience which we think will be the edge.”

Hinterland Boxing’s Liam Pope. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Joel Walsh made his debut for HBC six months ago, and this will be his second fight as a professional boxer.

He will face Caloundra’s MMA superstar Connor Birch who is making his professional boxing debut.

“Joel was going to fight amateur, but that was going to be a bit hard with his FIFO work, so he’s decided to have a real crack in the professional ranks,” Pitt said.

“He’s had one professional fight, which he had to give away a lot of experience and a lot of weight and that ended in a technical draw.

“He’ll give away experience again, obviously, but he’s improved out of sight, will be more than ready for this and I expect it to be a banger.”

Pitt said he was excited to hold the event on the Sunshine Coast.

“I’d say the last major fight like this that we had on the Sunshine Coast was 20-odd years ago through Darren Obah at the Buderim Basketball Stadium,” he said.

“It’s really exciting for the Coast and if we can get this one out of the way with success, having a few local talents that are knocking on the door will create some good excitement from the region.”

Pitt said online tickets for the event have sold out but general standing and a second release of seated tickets will be available on the door from 5pm.

This masthead caught up with the two local leading contenders to see how they were feeling.

Dana Coolwell and Liam Pope will fight on October 7. Pictures: Patrick Woods

How has camp and the lead up been?

Coolwell: “I’m pretty excited for the home show and looking forward to putting on a good performance. It’s been a great prep after having two weeks in Japan at the beginning of September. It was really hard sparring and great development for my career and our team.”

Pope: “Camp has been great, going over to Japan and getting some world class rounds in over there was pretty special. It’s all building up to this big one.”

Are you feeling the pressure?

Coolwell: “There’s always pressure to perform, especially when you're wanting to make it to the top. With pressure brings a better performance and I find and I like the challenge. This fight is massive for my career and really it’s that first step to that next level which is where I want to be.”

Pope: “The pressure doesn’t really bother me, it’s more just excitement for myself. I don’t try to read into it all too much because the result is up to me and how I perform on the night. I can’t really do anything to change that in the lead up so it is what it is.”

How do you think the fight will pan out?

Coolwell: “I don’t really like making predictions necessarily, but I believe my skill sets will be far too great for him, as well as my footwork. I’ll start the round fast with my jab like I always do and basically ease into the fight. If a stoppage shows I’ll go for it.”

Pope: “I think it will be competitive for the first four rounds, but I’ll gradually take over and just suffocate him. If he can go the eight rounds, which he hasn’t before, it’ll make things interesting, but I’ve done two 10 round fights now and well and truly ready for this one.”

Are you excited to fight in front of a home crowd?

Coolwell: “I reckon it will make me lift and perform even more in front of a home crowd. Having a few friends and family there all chanting my name will make me work even harder and push me to perform at my best.”

Pope: “I can imagine it will be a really good night and by the two last fights the place should be pretty rowdy, so hopefully everyone will be entertained.”

Originally published as Hinterland Boxing, Dana Coolwell headline major Sunshine Coast fight night