Alex Winwood has his sights set firmly on one thing, to break Jeff Fenech’s record of fastest Australian boxer to win a world title. Fenech clinched his world title in just seven fights at bantamweight in Sydney, 1985. Winwood, now 2-0, 2 KOs, believes he can do it in just six.
“It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure.” Winwood said of his record breaking ambitions. “There are not going to be any soft fights coming, we have gone straight into the deep end. It’s going to be a case of who wants to have a crack! And who is willing to give us a shot.
Winwood comes off a highlight knockout-reel victory over Tibo Monabesa to find himself ranked at No.13 in the WBC at light flyweight, but will remarkably attack the minimum-weight division in search of records.
“I had so much fun.” Winwood gleefully said of his fifth round knockout over Monabesa. “I was in my element. I felt that everything we worked on came out and more. I think he brought the best out of me, really. It was a real fun fight for me, I really enjoyed it.”
The proud Western Australian climbs down a weight class to collide with Reyneris Gutierrez (9-0, 2KOs) this June in Perth. A move he believes will open doors to reach his goal.
“He’s got a very different style to Tibo.” Winwood said of his upcoming opponent. “He’s an orthodox fighter, likes to box a lot more. That won’t pose too many problems for me, I just have to look back on my amateur pedigree because he moves his feet a lot. He’s undefeated, that will give him a lot of confidence. He’s got more experience than me and gone the distance a fair few times, so he presents more depth. I think it’s a good matchup.”
At just 2-0 the speed of the fast-tracking is staggering, a velocity Winwood will have to handle if he is to claim a world title within six fights.
“We are looking to take these tough guys on and have top fights straight away, because we want to challenge the best and jump in for a belt. We are really going to have to test ourselves, this is just another good fight that will bring another level of my game out. I just have to be sharp come June 16.”
He added “The first six to ten fights people usually face much lesser opponents, we’ve just skipped that. I only want to fight guys that are as good as me, if not better. It just seems like a lot of unfair matchups in my opinion. I don’t like watching people pad up their careers by bashing up some poor boy! I won’t learn anything from that, I’ve got a good amateur background too. There is just no point.”
If all goes to plan this summer, Winwood will find himself ranked in two weight divisions with just three fights left to land that title shot. Something he hopes to achieve on home territory in Perth, the entirety of his short career taking place in his backyard.
“They are loving it, we obviously have some good fights happening there now. Hopefully I can continue to bring big fights there and I think the fans have really appreciated it. So for me to come back to my hometown and put on some shows means a lot. The crowds are coming out for the fights, so hopefully it just continues to get bigger.
