Australian Olympic boxing hope Jack Bowen turns professional
Brisbane boxer Jack Bowen owns just about every amateur title there is but the 23-year-old prospect has decided to give up on his Olympic dream and turn professional.
Boxing/MMA
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One of Queensland’s hottest boxing talents, Jack Bowen, has signed a deal to turn professional and will start his punch-for-pay career in the new year with an eye to winning a world super-middleweight title.
The 23-year-old Brisbane boxer represented Australia in the 81kg light-heavyweight division at the World Amateur Championships in Russia in September where he dominated China’s Zhang Jilei in his opening fight before losing a disputed decision to Nuryagdy Nuryadyyev of Turkmenistan in his next appearance.
He has won the Australian amateur title, the Arafura Games gold medal, five Queensland championships, the Australasian Golden Gloves and the Queensland Elite Boxer of the Year award.
Bowen will be trained by long-time mentor Gareth Williams and managed by the Irish-based group, MTK Global.
Bowen told The Courier-Mail that while the Tokyo Olympics had been a major goal, he was more focused on making it as a professional and wanted to turn pro immediately.
“The super-middleweight division in Australia is full of talent at the moment with Rohan Murdoch, Jayde Mitchell, Zac Dunn and others,’’ Bowen said.
“There are some big fights out there for me and I am hoping to climb the ladder quickly.
“Even though I’ve fought at 81kg in the amateurs I can comfortably make the 76kg super-middleweight division and that’s where I see my future.’’
Gareth Williams, who has been one of Queensland’s leading trainers for the last decade, says Bowen is “a remarkable talent’’ with an enormous future in the sport.
“He’s already reached the pinnacle of amateur boxing at the world championships which has a greater number of entrants than the Olympics,’’ Williams said.
“At the moment Jack is doing a lot of sparring with Rohan Murdock from the Gold Coast. Rohan is the world No. 2 at super-middleweight so Jack is getting in plenty of good work to make his debut in the pro ranks next year.
“I think he’s a remarkable talent. He’s a good boxer with plenty of power and a very good thinker in the boxing ring.’’
MTK Global’s International Consultant, Melbourne fight manager Mike Altamura said: “I think Jack is one of the standout talents to emerge from Australia for a number of years.
“I’m really excited to be working with him. He has really fast hands and fast feet but he also has a toughness about him – he’s prepared to mix it up in the pocket if necessary.
“I have known Jack since his mid-teens and he’s always been a gentleman. He’s a good fit for our company. Gareth Williams is one of the top trainers in the Asia-Pacific region and I look forward to working alongside him to develop the fighter.”
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