Explosive NZ Duo Set To Make Waves On World Stage
Andrei Mikhailovich (16-0, 9K0) and Jerome Pampellone (10-0, 6K0) may not be familiar names to boxing fans outside of New Zealand, but that looks to change after the pair recently inked multi-fight deals with D&L Events, one of the most successful promotions in Australasia.
At a press conference in Auckland, NZ, it was announced that both Mikhailovich and Pampellone would compete on April 13 in Brisbane, Australia, on a D& L Events show against King Davidson (20-3, 13 KO) and Lucas Miller (8-4-2 3 KO), respectively.
Dean Lonergan, who heads up D&L Events, is one of the most successful promoters in the region, and is known as having an eye for talent. The former New Zealand Rugby League representative spearheaded Joseph Parker’s rise to WBO heavyweight champion status.
In addition, he helped build former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn, into an Australian PPV star, and in May, Jai Opetaia, one of Lonergan’s young stars, will challenge Mairis Briedis for the Latvian’s IBF cruiserweight title.
According to the pair’s trainer Isaac Peach, Lonergan’s ability to make the big fights led to Mikhailovich and Pampellone signing with him.
” I think that’s what you need at the top level. It’s beyond our expertise when they get to this level, so I can be a coach and a manager and focus on my job, and Dean [Lonergan] now taking care of the business of getting them there, basically,” Peach said, talking to BoxingDaily.
Peach is confident that both Mikhailovich, the NZ super welterweight & middleweight champion, and Pampellone, who heads off to Australia this week for sparring with Opetaia, have all the tools necessary to make waves on the international scene.
“I think that they have the ability to do that, but I think others have as well. It’s just they haven’t had the direction, the promoters, the trainers. I think we’ve got a really good pathway now.”
Peach aims to help build the infrastructure that will support NZ boxing going forward and ensure that up-and-coming talents can progress their careers at the right speed.
“My goal at home with Alina [his wife who co-founded Peach Boxing] is to create an environment and a gym that can go to the world stage. I think we’re doing that now, and I don’t really think any boxing gyms have ever done that here.
“So that’s what we’re doing, and that’s a work in progress obviously, it’s a bit of a trial and error, but it’s these guys getting in those big fights, and they’re prepared and are ready to do it properly. They are not getting in there and finding they are out of their depth.”
Combat sports in NZ is undergoing somewhat of a boom period at the moment , most notably with its MMA stars. However with the emergence of prospects like Mikhailovich and Pampellone , NZ boxing may soon be grabbing its fair share of the headlines.
Who would you like to see Andrei Mikhailovich and Jerome Pampellone face next?
