By Aus-Boxing.com

HISTORY has shown that Adam Wilcock deliveries major opportunities for his fighters abroad.

Over a five year stretch, the Melbourne-based manager and figurehead of Fightcard Promotions secured world title challenges for Frank Lo Porto, Jarrod Fletcher and Dennis Hogan. The run also included a Commonwealth title tilt for Joel Brunker as well as a world title eliminator for Josh King.

However you look at the above, it makes for impressive reading.

With that in mind, it came as a surprise to few when heavily scouted Olympic captain Luke Jackson put pen to paper, signing a promotional deal with Wilcock’s company just over three years ago.

A fighter will only fight who is in front of them, and for that reason, the move to Fightcard Promotions made all the sense in the world.

“The journey with every boxer is different and for different reasons,” reflected Wilcock in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “Luke is the consummate professional and makes dealing with him on every level so easy and an absolute pleasure.”

“Initially the road with Luke was harder than most, given his location. We needed to build a product and name, to a point that it could stand alone and headline a show. With that done, it’s great to see boxing back in Tasmania.”

Jackson, 32, had a distinguished amateur career which saw him travel the world, while competing against the best fighters wearing a singlet, headgear and gloves. The Tasmanian kept this mentality as a professional, having fought in an impressive fight states in just three years.

However, in recent times Wilcock and his company have established themselves as a regular promotional entity in Hobart, having staged three events over a twelve month spell. This trend will continue on Saturday night when Jackson attempts to capture the interim WBO Oriental featherweight bauble against an upset-minded Silvester Lopez at Princes Wharf No. 1.

As Wilcock notes, having his athlete regularly compete at home is crucial to maintaining the momentum Jackson has established in the past year.

“Having Luke fight in Tasmania is very important.” admitted Wilcock. “Whilst he’s well supported around the country, there’s certainly nothing as gratifying for a boxer as boxing in front of their home crowd. The whole Hobart boxing community is growing, to support Luke and also the growing number of young up and coming fighters.”

“We’ve made a real push to have an undercard made up of young homegrown talent as well as amateurs. Luke is a promoters dream when it comes to his supporters, always engaging and very selfless.”

While Jackson is establishing himself as a major draw locally, Wilcock concedes that the event has not come without its difficulties, referencing their difficulties in gaining approval for an opponent by the WBA Oceania. After a breakdown in discussions, Wilcock elected to steer Jackson down the WBO route, while vacating their WBA affiliated regional title.

“I consider myself fortunate to have strong links with both the WBA and WBO,” he explained. “Unfortunately the situation with the WBA became unworkable at a local level and we had to move in a different direction. Having navigated Dennis Hogan in that direction recently, we were given an insight into how professional the WBO were, so that became a natural choice.”

Despite having only a handful of active fighters, the featherweight division in Australia still boasts several credible names, including Joel Brunker, Nathaniel May and former Olympian Ibrahim Balla. With Jackson being one potential win from entering the world ratings, Wilcock believes the time to entertain possible matchups against fighters such as Brunker is fast approaching.

“Luke is at a point now where I personally feel he’s more than ready for the next level,” he concluded. “I don’t think there’s a featherweight in the country that beats Luke. I promoted Joel Brunker for twelve months and after two unsuccessful world title eliminators, we parted ways. Joel is a fantastic guy, but he’s also a perfect fight for Luke right now.”

“As long as everything goes well on the weekend, I’d love to have them meet in early 2017. Aside from Brunker, I really don’t see anyone else we could fight in Australia.”

“Most boxers get beat, but the day Luke ever gets beat, it won’t be for lack of preparation, dedication and heart. He’s a promoters dream and when the time comes I know he’ll be ready to step up and deliver. Having ultimate faith in your fighter is a promoters dream, I have that in Luke.”