Mose Auimatagi Jnr Has Regrouped And Is Ready To Unleash

"Iron" Mose is back in the gym with his sights firmly set on an Australian title.

The hours spent training and litres of sweat poured are the investment fighters put in at the gym as they ready themselves for their time inside the ring.

For Mose Auimatagi Jnr, the training schedule is simple and unbending: six days a week, twice a day. Each session is a grind, working alongside some of the Southern Hemisphere's top boxers.

The South Auckland-raised, Australian-based Auimatagi is again finding his groove following a first-round loss to Jerome Pampellone in April when they met in a Light Heavyweight contest in Auckland, New Zealand.

The bout with the high-flying Pampellone, currently ranked No.7 with the IBF, may not have gone Auimatagi's way, but after the matchup, his first thought was to hit the gym and return to training.

"That was the conversation we had. To get straight back into it, straight back into training again and getting ready for the next one," Auimatagi explains.

"I just fell short. I got caught, I was prepared 100 per cent, and I trained hard for the fight. I got prepared for it 100 percent mentally & physically. I just got caught; I think maybe the time off played a role in it as well."

After five months of working with his team at Dragon Fire, Auimatagi returned to the winner's circle last month with a first-round knockout victory over Mike Letoi. Auimatagi's win may have been expected, but the manner of his success was a timely reminder of his skillset and the danger he holds for future opponents.

"It's good, it felt a lot better. I needed that confidence booster. It just showed I belong in the game," Auimatagi says.

The target now is an Australian title; Auimatagi was out of the ring for over two years before returning in early 2023, and if he is going to make a dent in the world rankings, he will need to stay active.

Fortunately, the Australian boxing scene is thriving, and there are plenty of enticing matchups ahead of him.

"I know I'll be a lot more active now, especially with the team I have. I know they're looking for the big fights, looking for the good fights. I know they're trying to progress me in a way that I will be ready for the bigger, tougher competition," he says.

When he competes, one of the driving factors for Auimatagi is representing his Samoan heritage. After training alongside former WBO Heavyweight World Champion Joseph Parker and sparring current IBF Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia in the buildup to his world title victory over Mairis Briedis, Auimatagi wants to add his name to the list of Samoan boxers making waves worldwide.

"For another Samoan [Opetaia] to get another world title is motivating and a good feeling to have [had] some sort of help for him in getting that shot of getting that world title. It's motivating for me to see another uso can win the world title, and it gives me motivation to know that maybe one day I'll get that shot, too."

The aim next year will be to return to super middleweight, but Auimatagi hopes to step into the squared circle again before the curtain draws to a close on 2023.

"Definitely this year, hopefully, November or December," he explains.

At 28 years of age, Auimatagi is only just starting to reach his prime fighting years. After the pandemic put a temporary halt to his boxing journey, he is now firmly back in the game, and with the right team behind him, Auimatagi's destiny will be firmly in his own hands.