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Add FightsATW on GoogleJust one glance at the in-ring presence of 31-year-old Bruno Tarimo (29-5-2, 8 KOs) is enough for any onlooker to conclude that the former world-ranked 122- and 130-pounder is a hard-working fighter.
In fact, it would be hard to believe that he could possibly have any capacity to give any more to the other facets of his life, for his all is on display in the form of a relentless pressure style every time he steps through the ropes. Yet it’s this exact predicament that the Tanzanian-born Australian finds himself in ahead of his August 8 WBA Oceania featherweight title bout against Junlun Zhao (12-2, 4 KOs) of China at the Coolangatta Hotel on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Tarimo now finds himself wearing more hats than ever before, having finally been joined by his wife and children in the land ‘Down Under’ after six years of sporadic visits and a long wait for a family’s worth of visas. ‘The Terminator,’ as he is known in the ring, acts as the family’s chief breadwinner and translator for a non-English-speaking spouse, all while trying to carve out a place back into boxing’s world rankings.
In his own words, he’s “working double now,” and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s a little bit harder now; I have to do work, do training, but it’s a blessing to have them here. A real blessing to have them here,” Tarimo told FightsATW.com. “I’m so happy now I can see them. I come home when I’m tired, and my kids make me happy.
“This is because of hard work from my training, hard work from my team. They were pushing hard to make sure I got a visa to bring them here. I can’t thank them more. I can’t thank God more, because it was really hard for me to be by myself here.”
Far away from the foothills of Kilimanjaro or the coastal city of Bagamoyo, places he formerly called home, Tarimo’s day-to-day is as fast-paced as his fighting style. Starting before dawn for work at a chicken factory, the long shift is followed by training at the Kingscliff Gym under Angelo Hyder, a venue where he’s sparred a plethora of rounds with world champion twins Jason and Andrew Moloney.
The work doesn’t stop upon return through the front door as the Tarimos continue to settle into their new homeland and navigate any challenges that come with it. In this area, Bruno says the youngest members of the family have led the way.
“My wife, she can’t speak English and my kids, they’ve started speaking more. They’ve started school and the kids they learn faster, and they’ve started teaching me,” he joked.
With things starting to take shape outside of the ring, Tarimo hopes the same can be said for his prospects inside of the squared circle from this weekend onward. After earning the number three place in the IBF’s junior lightweight rankings following big domestic wins over Joel Brunker, Nathaniel May and Kye McKenzie, as well as an away triumph in Serbia over Serif Gurdijeljac, momentum began to slow in late 2021.
A wide decision loss to Britain’s Zelfa Barrett in an IBF title eliminator in Manchester that December prompted a shift down two weight classes, where Tarimo faced Japanese ex-kickboxer and eventual WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei, losing via 11th-round TKO despite putting in a gallant effort to that point.
Defeat, coupled with a split from manager Tony Tolj and trainer Hyder, led to opportunities drying up. Despite winning three fights by knockout, two in his native Tanzania, between February 2023 and March 2025, the African slugger’s best opening came in the form of a shot at the vacant Australian super lightweight title against surging Sydney-sider Ahmed Reda last August.
Although the bout would be widely acclaimed as one of the best domestic stoushes of the year, its 10th round was even voted as Australia’s best of 2025; another loss was chalked up on the ledger. Unsure of the next step, a revelation came three months later in the form of a reconnection with the Tolj and Hyder combination.
The result has been that of rekindled hope.
“I got back with them in November; they gave me another chance,” Tarimo revealed. “I couldn’t find any big opportunities to keep moving on; that broke a little bit of my heart.
“They told me, ‘I still have a chance, we can find something bigger for you, we can bring you back in the rankings and set up the bigger fights to get you back on your dream to be world champion.’ They’ve got a lot of plans.”
That’s not to say that the re-establishment of the old Team Tarimo hasn’t been immune from setbacks. Originally slated to fight in Fiji on February 7, constant date shifting of the event caused the pivot towards the impending clash with Zhao.
Ranked at 14 in the WBA Asia rankings, the 27-year-old from Guangzhou should make for a competent first outing for a new foray into the featherweight division, where Tarimo is determined to get back on the winners list in any way, shape or form. Doing so would complete the first step towards achieving the dream that he refuses to give up on.
“I believe boxing can change my life and I love boxing. I want boxing to be my number one job, I don’t want to be working,” he said. “Boxing has already changed my life from where I was. I was in Tanzania, and nobody knew me; then I came to Australia, and I became number three in the world, which helped bring my family to Australia. That’s a big blessing. Boxing’s already doing a lot of things for me, but I still want to do more.
“I want to get back in the rankings and keep chasing big fights. It can be quick; it just depends on who you fight.”
Time will tell as to how far Tarimo gets in his quest for featherweight glory. What cannot be denied, however, is that ‘The Tanzanian Terminator’ will do something that seems unachievable in his attempt – he will give more than his standard 110 percent at every juncture.
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