Finally, on December 14, Teremoana Junior Teremoana made his professional return against Volodymyr Katsuk after impressing everyone at the Paris Olympics in 2024. The Aussie lost in the quarterfinals against the eventual gold medal winner Bakhodir Jalolov. After the Summer Games, the 6’6 giant signed a deal with Matchroom Boxing and promised to be the “greatest heavyweight of my generation.”

On Saturday, he had his first professional fight since his last one more than two years ago in September 2022. Teremoana Jr won the fight via a first-round technical knockout. It was a sensational performance that made the fans hopeful about Aussie’s future. However, fans were far more intrigued and impressed by his post-match ritual, where he performed his native dance in front of the crowd gathered in Monaco.

Teremoana Jr’s energetic Tila

DAZN took to their Instagram to share a clip from Teremoana Jr’s comeback fight. The clip featured the instance right after the fight where the 26-year-old decided to perform his Cook Island’s native dance ‘Tila’ to intimidate his rival. Teremoana delivered an energetic performance, glaring intensely. The crowd watched in silence before erupting in cheers to shower him with love.

The people of the Cook Islands take Tila, a dance form deeply embedded in their culture, very seriously. They often use it as a storytelling medium to pass down cultural values and historical events to younger generations. Even though tourism and modernization have impacted the Cook Islands deeply, dances like Tila and Ura have maintained their place in everyone’s hearts.

For the unknown, while Teremoana Jr. was born and raised in Australia, he has roots in the Cook Islands through his family heritage. He has publicly expressed pride in his ancestry and has claimed to come from “a long line of warrior.” Furthermore, he aims to represent both Australia and the Cook Islands on the world stage and perform the ‘Tila’ dance after every fight.

By performing the Tila in the middle of the ring, Teremoana Jr showcased his prideful nature and what he wanted to achieve. Before his fight, he claimed that he would prove himself to be the best heavyweight of his generation. After watching his dance performance following a brutal knockout, fans have started to believe that the Aussie had what it takes to become the best.

Time to Take Over

A fan wrote, “Yesss big man!! 🔥🔥☝🏼,” after getting impressed by Teremoana Jr’s performance like everyone in the crowd. It was truly a passionate performance showing just how deeply he cares about his roots. 

Another fan, impressed by Teremoana Jr’s fight, wrote, “🔥🔥🔥🔥 lessssgooo! Congratulations big man!” after the first-round TKO victory. The fight never got going at full flow as in just 2 minutes, Junior had knocked down Volodymyr Katsuk thrice, forcing the referee to stop the fight. 

Another fan wrote, “The take over!! ☝️🚀,” showing his excitement for the New South Wales native’s future. While this was Teremoana Jr’s first professional fight in almost two years, it was not like he stopped boxing. He was representing Australia in the Summer Games in 2024 in Paris and garnered a huge fanbase, who knows how destructive he can be and is excited for the upcoming fights.

Another fan, impressed by the knockout, wrote, “Clinical from the Tower of Terror,” referring to how the 6’6 boxer finished the fight in just two minutes. If he continues to perform like this, it won’t be long before he gets into serious conversations.

Another fan, after being awestruck by Teremoana Jr’s fight and post-match performance, wrote, “What a mad cunnn 🔥🔥🔥🔥.” The intensity that the Aussie carried throughout the event is not something that anyone can do.

Teremoana Jr’s return to professional boxing looked promising, and fans can be excited for the future. However, the heavyweight division is stacked full of terrifying stars. Teremoana Jr will have to work twice as hard as others to climb up the ranks if he hopes to be the best.

What are your views on the Teremoana Jr match and performance? Let us know your thoughts down below.