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Jeff Horn rates boxing in Bendigo as cool

3 minute read

Jeff Horn says fighting in Bendigo is pretty cool, as his promoter looks at establishing a national boxing series and taking some shows to regional Australia.

JEFF HORN during a training session in Brisbane, Australia.
JEFF HORN during a training session in Brisbane, Australia. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

He's fought in the bright lights of Las Vegas and in a packed Suncorp Stadium, but Jeff Horn reckons fighting in regional Australia is pretty cool.

The former WBO welterweight world champion's first middleweight fight against Michael Zerafa at Bendigo Stadium on Saturday evening is the start of an ambitious plan from his promoter Dean Lonergan to take shows across Australia.

New Zealander Lonergan plans to put on up to ten shows a year over the next three years as apart of a national boxing series, showcasing Horn and emerging Australian talent.

Lonergan has recently signed four fighters, two of whom, super bantamweight Brock Jarvis (16-0, 15 KOs) and light heavyweight Issac Hardman (4-0, 4 KOs), ill appear on Saturday night's card.

World-ranked cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (18-0 0, 14 KOs) and super featherweight Liam Wilson (4-0, 3 KOs) are other recent additions to Lonergan's growing stable.

"You've got to give these guys a path of progression so they get harder and harder fights," Lonergan told AAP.

"By the time they get to a world title, if we get there, they are ready because they've had tough fights.

"We've got brands to build. Each of these guys could become big big stars and even Jeff Horn has still got a long way to go to put him into a big national brand, so we're working on that."

The announcement Horn and Zerafa were fighting in Bendigo raised the eyebrows of those who assumed a domestic dustup of this quality would automatically land in one of the big state capitals.

Lonergan's move has paid off with a capacity crowd of 4500 to pack Bendigo Stadium on Saturday.

Asked what he thought about fighting outside of the bigger cities, Horn said: "I think it's pretty cool.

"I feel a little bit more relaxed in this atmosphere, at least I'm not in the Vegas strip and hearing all the gambling and fun happening there."

Lonergan is looking at staging shows in Mt Isa, Gosford, Tasmania, Canberra and Adelaide.

"If you're trying to break into Melbourne, trying to break through the AFL is incredibly difficult and these regions are great," Lonergan said.

"Because all of a sudden instead of being event number 15 in Melbourne, we're event number one here in Bendigo."

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