Former Sri Lanka national boxing champion Tharindu Roshan Madushanke is dreaming of vying for the world title after his maiden triumph as a professional in the Countdown to the Middle East Crown (CMEC) Series 5 held in Colombo.
The former Kingswood College, Kandy boxing star clinically outpointed his Ugandan rival Tamale Lawrence in the Light Heavyweight (79kg) contest to earn a unanimous decision with one judge scoring 40-36 in his favour in the four-round contest.
He is grateful to the pathway provided by DJMC Dubai for him to turn professional and vie for the world title in future.
“I want to stay in this 175lbs weight. I want to fight for the world title,” he said taking one step at a time.
“I have three bouts next year after which there will be 10-round bouts in the USA. In 2025 I can compete for the world title. My target is to be world champion in 2025. May be 2024, but definitely 2025. I know I can achieve that because there is a pathway to do that,” said the 29-year-old Madushanke who is employed as an Assistant Manager in McDonald’s in Canada.
After two more four-round contests, he wants to go for six-round and 10-round battles. “I want more experience to achieve more. I know my level. I will go step by step. I don’t want to take any risk,” he said.
“My hard work paid off. As a boxer I am reading and searching for a lot of scientific knowledge around the world. I got good trainers around me. So all the things came together for this bout and because of that only I won the fight,” said Madushanke whose fortunes and outlook towards the sport changed since moving to Canada earlier this year.
Contrary to the general perception that professional boxing is all about spilling blood and hurting your opponent using force, the Sri Lankan champion believes boxing is like a game of chess and not all brawn but brain as well.
He looks the part of a tough guy with tattoos in his body and well-toned muscles bulging from the seams, coupled with an aggressive temperament and sound boxing technique. But he proved that the beautiful art of scientific boxing is still alive.
“As you know all black (African) boxers have that rhythm in their genes but I’m used to that style also. So I planned to play smart. Every moment I used my brains. I was focused and awake for like 12 minutes in the ring. That’s the reason for the victory,” said Madushanke who ‘throttled’ his opponent with superb ring-craft.
He also debunked the myth like the great Muhammad Ali that heavyweights don’t have speed. “Most of the guys said heavyweights are not that fast. If I use speed, that is my differentiation, my strength. In my training also I used to focus on speed when punching. When I do power training, I do it really fast. I want to be faster than him. That is my strength now,” said Madushanke who peppered his opponent with speed jabs and combinations to keep him at bay.
A keen student of the game, Madushanke is not eager to win by knocking out his opponent because it is like a double-edged sword.
“Boxing is just like chess. I want to win but not with a knockout. If we go to knock out someone, there is a risk because you can get punches also. Mike Tyson also got so many punches. I don’t want to harm anyone,” he said, revealing his human side.
“I want to protect myself and get the points. I just want to get the victory. I just want to win the fight and make my parents, family and friends happy. I don’t want to harm anyone. I think this is the core thing we want to learn from sport,” said Madushanke.
Italian-Canadian boxing star Artuo Gatti is his role model in the sport while coincidentally Gatti’s trainer is presently his head coach.
His message to Sri Lankan boxers who aim to turn professional was to work hard. “If you do hard work in any sport you can achieve that. I am dreaming of that,” said Madushanke, who is fortunate to have some of the world’s best boxing trainers to guide him.
“I didn’t have any people around me earlier. Now I have Coach B (Bandula Ratnapala) whom I met accidentally and Diego Rozario. I am a member of Straight Jab Boxing Club powered by DJMC,” he said.
“You have to dream. Work hard and you will achieve anything you want,” he said. (AO)