By Aus-Boxing.com

LUKE Jackson was forced to endure a harder than expected battle with Silvester Lopez to capture his third professional title.

The popular Tasmanian was pushed the ten round distance for only the third time in his professional career, before unanimously outscoring the durable Filipino over ten heats in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Princes Wharf No. 1.

With the dust beginning to settle on another successful night in Hobart, Jackson (now 13-0, 5 KOs) is able to reflect on his latest performance.

“My training camp was the best I’ve had to date,” said Jackson in a post-fight interview with Aus-Boxing. “I felt amazing both mentally and physically, but the fight turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. I had to dig deep to find a way to get the win because of his style and experience.”

To his credit, the 31-year-old admits that he was forced to dig deep and at one point even questioned his ability to withstand the relentless assault of Lopez.

“I got hit a lot more than I would like to and more than I am used to,” conceded Jackson. “Being in that position made me question myself and made me ask if I had what it took to defeat him.”

“I really had to ask myself how bad I wanted this win and then lift myself to the next level. He was relentless and he mixed his attack up constantly by varying his speed and power. He attacked the head and body at different times too. He was the hardest opponent I’ve fought as a professional.”

Having secured a second regional title in the form of the WBO Oriental featherweight bauble, Jackson can now look forward to more lucrative opportunities abroad in the immediate future.

As the former Olympian explains, the offers are beginning to come through, but with his body still on the mend following an enduring ten round fight, he has been forced to pass on an opportunity to fight in England next month.

“I got offered a fight against Scott Quigg (former WBA super bantamweight champion) on the Anthony Joshua undercard – but due to timing and my tough fight – we’ve had to decline,” he continued. “The timing just wasn’t right, I’m hopeful that a similar opportunity comes my way again soon.”

Despite having scored his best win as a professional, Jackson was typically harsh on himself when assessing his own performance.

“I’d rate my performance a six out of ten,” he concluded. “I got hit too much and although I always listen to Billy Hussein, I could have responded better to his instructions in the earlier rounds.”