On 31 March, Melbourne-born fighter Toli Koutsimanis will be fighting to continue his undefeated professional record in a fight that could earn him his first Victorian Heavyweight title. His opponent will be Mini Nachar, Victorian Heavyweight champion, and the two will battle it out for the Victorian Heavyweight title (IKBF).

Although Toli’s last fight was an undisputed victory, he has had to vary his approach this time as the stakes are higher than ever. The 33-year-old has undertaken an intense training regime which has included ramping up sessions with Team Ultimate Headquarters under the guidance of John Scida and Joe Demicoli, and also working hard with ‘Stan the Man’ Longinidis, and even going as far as Greece to train with some of the country’s elite fighters.
As a Greek Australian he is immensely proud of his heritage and incredibly humbled to represent both his home countries in this prestigious event. He continues to be completely overwhelmed by the support shown to him by his local community, sponsors and supporters, and has an impressively large following of people within the social media space who have faith he can bring home the title.

Speaking with Neos Kosmos he said: “Even though my last fight was a victory, I could not allow that to breed complacency. I set new goals for myself and this time it wasn’t all about building physical strength, it was about reconnecting body, mind and spirit, improving clarity, vision and focus. I am a strong believer that your mind will always carry your body to wherever it needs to go, irrespective of any physical limitations. My overseas trip to Greece was about getting closer to my spiritual side. I have strong religious beliefs and I feel privileged to be in this position. I am eternally grateful for all of God’s blessings. Visiting my grandparents birthplace and visiting some of the oldest churches in the world, getting a chance to reconnect again with my ancestors and with God has had a profound effect on my mindset. It has fuelled this new thirst inside me and I want to win this title more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I want to make everyone watching over me proud.
“While I was in Greece I took advantage of being closer to some great fighters and I was lucky enough to jump in the ring with some of them. Alexandros Chatzichronoglou from the Chatzichronoglou Fight Academy in Athens, Pavlos Kaponis from Diamond Muay Thai in Athens, Giannis Stoforidis, from Karanikolis Fight Camp in Kavala, and John Palaiologos, are just some of the great men who extended their mats to welcome me into their clubs. I will forever be grateful to the hospitality they all showed me and I am always in appreciation of all my local trainers, John Scida, Joe Demicoli, Tom Goulos, and Stan Longinidis who continue to teach me daily.”

Koutsimanis thanks his sponsors, family, friends and followers for their ongoing support and encouragement.

If you’d like to be a part of this event and cheer our Toli on to win the title, call Team Ultimate on 0411 665 565 for a ticket. To follow his kickboxing journey, visit www.instagram.com/tolikoutsimanis