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Jack Rafferty exclusive: winning would be a dream come true for me

Jack Rafferty

Boxing

Jack Rafferty exclusive: winning would be a dream come true for me

Jack Rafferty exclusive: winning would be a dream come true for me

Last October, Jack Rafferty walked to the ring for his British and Commonwealth title fight with Henry Turner fully aware that the outcome would have a major effect on how his career moved forward.

The dangerous 29-year-old has battled away on the small hall circuit for years, piecing together the longest unbeaten run in British boxing and fully earning his ‘Demolition Man’ nickname. Unfortunately for Rafferty, his lack of profile made him very easy to avoid.

“It was a life-changing fight”

Jack Rafferty

Had things not gone his way against Turner, Rafferty would have found himself in a difficult position. Things did go his way.

Rafferty, 24-0 (15 KOs) left the ring as the British and Commonwealth champion and his title defence against Reece MacMillan, 17-1 (2 KOs), has been given a prime spot on the undercard of this weekend’s heavyweight fight between Derek Chisora and Otto Wallin which takes place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena. For all the latest fight odds, visit our sportsbook.

Rafferty ran 32Red through his life changing sequence of events.

“It felt like I was in the home corner, being so close to home fighting in Liverpool and, I believe, beating Frank Warren’s best super lightweight at the time, Henry Turner,” he said.

“Next, signing with Queensberry Promotions and Frank Warren, fighting on a massive card in Manchester, possibly a co-main event to Derek Chisora. It was a life-changing fight for me and I’m over the moon with the performance as well.”

Rafferty isn’t about to rest on his laurels. Having reached this point, he is hellbent on making sure he stays at this level.

“He’s going to try and meet fire with fire”

“You’ve got to rise to the occasion. I’ve got to rise to them big platforms. I always remember Frank saying, ‘I’ll give you the platform, you’ve got to dance properly on it’ so I’ll always remember that.

“The fans are coming out in massive numbers again to Manchester. I’m getting bigger stages, I’m getting better. Things are on the way up.”

McMillan has fought his own way onto Saturday’s stage. Initially, Rafferty was due to box his Manchester rival, Kane Gardner. Rather than biding his time and waiting for this weekend, Gardner went ahead with a dangerous looking fight with MacMillan and the man from Morecambe upset the odds, beat Gardner and took the Rafferty fight.

Rafferty believes that MacMillan will treat Saturday night as a shot to nothing and give his absolute all.

“I think he’s just going to give as good as he can get,” Rafferty said. “He’s going to come and try and meet fire with fire and it’s going to make a massive bonfire while it lasts. I think he’s going to try his hardest, give it all he’s got. He’s got nothing to lose and loads to gain. I think that’s a dangerous seat to be in.”

Rafferty’s title winning stoppage of Turner was one of British boxing’s most dramatic moments of 2024 but as much as it showcased his power and stamina, it also highlighted his patience.

“I thought ‘let’s step this up'”

Jack Rafferty

Turner is an extremely talented boxer who began the fight brilliantly but Rafferty made him work at an uncomfortably high pace from the early stages. Eventually, Turner’s legs began to slow and in the ninth round, Rafferty seized his moment. Plenty of fighters would have panicked at the thought of their moment slipping away but Rafferty refused to step away from his gameplan and was rewarded.

“The two things that I really liked that I did – beside the performance –  is keeping my cool and not falling into Henry’s plan,” he remembered.

“He wanted to gain momentum off me losing my game plan. I thought to myself, ‘Come on, Jack, let’s step this up.’  When I did put the pressure on him, I didn’t want to gas myself out by throwing too much, doing too much. I bided my time, I let the shots go when the shots needed to go and came off victorious.”

Britain’s 140lb division is currently red hot. Two weeks ago, Dalton Smith won the vacant European title with a first round knockout of France’s Walid Ouizza. Last week, Adam Azim won the IBO title by stopping former world champion, Sergey Lipinets. Next week, Jack Catterall gets the chance to secure a WBO world title shot when he boxes Arnold Barboza Jnr.

“I want to push on to greater things”

Once more, everything has fallen Rafferty’s way. With the junior welterweight division on everybody’s lips, he gets the chance to make sure that he is spoken about in the same breath as the fighters at the top of the British standings.

“There’s some massive names out there. The biggest name in front of me at the minute is Reece MacMillan,” he said. “Get a job done on him and I can possibly think about them other names but hopefully winning this British outright before the backend of summertime would be a dream come true for me. Then push on to greater things before Christmas.

“But like I said, Reece MacMillan’s in the way of these greater things that I want. Let me get this job done on Reece MacMillan and show Frank, ‘Wow, what a fighter I’ve signed here.’

“Hopefully he gets behind me and pushes me on to better things.”

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