Charlie Senior promises to be the ‘match of the tournament’, performing synchronised somersaults as he pursues more Australian boxing history in Paris – and pays a moving tribute to his late grandfather.
The 22-year-old boxer from Perth has already secured his country’s first medal in the 57kg category and now has his sights set on Australia’s first Olympic gold medal. On Saturday he defeated Filipino Carlo Paalam in a comeback 3-2 at the North Paris Arena.
In Olympic boxing, losing semi-finalists are awarded a bronze medal, meaning Senior is already assured of the country’s seventh piece of Olympic hardware.
Senior wears a mouthguard bearing the name of his grandfather Dennis, who passed away last year after losing his battle with cancer.
The Australian missed Dennis’ funeral ahead of the Olympic qualifying matches last December because Senior was unable to travel to his native England to pay his last respects.
“I unfortunately wasn’t able to go to the funeral or see him (before he passed away),” Senior told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“That was my piece for him. My mother, father and my little sister are here. My grandmother, Dennis’ wife, is here and travelled from England. She supports me and that’s a big thing.”
“You can’t be there for everything. I’ve missed a lot. But I would do it again. I miss things for the right reasons and I’m sure I’ll make him proud.”
Charlie Senior will take home at least a bronze medal from the Paris Games
Senior has his grandfather Dennis’ name etched on his mouthguard
After his fight on Sunday morning, Senior again paid tribute to his grandfather.
“He pushes me, that gives me that extra push,” he said.
“I know, for him, he would want this. I may not have been there when I wanted to be, but this makes up for it, and I know this is what he wants.”
After Harry Garside broke a 33-year medal drought to win bronze in Tokyo, Senior will be aiming to be the first to stand on the top step of the podium when the competition moves to Roland Garros next week.
“This feels amazing. It’s a dream come true,” he said.
“I thought I had won. I knew the rounds were close and going into the third round I knew it was all about that round.
‘But when I finished the third round, I knew I could box cleaner, get out of the way and score points.
“It’s not about hitting as hard as you can, it’s about boxing as hard as you can and winning the match.”
On Thursday he will face Abdumalik Khalokov in a repeat of last year’s World Championship semi-final, which the Uzbek won in Tashkent.
On Saturday, however, the Uzbekistan fans were on Senior’s side after the Australian had taken them to his heart a year earlier when the two fighters did somersaults and embraced after the bout.
“I heard them chanting, it was unbelievable,” he said of his increased fan base.
“It’s a rematch. It’s going to be the match of the tournament.”
Australian boxing captain Caitlin Parker is in the quarter-finals on Sunday, while super-heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana was defeated in his quarter-final by the reigning champion on Friday.
Senior has set his sights on Australia’s first Olympic gold after beating Filipino Carlo Paalam in a comeback, 3-2 split decision at the North Paris Arena on Saturday
Senior paid tribute to his grandfather, saying he gave him an extra edge
The other nine Australian boxers – including Garside – who qualified by winning their division at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands were all defeated in their opening fights.
Senior recovered after three of the five judges gave his opponent a thrilling first round, rolling the dice and applying pressure to his smaller opponent.
It was enough to get one judge, Irish official Ben McGarrigle, to vote, and he divided the rounds so that his vote in the third round would determine the winner.
Senior’s teammates celebrated wildly when he was one of three judges to give the third round to the Australian.
With his medal under his belt, Senior is in a unique position, but he says he is not satisfied.
“Humility is my number one priority here. You go in, do the job, enjoy it for a night, and then go back and reset and refocus,” he said.
‘You don’t come here for bronze, and if you do, you don’t win bronze.
‘You come here for the end result, that gold medal, and that’s what you aim for. I’m happy with bronze, but I’m not going to leave with it.’