Bob Trigg and Luke Boyd promise explosive shoot-out

A lack of size typically equates to a lack of opportunity for smaller fighters in Australia.

This changes on Sunday afternoon, when reigning Australian bantamweight champion Robert “Bob” Trigg faces former Olympian Luke Boyd for the vacant Australian super bantamweight strap at the Star Casino as part of the stacked seven fight card put together by leading Sydney entity Neutral Corner Promotions in association with Sakio Bika.

Trigg, 23, is looking to secure the remarkable feat of winning a second Australian title in as many weight divisions, in just four fights. While Boyd, 30, an Australia representative at the 2008 Olympic Games, has plans on validating his legitimacy in a relatively sparse super bantamweight division domestically.

With all eyes on Sydney for the inaugural Johnny Lewis Ultimate Fight Night, Trigg has plans on stealing the show with a career-best scalp.

“I know this is going to be a pretty tough fight,” said Trigg in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “People have been saying that they can’t pick a winner. I’ve been training super hard for it.

“I feel I have a bit of an advantage because he hasn’t done the ten rounds before as his fights have been over pretty quick. He won’t be knocking me out. I expect him to be a bit like me actually. Up front and trying to stay on me. But I know I will just overpower him.”

Despite having only eighteen rounds under his belt, Trigg (2-0-1, 0 KOs) believes his last outing – a ten round unanimous points decision over former Australian titleholder Mark Quon – will hold him in good stead as he prepares to compete for a second national title in succession.

Further to this, the Mount Gambier native believes the seven year age difference will be apparent on fight night.

“Me being the younger fighter and what not should (help me),” he quipped. “I’ve done the ten rounds before and I’ve done the distance before and I’m pretty confident with it He has had to fly fighters in from overseas, but they have been nothing compared to me. This will be a tough fight for him.”

Trigg is hopeful that win will not only secure him some more hard-earned silverware, but the opportunity to pursue boxing on a full-time basis, if he’s able to sway one of the many influencers that will be ringside on Sunday to support his career financially.

“I’m pretty confident I will take my boxing all the way,” he concluded. “Hopefully I get a few more fights and I can get a people more people backing me up and get on board behind me so I can focus solely on boxing. It would be a dream to just be able to put in 100% into fighting full-time.”

“I’ll be standing on his chest the whole fight and intend on taking him to bits. I don’t see him handling it, I’ll just keep going and going like a bull. I’m just hopeful I can put on a good show for everybody.”

Like Trigg, opponent Luke Boyd (3-0, 3 KOs) has endured the road less travelled.

An accomplished amateur, Boyd turned professional in 2014 with plans of breaking into the lucrative Asia Pacific market amongst lighter weight fighters. Three fights and almost three years later, Boyd finally sees himself in a position to challenge for a professional title.

Given the limited scope of opponents, it comes as a surprise that Boyd knows little about his accomplished counterpart.

“I know he has had a couple of tough fights with Mark Quon, I don’t actually know anything else about him,” admitted Boyd. “I don’t know how many fights he’s had – how many wins or losses – all I have done is concentrated on myself. I have trained very hard and feel I have done all I can.”

With an amateur pedigree that saw the Indigenous pocket rocket storm into the round of 32 of the bantamweight bracket in Beijing, Boyd has earned the right to call things as he sees them. When probed for his assessment of the task at hand on Sunday, Boyd was surprisingly bold with his statement.

“I can tell you, I’m not aiming to go the distance,” vowed Boyd. “It’s going to him or me that’s going to get knocked out, I can promise that. I’m not going out there to fight a ten round fight. I have prepared well, I’m feeling very strong. I’m actually ready to go now.”

“I can’t find anyone to fight me. It’s a credit to Robert Trigg to stepping up. Win, lose or draw in this fight; it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight anyone in front of any crowd.”

Call him old fashioned, but Boyd believes there should be more domestic showdowns between unbeaten fighters.

“To have two Aussies fighting each other instead of having to call somebody in from overseas is just a big thing for Australian boxing,” he concluded. “Having two Aussies going at it, we need to see more of it. I am taking this fight as though if I lose, well I’m not the best in Australia, so why keep doing it?”

“I’m that point in my career that I will do what ever it takes right now. If I do win and get this title, believe me, the sky is the limit.”

“It’s a massive show, massive exposure. I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”

Photo: Marty’s Knockout Photography