Brisbane boxer Rocky Jerkic learnt his trade fighting in travelling tent shows

BRISBANE boxer Rocky Jerkic exploded onto TV screens by winning a thriller on Channel 9 after spending his childhood fighting in travelling tent shows.

Rocky Jerkic is preparing for his second fight in eight days. Picture: Richard Walker

BRISBANE boxer Rocky Jerkic exploded onto TV screens by winning a thriller on Channel 9 featuring more big hits than a Dave Warner summer of cricket.

Six months on, the slick, unbeaten Australian champ is making up for lost time by targeting two stoppage wins within eight days.

On Friday night in Sydney, Jerkic took just 91 seconds to overwhelm outclassed Chatri Charoensin of Thailand.

This Saturday at Eatons Hill Hotel in Brisbane’s north, he is odds-on to repeat the dose against another Thai hopeful Natthawut Arunsuk, who has nine wins in 14 fights.

Jerkic, the Australian junior-middleweight champ (70kg), is unbeaten in 14 starts with his biggest win a Channel 9 thriller against Lutwyche Gym owner Shannon King.

In a seesawing battle in November, Jerkic finally won in the eighth round in front of a TV audience estimated to be more than one million.

The 26-year-old learned many of his boxing skills fighting in travelling tent shows from Birdsville to Cloncurry.

Born in Darwin, his family background is a mix of Croatian and indigenous blood.

He made his amateur boxing debut in Mt Isa aged nine and went to 10 schools around Queensland in places such as Cairns, Cloncurry, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Yeppoon and Birdsville.

Rocky Jerkic is preparing for his second fight in eight days. Picture: Richard Walker

His most exciting education came as a teenager in Fred Brophy’s travelling boxing troupe.

“It was rough as guts but a good way to grow up,” Jerkic said.

“You used to get, like, $100 bucks and, man that was massive when you’re a kid. I’d run from the tents after every fight to spend my money in the showgrounds.’

Jerkic, 28, credits much of his speed and footwork to working out with the Brisbane Roar’s former Socceroos ace Jade North.

Saturday’s fight night also sees Brisbane’s smooth-boxing French-born Faris Chevalier defend his Australian super-middleweight (76kg) title against Perth’s Luke Sharp.

This is the toughest test yet for southpaw Chevalier, who has won his past nine fights. Sharp has 13 wins in 16 starts.

The Perth fighter dropped a decision to world-rated Melbourne boxer Blake Caparello in his last outing but boasts a win over former top-class international boxer Peter Mitrevski Jr, from Sydney.

Also on the card, Deception Bay’s world class featherweight Jason Cooper tackles Filipino John Mark Apolinario, a three-time world title challenger who lost on points to Aussie Olympian Luke Jackson in his last outing.

In Las Vegas, Mexico’s WBC middleweight champ Saul “Canelo’’ Alvarez recovered from an early boxing lesson against England’s brave Amir Khan to score a devastating sixth-round knockout.

Khan dominated the early action with his speed but Alvzarez, taken the distance by Australia’s Lovemore Ndou in 2010, finished it with one huge right.

The victory sets up a superfight with Canelo’s undefeated Kazakhstan rival Gennady Golovkin, a big KO winner over Australia’s Daniel Geale.