It’s been a number of years since Orange’s Jack Littlefield fought in front of a home crowd, that’s why he’s so keen to get into the ring at Saturday night’s Battle In The Bush 4 at Towac Park.
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The last time he donned the gloves in his hometown was at Orange Function Centre on one of Sam Ah-See’s undercards, but this time he’s the headliner and gunning to keep his undefeated record intact after scoring a debut win as a professional.
He’ll square-off with Filipino-born journeyman Michael Rubio at Towac Park – the usual betting ring will be turned into an underground-style boxing domain – who comes into the fight with three wins from 24 bouts, nine of which he’s been knocked out in.
But, while that record looks unflattering on paper it’s far from black and white, as Jack’s father and trainer Dave explained.
“[Rubio] hasn’t won a lot of his bouts, but he’s gone toe-to-toe with and gone the distance with some of the best professionals in the country. He’s a seasoned pro, he’s very experienced and for that reason Jack definitely goes in as the underdog, having only had one professional fight,” Dave said.
“But Jack’s had that status in a lot of his amateur fights, and he’s taken on the best in Australia too so he’s still confident. It’s a tag he’s used to, and enjoys having I think.”
Littlefield will take on Rubio at a catch weight of 71kg before moving back down to the super welterweight division, at around 69kg.
“We negotiated the catch weight for this one and Jack fought his first professional fight at 71kg too, so he’s not really coming up at all,” Dave said.
Jack echoed his father-trainer in terms of how confident he is, and explained he’s hoping the bout opens up more doors for him in the professional ranks.
“It’s risk-reward really. The risk of losing is worth the reward if I win and I am pretty confident going in,” Jack, ranked 36th in the country, said.
“I’m trying to push up the ranks and if I win it’ll really put my name out there a lot more, which would hopefully make things a bit busier for me in terms of fights.
“I’m really looking forward to it. He’s very experienced so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from him and the fact he’s never seen me before might work in my favour.”
In terms of a fight plan, the Littlefields naturally kept their cards close to their chest but considering Rubio likes “moving forward” and Jack’s long been an aggressor in the ring, the duo’s styles make for an entertaining main event.
“I just don’t want to give too much away,” Jack laughed, when asked how he’ll combat Rubio’s style.
“We don’t know too much about him to be honest, but he likes moving forward a bit so we’ve done some work on the pads to try and suit that.
“I’ll be trying to keep to my normal style too though which is aggressive, although I do like to counter punch.”
Littlefield and Rubio will face off over four, three-minute rounds after a number of exciting undercard bouts, including Darren Morris’ national title fight.
Tickets are still available from Sportspower and Littlefield’s Barber Shop, and they will be sold on the gate on the night.
Fights will kick off around 6pm, with the main event expected to start at about 9pm.
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