Nanango publican wins first pro fight

All the hard work and commitment paid off for Fitzroy Hotel's Drew Jackson on Saturday night.

Nanango's Drew Jackson wins his first professional fight on the weekend. Picture: DSL Photography

BOXING All the hard work and commitment paid off for Fitzroy Hotel's Drew Jackson on Saturday night.

Jackson left the amateur world of boxing and entered the professional arena in Toowoomba with a perfect result.

"I might retire with 100 per cent win rate,” he said.

While Jackson was happy with the win, he said he still has a lot of room for improvement.

"Leading up to the match, I thought I was really fit,” he said.

"It is a whole other world.”

The hard-working boxer lost ten kilograms in the lead up to his first professional fight.

"I felt great,” Jackson said.

Not one to normally get nervous, Jackson admitted he felt some butterflies before the match.

"Being my first professional fight, I was a little nervous,” he said.

Jackson is a regular fixture in the famous Fred Brophy's boxing tent, but he said his introduction to the professional arena was a whole different experience.

"The mat was very soft,” he said.

"I have been doing all my training in Kingaroy and the surface there is hard.

"The mat on the night felt like quick sand.”

Now that he has had a taste of the next level, Jackson is planning his next professional fight.

"I will be lining up a few others now,” he said.

"More ring time is the key.”

"I just need to get more experience.”

There were eight professional matches on the night.

The very proud Jackson was the only out-of-towner to take home the glory.

"It was hard with their crowd behind them,” he said.

"Every time they got a good punch in, the crowd would cheer and the judges would pay attention.”

Catch Jackson at the next Fred Brophy's boxing tent event on April 6 at the Kilkivan Hotel in Kilkivan.

Originally published as Nanango publican wins first pro fight