Back-to-back national intermediate champion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s a title Orange’s Jack Littlefield busted his gut to earn this year and after last weekend’s Australian Amateur Boxing League National Championship, it’s now one he possesses.
After fighting in the senior division all through 2016 the 18-year-old dropped back to his division – under-19, 71kg intermediate – for the national titles and romped home to claim his second consecutive Australian gold medal, backing up his win from 2015.
Fighting Queensland’s Tarik Byrne in a State of Origin-style showdown, Littlefield worked his opponent over for all four of the two-minute rounds, controlling the fight from start to finish to claim the unanimous points decision.
As the fight went on Jack got just got stronger, mixing his attack up from the body to the head and wearing [Byrne] down.
- Dave Littlefield.
Being the reigning national title holder, Littlefield was granted progress straight to the deciding fight rather than having to win through the competition’s preliminary rounds.
“Jack controlled the fight, he made his opponent miss right from the start,” Dave Littlefield, Jack’s trainer and immensely proud father, explained.
“As the fight went on Jack got just got stronger, mixing his attack up from the body to the head and wearing [Byrne] down.”
The national title caps off a massive year for the burgeoning fighter, and was also his sixth straight win.
After losing what his trainer called “a very, very close” decision in February, Littlefield has gone unbeaten through the rest of 2016, including two brutal NSW title defences and a win at the Combined North Queensland Games/Golden Gloves Tournament.
“Jack’s dedication this year has been great and he keeps improving, because he works so hard,” Dave Littlefield said.
“I am really happy for him, it’s great to see all his hard work paying off.
“A few officials commented on the weekend about how he keeps improving and that they like his attitude toward boxing.”
The 18-year-old plans on having a break over the Christmas period, to refresh, before continuing to fight at the senior level in 2017 as he did this year.
He now moves up into the senior ranks for nationals too, 2016 was his final year in the under-19 division.
“We need to thank Gary from Subway for his help.”
“I need to thank Dad for all the effort put into this, the win makes all the sacrifices we've made worth it,” Jack said via Facebook.