Charlie Senior promises the ‘fight of the tournament’ and synchronised flips as he seeks more Australian boxing history in Paris – and pays a touching tribute to his late grandfather.
Already assured of the country’s first medal in the 57kg category, the 22-year-old from Perth has his sights set on Australia’s first Olympic gold after defeating Filipino Carlo Paalam in a comeback, 3-2 split decision at the North Paris Arena on Saturday.
In Olympic boxing, defeated semi-finalists are awarded bronze medals, meaning Senior is already guaranteed a seventh County Games medal in the sport.
Senior wears a mouthguard engraved with the name of his grandfather Dennis, who passed away last year after losing his battle with cancer.
The Australian missed Dennis’ funeral ahead of Olympic qualifying last December as Senior was unable to travel to England (his country of birth) to pay his respects.
“Unfortunately I was not able to attend the funeral or see him (before he passed away),” Senior told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“That was my contribution to him. My mom, my dad and my little sister are here. My grandmother, Dennis’s wife, is here and she traveled from England. She is supporting me and that is a very important thing.”
“You can’t be there for everything. I’ve missed out on a lot, but I’d do it again. I’m missing out on things for the right reasons and I’m sure I’m making him proud.”
Charlie Senior will take home at least a bronze medal from the Paris Games
Senior has his grandfather Dennis’ name engraved on his mouthguard.
After his fight on Sunday morning, Senior again paid tribute to his grandfather.
“It’s putting pressure on me and giving me an extra advantage,” he said.
“I know, he would want this. I may not have been there when he wanted me to be, but this makes up for it and I know this is what he wants.”
After Harry Garside broke a 33-year medal drought to win bronze in Tokyo, Senior wants to be the first to climb onto the top step once the competition moves to Roland Garros next week.
“It’s an incredible feeling. It’s a dream come true,” he said.
‘I thought I had won. I knew the rounds were close and going into the third round I knew it would all be decided in that round.
‘But by finishing third I knew I could box better, get out of the way and score points.
‘It’s not about hitting as hard as you can, it’s about boxing, boxing well and winning the fight.’
He will face Abdumalik Khalokov on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s world championship semi-final won by the Uzbek in Tashkent.
However, Uzbekistan fans were on Senior’s side on Saturday, having endeared the Australian to them a year earlier when the two fighters performed backflips and hugged each other after the fight.
“I heard them chanting; it was amazing,” he said of his extra fan base.
“It’s a rematch. It will be the fight of the tournament.”
Australian boxing captain Caitlin Parker has a quarter-final fight on Sunday, while super-heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana was defeated by the defending champion in her quarter-final on Friday.
Senior has his sights set on Australia’s first Olympic gold after defeating Filipino Carlo Paalam in a comeback, 3-2 split decision at North Paris Arena on Saturday.
Senior paid tribute to his grandfather saying he is giving him an extra edge
The other nine Australian boxers, including Garside, who qualified by winning their division at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, were all defeated in their opening fights.
Senior rallied after three of the five judges gave his opponent a close first round, rolling the dice and putting pressure on his smaller opponent.
It was enough to convince one judge, Irish official Ben McGarrigle, to split the rounds to create a scenario where his vote in the third round would decide the victor.
Senior’s teammates celebrated wildly when he was one of three judges to give the Australian the third round.
With a medal assured, Senior is in a unique position, but says he is not satisfied.
“My priority here is to be humble. You go in, do the job, enjoy it overnight, then come back and reset and refocus,” he said.
‘You don’t come here for bronze and if you do, that’s why you don’t win bronze.
“You come here for the final result, for the gold medal, and you aspire to that. I’m happy with the bronze, but I’m not leaving with it.”