Teremoana Teremoana tells DeAndre Savage to ‘let your fists do the talking’ ahead of Gold Coast showdown

Teremoana Teremoana has told DeAndre Savage to let his “fists do the talking” ahead of their heavyweight clash on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.

The undefeated Australian Olympian faces Savage at The Star Gold Coast, with both men bringing impressive knockout records into the ten-round main event.

Teremoana is 11-0 with all 11 of his professional victories coming by stoppage, while Savage enters the contest at 11-1 with 11 knockouts.

The fight represents another step up for Teremoana as he continues his push towards the top of the heavyweight division.

Speaking at the final press conference, the 28-year-old dismissed questions surrounding his lack of rounds and responded to Savage's prediction that he would knock him out.

“They said I haven't gone past two rounds. Actually I have. I would say anyone who's come to fight me hasn't made it out of two rounds,” Teremoana said.

“They just talk too much, to be honest. Let your fists do the talking.”

Despite the confident words, Teremoana acknowledged the threat posed by his American opponent, who is trained by former WBC super-welterweight champion Tony Harrison.

“I've got to give him respect. He's got good movement. I like the way he paces himself for a pro heavyweight fighter. I'm not taking this guy easy either.”

Savage was equally confident about his chances of handing Teremoana the first defeat of his professional career.

“I'm going to lay him down,” Savage said.

“I'm here to compete. I'm here to do what I do, and that's knock out. I'm here to touch his chin. I'm going to test him. This fight is not going the distance.”

Harrison also questioned how Teremoana will respond when faced with a fighter capable of taking him into unfamiliar territory.

“I think all the questions are for him. I don't think the questions are for Dre,” Harrison said.

“Dre has been around for a long time. He's been in a bunch of camps. When you come to Superbad, I think the thing that we train is the mind.”

Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn believes Teremoana has the potential to eventually bring a heavyweight world title back to Australia, but admitted Savage represents a significant test.

“I don't think you guys have seen anything like this before in Australia,” Hearn said.

“I think there is legitimately a chance for you to have a long reign as a heavyweight world champion. He has got the size, got the power, got the personality.

“This is the first big step up really on Wednesday night against DeAndre Savage, a very, very good American heavyweight.”

The press conference also produced a potential future fight involving Michael Zerafa, who returns against Alejandro Ortiz on the undercard.

Zerafa is looking to rebuild his push towards another boxing world title opportunity, but found himself exchanging words with Harrison during Monday's press conference.

Harrison called on Zerafa to publicly commit to a future fight between the pair, with Zerafa making it clear he would accept if it moved him closer to another shot at a world title.

“My dream is to be a world champion,” Zerafa said.

“Anyone that's going to move me in that direction to getting a world title, if it's Harrison, it's Harrison. If it's whoever they put in front of me. That's the goal.”

Zerafa insisted, however, that his immediate focus remains on Ortiz.

“I've got an opponent in front of me. I'll never look past that. And then after that we can do what we've got to do.”

Hearn warned that Ortiz should not be viewed simply as a comeback opponent for Zerafa, describing the South American as a dangerous puncher.

“Actually, this fight was supposed to be a bit of a gimme fight for him to come back to,” Hearn said.

“He said, no, I want to prove to people that I'm for real and prove to people that I want to try and position myself to fight for the world championship.

“Ortiz is a dangerous, dangerous fight.”

Teremoana vs Savage takes place at The Star Gold Coast on Wednesday, August 12, with the main event ring walks expected at approximately 9:55pm local time.