He’s the Olympic sensation rated better than Anthony Mundine, and Callum Peters is poised to one day take over from Tim Tszyu and Jai Opetaia as Australia’s next golden boy.
The only problem is convincing people to fight the talented South Australian.
No Limit boss George Rose knows the Paris Olympian is destined for bigger things, but needs more Aussie talent to step up to the challenge.
“Callum Peters can win a world title, absolutely,” Rose said. “He is the future of Australian boxing.
“Callum is so hard to match because so many opponents don’t want a bar of him.
“We’ve offered him to every middleweight and super middleweight in the country and most guys run a mile.
“His boxing talent is phenomenal.”
Currently 5-0, Peters takes the next step in his professional development on Tim Tszyu’s undercard on Sunday when he fights Delio Mouzinho in Wollongong.
Peters has already earned praise from retired pound-for-pound great Gennady Golovkin after an impressive showing in a loss to eventual silver medallist Nurbek Oralbay at the Paris Olympics.
He wants to win over more fans this weekend, with ’50 Cal’s’ dad, Bradley saying he can surpass one of the country’s greats.
“Callum can be better than Anthony Mundine,” he told Code Sports. “Mundine was an incredible sportsman, he could be great at rugby league, basketball, you name it, he was a gifted sportsman, but Callum is a better boxer than him.
“This kid has been training since the age of eight.
“He wants to be a world champion and I know he has the talent and hunger to do it.
“I make my son train that hard that the fight part is the easy part.”
Peters (71.96kg) comfortably made the middleweight limit on Saturday and is taking the spotlight and the pressure in his stride.
“The pressure is always going to be around you, it’s just the way you deal with it,” Peters told Code. “With the pressure comes excitement, and without excitement, there’s no love in what you do.
“Being in the ring, that’s my home. It’s my favourite spot to be and where I’m always in the right state of mind.
“This is what I live for.”
Like Rose, Peters’ dad says it’s a mission to convince opponents to fight him.
He even named some of the highest profile fighters in Australia.
“Callum will fight anyone but so many guys won’t fight him,” he said. “They are scared of him. We’ve gone through so many names.
“If Tasman Fighters think they have the golden boy in Max Money McIntyre, bring him over and let’s see who wins.
“Michael Zerafa won’t fight Callum. He has sparred him already and doesn’t want the fight.”
Peters powered past his first four opponents with four consecutive first round knockout wins.
In his first big step up opponent in December, he outclassed the rugged Cody Beekin, dropping him twice and stopping him in the sixth round of their Australian middleweight title fight.
Known for his fluid punching style and the flouro indoor football shoes he fights in, Peters has power in both hands and a stoppage on his mind on Sunday.
“If he’s feeling good, he will stop this guy in the first round,” his old man said. “He can win a world title, of course.
“I’m his dad and coach, but I’m not being biased when I say he can dominate everyone in the world.
“Callum is the real deal. Everyone in boxing knows how good he is. He can be better in the pros than the amateurs because he has a pro style.”
Peters has promised to try breaking the CompuBox record for the most punches thrown in a round.
“His volume of punches is unbelievable,” Bradley said. “He will throw 110 punches a round and he just drowns blokes.
“But his best asset is his boxing IQ, he can watch an opponent, pick up their strengths and weaknesses and adapt straight away.
“Callum will be our next poster boy and up there with the greatest fighters we’ve produced.
“Every 20 years someone special comes along and that’s Callum in this generation.”