By Lance Jenkinson
Daniel Roberts has conquered Oceania – now he has his sights set on conquering the world.
The rising Point Cook boxing star captured the Oceania youth light welterweight title with victory over New Zealander Raymond Seumanu in the 64-kilogram gold medal bout at the 2018 Youth Oceania Championships in Samoa.
Roberts was filled with immense pride after winning on behalf of his country.
“To be able to wear the Australian gear and stand on top of the podium with the flag and the national anthem, it was unreal,” he said.
“Twelve out of the 13 Australians won gold and all 13 medaled.”
Roberts’ glory has created a hectic schedule for the remainder of the year.
Not only does Roberts need to continue to focus on his year 12 studies at Emmanuel College in Altona North, but he will also be stepping into the ring to take on the world’s best in his age group at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Hungary next month and then possibly representing Australia at the Youth Olympics in Argentina.
The Youth Olympics selection will depend on his results at the worlds, but the 17-year-old is confident of success.
“My focus definitely is a medal – any colour I’ll be happy with,” Roberts said.
“The last Youth Worlds Australia went to, we got two medals, a gold and a bronze, so it’s doable, but it will be hard work.
“I’ve qualified for the Youth Olympic Games, but it still depends on performances at the Youth Worlds because places are limited for the Australian team.”
Roberts was not shocked when the judges ruled the fight against Seumanu in his favour.
He admits his was not a dominant performance, but at no point was he taking any punishment from Seumanu.
“It wasn’t one-sided, but it was sort of my fight,” Roberts said. “It was punch for punch, but the ones I landed on him were probably more significant and had the bigger impact.”
Roberts went into the gold medal match with his eyes wide open.
He knew the strengths and weaknesses of Seumanu and adjusted his game accordingly.
“I’d already seen the kid fight before, so I knew what to expect and how to adapt and fight my sort of fight with him,” Roberts said.
“I’m normally an aggressive sort of fighter … but we got a good look at what he could do in the semi-finals and decided to fight a bit different.
“I was on the back foot a lot, doing a lot of counter punching … I was a little bit bigger, so I had to use my height and reach over him.
“It was different to what I’m used to, but it all worked out in the end.”
Roberts is currently in the Philippines on a training camp.
