Undefeated Australian prospect Brock Jarvis 17-0 (15) is ready to make his featherweight debut against Mark ‘Magic Man’ Schleibs 12-0 (8) at the Coorong Pavilion in Exhibition Park, Canberra on Friday night.
The fight will be for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title over 10 rounds.
The five-year pro started his career as a super flyweight but has rapidly progressed through the weight classes as his body has filled out.
The 23-year-old from Marrickville in Sydney was last in action in August last year when he dominated Ernesto Saulong at super bantamweight on the undercard of Jeff Horn’s first fight against Michael Zerafa in Bendigo.
At the weigh-in for that fight he appeared gaunt and drawn but it did not seem to affect his performance. Still, plans were already in place to move him up in weight.
“Over the past 14 months, Brock has gone from a boy’s body to a man’s body,” said Jarvis’ trainer, former world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Fenech to the Daily Telegraph.
“He has grown. Brock is as strong as anyone I have ever worked with. I fought at his weight and I was a big featherweight, too.
“You can look good and it might mean nothing but this kid only looks good for one reason – sheer hard work. He doesn’t try to look how he looks. He is just the ultimate professional.
“The Australian boxing public will see something special coming on Friday night. I expect Brock to stop him inside six rounds.”
Jarvis, who is currently ranked number 10 at 122-pounds by the IBF, will be looking to entering the rankings at the higher weight where the current champion is undefeated Briton Josh ‘The Leeds Warrior’ Warrington 30-0 (7).
“I have been training real hard. I just want to win. I really want to win this fight,” he said.
“I’m feeling sharp. I’m getting some weight off at the moment and once that happens then it’s the fun part.
“Nothing has changed for me. I really want to win this fight before I start to think about anything else.”
Schleibs is a classy operator in his own right. The 27-year-old from Melbourne, who trains out of the popular Team Ellis gym, won the Australian bantamweight title from Robert Trigg two years ago but like Jarvis, has been out of the ring for 14 months.
“I believe in my skills and I believe I can beat Jarvis,” Schleibs said.
