By Johnny Walker
Rising Australian heavyweight Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne continued his journey north in the heavyweight division today when he stopped veteran American Travis Walker in Melbourne.
Walker was a last minute stand-in for British giant Richard Towers, who was denied a visa to enter Australia due to a past criminal conviction.
Walker did manage to start off strong, and stunned Browne with a flash knock down. But that only served to wake up the burly Australian, who took control of the match from that point on. Browne dropped Walker three times and the exhausted American finally quit on his stool before the eighth round was to commence.
In his previous fight, Browne totally humiliated loud-mouthed American James “Lights Out” Toney, pitching a virtual shut-out on the scorecards against the sadly faded former great.
Following the win over Walker, Browne (17-0, 15 KOs) noted that he is still learning and improving.
“Walker was my toughest fight to date and he certainly had some good power,” Browne said. “He was cagey in parts and I had to try not to get hit with a silly shot.
“I’m capable of much better and I look forward to improving even further. I’ll take my game to another level. I know I have to and I will,” said Browne.
Browne also said that he’s game to fly to England to finish his business with Richard Towers (“Bring it on!”) and is also interested in a domestic heavyweight dust-up with fellow Aussie Alex Leapai, whose rise too the top was interrupted when he lost by TKO to American Kevin Johnson last year.