Light heavyweight contender Conor Wallace (13-1, 10 KOs) knows there are no easy marks at this level.
That’s why he didn’t balk when the opportunity was presented to him to fight Jerome Pampellone (18-1, 11 KOs) on the undercard of the Nikita Tszyu-Koen Mazoudier bout at the ICC Sydney Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on August 28. The No Limit show will broadcast domestically on Foxtel and Kayo via their pay-per-view arm, Main Event, for $69.95.
With Wallace ranked at number six by the IBF and Pampellone sitting at number eight, the winner of the bout will fill the vacant number two spot in the New Jersey-based sanctioning body’s rankings behind their number one contender Michael Eifert (12-1, 4 KOs) of Germany.
There’s a lot on the line for both of the 28-year-olds.
“Jerome’s a good operator,” Wallace said to The Ring. “He’s probably my hardest fight on paper. He’s a strong opponent and he’s been in with some good lads, but I feel like where I am now in my career, I feel like if I didn’t think I could beat him, I wouldn’t be taking the fight.
“My team have full belief in me and I have full belief in myself. I know what I can do, and I know what I’m capable of. I believe that if I show up and box to my potential on the day, I will have no issues.”
The rangy southpaw from Newry in Northern Ireland has made a name for himself in Australia since moving to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley to turn pro six years ago.
A seven-fight win streak was interrupted by the big-hitting and more experienced Leti Leti, who defeated him by 10-round majority decision in 2021. Wallace got his revenge the following year, stopping Leti in the sixth round of a scheduled 10 in what can only be described as a slugfest.
Wallace defeated Mat Sheehan and Mose Auimatagi Jr inside the distance in his next two fights before being matched with Jack Gipp, a talented amateur who was making waves in the pros.
Boxing in front of a parochial crowd at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on St Patrick’s Day, Wallace staved off a determined attack from the Victorian in the early rounds to stop him in the sixth. Gipp was down from a volley of shots from Wallace before being dropped again, this time with a right hand, forcing referee Paul Tapley to step in and stop the contest.
Conor Wallace
It was one of the better bouts on these shores this year.
“It was a great fight considering the day it took place, headlining on St Patrick’s Day on DAZN,” said Wallace. “I was supposed to do it the year before, but I had a hand injury that pushed it back. But it was brilliant; we knew Jack was a good opponent with a good amateur pedigree, even though he was just 7-0 in the pros.
“We knew he was going to be a good test. It was a 10-round fight, and he started very fast. But it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so that’s why I didn’t panic and came over the top of him.”
While Wallace enters the Pampellone bout on a high, his opponent is coming in off a low. The highly-regarded Pampellone, who was born in London but raised in New Zealand from the age of 10, suffered an upset loss in his last outing to Malik Zinad by majority decision over 12 heats in April. Libya’s Zinad parlayed that victory into a shot at WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia in June, a fight he lost by sixth-round stoppage.
Boxing out of the Peach Boxing gym under the watchful eye of trainer Isaac Peach, there is little doubt that Pampellone will be out to make a statement.
And that’s just the way Wallace wants it.
“I want him to come in hungry, I want him to be the best version of himself,” he said. “That way, I can say that I’ve beaten the best version of him, you know what I mean? I’m at the level now where all the fights are going to be hard. He’s in the top 10 in the world as well. The better opponents bring out the best in me, I believe.”
The camp for this fight started in Thailand, a popular destination for Australian fighters looking to perfect their conditioning in the tropical humidity before getting on with the real business of hard sparring.
“I’m feeling really, really good. I’ve been putting in the hard work, I’ve had a great training camp over in Thailand and we’ve been putting the finishing touches in over here. I’m really dialled in, and I’m looking forward to it,” said Wallace.
“I like to do my pre-camp over in Thailand, it’s really good for conditioning, a change of scenery, a change of environment. Tim Tszyu was over there when we were there as well. Just running up to the Big Buddha, it does a lot for me mentally as well.”
Wallace has been a mainstay of local DAZN cards, but he is unafraid to cross the road to fight on another platform. He is still promoted by Tasman Fighters, who have a broadcast deal with DAZN, but the Pampellone fight represented an opportunity too good to refuse.
“I feel like I’ve sacrificed so much just to get to where I am,” said Wallace. “I’ve given my whole life to the sport, so I feel glad it’s paying off and I’m getting these opportunities now. I’m not headlining this one, but that’s where I want to be. I want to be under the bright lights on the big stage. That really motivates me in the mornings and drives me home at night.”
Wallace has a comfortable home at the Fortitude Boxing Club, where he is trained by Greg Eadie and does strength and conditioning work with Phil Leaga. Steve Deller, who scouted him as an amateur, remains his manager.
The team has long anticipated this fight against Pampellone and is confident they can exploit his game’s weaknesses.
“We’ve watched a lot of Jerome,” said Wallace. “We have a good game plan in place that I’m looking forward to executing on the night. I’m not going to give too much away, obviously, but we know what we have to do.
“We’ve had sparring partners in camp with us for a long time working on this, not just a couple of weeks, so we know exactly what we have to do. This fight has been in the making for a while, so I’m looking forward to getting in and showcasing what I can do on the big stage.”