‘Bullet’ Michael Kaplan hits world top 15

Perth’s “Bullet” Michael Kaplan has landed himself a place in the WBA’s world top 15.

Kaplan doesn’t herald from a traditional boxing background, having competed at an elite level of Taekwando. The Australian light flyweight sensation opened up about his past in combat sports.

Kaplan said, “I was a world-level competitor in two different forms of Taekwando, and I really took to the kickboxing style of it and won numerous tournaments at that style which is the more similar style to traditional boxing.

“I had a couple of amateur fights and then decided to turn professional with Tony Tolj who has been a godsend to me. I am so grateful for what he has done for me so far and I believe I am improving all the time and I will get better and better as time goes on.”

Kaplan has entered the world top 15 at light flyweight for the first time and a world title fight may not be out of the realms of possibilities for the Perth native. Kaplan gave his take on breaking into the world top 15 and his plans going forward.

He said, “It’s an amazing feat to become a world-ranked fighter and I am so grateful to my team for making it happen. I couldn’t have done it without them and I believe this is just the start of an amazing journey.

“I want to keep progressing. Of course, I would love to become world champion one day, but I am happy to continue to learn my craft and I trust my manager Tony to make the right decisions for me when the time is correct to step me up into title fights. In the meantime, I will continue to train hard and fight anyone who is put in front of me.”