Interview: Shaun Brown

Your first 10-round bout came in your second fight. Was it always your intention to move quickly towards a world title shot?

When I turned professional, I was 25. I knew at that age I didn’t want to have a slow rise in taking warm-up fights and developing that way. I’m at a gym where I’ve got the two Moloney brothers, Bruno Tarimo and I was testing myself in the gym with them day in day out and I was sparring bigger [fighters]. My coach and my manager obviously thought we can take these challenges very early on in my career. I thought it was a win-win situation. If we didn’t beat them at least we knew where we were. At that stage in my career, it was no harm no foul. We took the opportunities as they came and passed the test at every stage.

You want to beat Jeff Fenech’s Australian record of winning a world title in seven fights. Has that always been a part of your plan?

It wasn’t at first. It was just to get in there and mix with the best in the world. With the ratings coming as fast as they did and the titles changing hands as quick as they have, we found ourselves in a situation after the second bout that it’s not out of the realms of possibility to become the fastest Australian world champion. It wasn’t going to make or break me but now that we’re here I’m honoured to have my name mentioned alongside Fenech and it’s something else for me to chase. At the end of the day the main objective is to become world champion, and it just so happens I have the opportunity to beat a long-standing record. I’m very honoured.

You’re ranked three with the IBF and two with the WBC. You are on a path to fighting one of the Shigeoka brothers (Ginjiro holds the IBF and Yudai owns the WBC). Is that fair to say?

Yes, definitely. The WBC have sanctioned a mandatory fight between me and the number one contender Luis Angel Castillo Soto from Mexico. Every direction is pointing towards Yudai Shigeoka with the WBC. I’m just pushing myself up and mixing it with the best of them.

Have you watched much of the Shigeokas and what do you think of them?

They have different styles to one another. One’s a come forward fighter and likes to throw a lot of punches and the WBC champion (Yudai) is quite skilful, more of a backfoot fighter and a bit rangier. They’re very impressive to watch and I like both of their styles. I think I can match up pretty well with both of them.

I know you’re a proud Noongar (Australian-Aboriginal) man. What was it like for you growing up in Australia?

I grew up in a small town where I was born in Bunbury and was there until I was eight. Then I moved to our [Western] capital city Perth for a short while. Then found myself down in Mandurah which is not far from my place of birth and pretty much had my whole childhood there. We have a lot of culture and history in the town that I’m from. I was very blessed to grow up around my heritage. My pop owned an Indigenous art gallery. Very fortunate to grow up where I did. Later on in life I found out that not many others have the same background as me. I was very fortunate.

There’s been a lot of Indigenous fighters such as the great Lionel Rose throughout the years. Is it important to you to become a part of that history?

I’m privileged to have people mention things like that and when they talk about Rose and [Anthony] Mundine and [Daniel] Geale. Everyone else has come before them and been pretty historic in sport in general. Two of the first three Indigenous Olympians were boxers from Australia. I never realised that just going to the gym my name would be thrown amongst them and I’m very honoured to be somewhat of a role model in my community. Hopefully I can inspire the next generation and show them it is a path we can all go down. It’s not just a bunch of mugs in there throwing fists. We deal in respect and honour and shake hands at the end of the day and we can be good role models in our community.

What did your family think about your decision to go into boxing? Did they support it?

Definitely. Both sides of my family have been involved in tent boxing like my uncles and my pops. No one competed as an amateur. I had one great uncle who competed as a pro but other than that I was the first that threw the hand up and jumped in the ring. Slowly but surely, I got told more and more stories about the family history of the squared circle. It’s been a big trip down memory lane for some of the old-timers that I’ve had a lot of conversations with.

Last October was the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum aimed at recognising Aboriginal people in the country’s constitution. It was rejected by voters. How did losing the vote make you and your family feel?

It was a dividing time in Australia especially between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. And between Indigenous Australians in general. It was an ugly time in my opinion in Australian politics and amongst the community greater and wide. Everyone was divided and I think things could have been handled a bit better. I try to be very optimistic about the whole situation and I just hope we can all come together at the end of the day. Nothing goes smoothly straight away but, in time, the next generation will iron out the creases and make everything run a lot smoother. The vote didn’t get over the line but I’m still optimistic that at some point in time we’re all gonna get to a point where we come to an agreement.

Politics divides people but sport brings everyone together no matter where you’re from and you’re playing a part in that in Australia. You will have fans from all walks of life.

We’re a sporting nation. Everyone looks forward to the weekend. Grab a couple of cold ones, have family and friends round and watch sport. Sport can transcend so many boundaries and lines and break down barriers. I’m trying to carve my own path and get through to people that we might not have too many other interests in common, but you can always find the silver lining when it comes to sport in most countries. That’s how I’m trying to get my message across.