“I love tall dudes. I always like to chop down big trees.”—Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Friday night at The Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington, Victoria, Australia, Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (23-0, 20 KOs), from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, currently ranked #3 by the WBA, took one giant step closer to his mandatory shot against WBA World heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev after flattening Julius Long (16-19, 14 KOs), from Auckland, New Zealand, by way of Detroit, Michigan, at 2:59 of round nine.

At 7-foot-1-inch, Long’s height and reach caused Browne some problems in the first half of the fight. To further complicate matters, Big Daddy injured his right thumb in the first round. But Browne is gritty. He is tough. The word quit is not in his vocabulary.

“It was a bit of a struggle with my thumb,” said Browne. “I think I did it literally the first time I threw my right hand.”

After using his left hook to good effect in the first half of the fight, Browne fought through the pain in the second half of the fight and began using his right hand as well. He had Long down in the eighth, and delivered the coup de grace in round nine.

“It wasn’t my best performance,” admitted Browne, “but full credit to Julius. He took that fight on one week’s notice and he’s a warrior. I hit him with some good shots and he soaked them up.

“I needed the rounds. It’s my first fight in nine months, so I needed the rounds.”

If Chagaev defeats Fres Oquendo in their rematch, and if Browne defeats Chagaev, he will be first Australian to win a world title at heavyweight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leEryZl8IW4

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.