Downunder Wrap-up: Flanagan valiant in defeat, Jackson tries luring Valdez to Hobart, Bika returns, May stays busy in Perth

WBA #6 Mark ‘Bam Bam’ Flanagan 22-5 (15) put up a valiant effort against WBA ‘super’ champion Denis Lebedev 30-2 (22) going 12 rounds with the rugged Russian but ultimately coming up short at the DIVS in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Sunday July 9th.

The 27-year-old Townsville-born Brisbane fighter was down in the ninth-round courtesy of a straight left to the body from Lebedev’s southpaw stance. The scores at the conclusion were 119-108 twice and 120-107.

Flanagan was aiming to become the second Queenslander in a week to claim a world title after former Brisbane schoolteacher Jeff Horn outboxed Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao to annex the WBO welterweight title at Suncorp Stadium in the Sunshine State’s capital the previous weekend.

Flanagan was fighting outside of his home country for the first time in his eight-year professional career.

Fighting in front of a packed house that included Russian President Vladimir Putin in the audience, the 37-year-old southpaw champion was able to use his experience to keep the challenger guessing while landing hard shots with either hand.

Lebedev controlled the fight and dictated a slow pace that allowed him to focus on his sharp counterpunching ability, but Flanagan had his moments in the opening rounds, the sixth and the tenth.

Lebedev paid credit to Flanagan after the fight.

“Flanagan was really hungry,’’ Lebedev said. “My game plan was to keep him off balance and the plan worked from start to finish.’’

Flanagan kept the pressure on throughout the bout, landing an eye-catching right cross in the second round and finishing strongly down the stretch, but his trademark body shots were missing from his arsenal and his activity let him down at times.

“I didn’t throw enough punches,’’ Flanagan admitted after the fight. “My corner was telling me to let my hands go and I should have thrown a lot more because I was hitting him when I did.’’

Spending 36 minutes in the ring with a veteran champion like Lebedev is only going to benefit Flanagan, who now hold a record of 11-1 (9) since moving up from the light heavyweight division to campaign as a cruiserweight. He has proven that despite being outboxed he wasn’t outclassed against one of the top 200-pounders on the planet.

You can view the full fight here:

LUKE JACKSON LOOKING TO PARLAY HORN-PACQUIAO SUCCESS INTO WORLD TITLE SHOT AGAINST OSCAR VALDEZ

After the tremendous success of the WBO welterweight world title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn in Brisbane on July 2, other Australian cities are showing interest in hosting further world title bouts in order to boost their international profile as a tourist destination.

The big one of course is the proposed Horn-Pacquiao rematch, which could take place as soon as November. Brisbane retains first right of refusal for that fight, but the problem there lies in the fact that the weather at that time of year in Queensland can be unpredictable, with storms and even cyclones sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean. The only suitable stadium with a roof is the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Boondall, which holds only 14,500 people and would likely see ticket prices rise exponentially if the fight was to be held there.

With that in mind, Sydney and Melbourne – both much larger cities with deeper pockets – are in the mix with the 83,000 seat ANZ Stadium in NSW and the 56,000 seat Etihad Stadium in Victoria, where, incidentally, the UFC drew a record crowd when Ronda Rousey was unceremoniously knocked out by Holly Holm in November 2015. Melbourne, a world-renowned sporting city, will be smack bang in the middle of its Spring Racing Carnival highlighted by the running of the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup thoroughbred race on the second Tuesday in November. The race attracts around 100,000 spectators and draws tens of thousands of visitors from overseas and interstate, the sort of cashed-up patrons who would make the ideal ticket buyers for a world class boxing match.

But Horn-Pacquiao 2.0 isn’t the only international world title fight being discussed.

In the sleepy, forgotten state of Tasmania, there have been rumblings about another WBO world title clash.

Early discussions have taken place about bringing undefeated Mexican knockout artist Oscar Valdez 22-0 (19) downunder to make the third defence of his WBO featherweight world title against the #10 ranked Luke ‘Action’ Jackson 14-0 (6) in Hobart on the Apple Isle.

“He’s down for it, I’m down for it, his team is down for it, my team is down for it, the only thing we have to organise is for the Tasmanian Government to get behind it,” Jackson told his hometown newspaper the Hobart Mercury last week.

Jackson and Valdez are no strangers to each other. They both came through the amateur ranks at together and have fought in many of the same tournaments along with the 2012 Olympic Games.

When Jackson posted a link on his Instagram account to another story in the Mercury about the potential fight and tagged Valdez, the 26-year-old dual Olympian replied “I’m down!”

“I replied we could pack out a stadium in Tasmania and everyone out here would love his style, the Mexican style, they would love it,” said Jackson.

Valdez has some good names on his ledger. The 2008 and 2012 Olympian beat former IBF champion and Billy Dib conqueror Evgeny Gradovich by TKO4 for the NABO title last year and backed that up with a two-round destruction of Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda, 26-0 (23) at the time, for the vacant WBO 126-pound world title last July on the undercard of the world title unification bout between Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol. In November Valdez dominated and stopped Japan’s Hiroshige Osawa 30-3-4 (19) in seven and last April was extended the twelve round championship distance by Miguel Marriaga 25-1 (21) for the first time in his career.

The Top Rank-promoted Valdez is an aggressive stalker with genuine power that belies his featherweight frame. Jackson, who is promoted by Adam Wilcock and managed by Mike Altamura, knows that they will need to raise of purse of at least $300,000 to get Valdez on a plane, but believes it is a realistic figure to come up with.

First things first though. Jackson will need to get by Mexican Humberto de Santiago 14-3-1 (10) on September 16.

“If I win this next fight we could make it happen next year, that’s realistic,” Jackson told the Hobart Mercury. “He wants it. I’m top 10 now [in the rankings] so he can fight anyone he wants in the top 10, that’s realistic.

“All going well if I win this next fight, that will put me even higher.”

Jackson will be preparing for the Santiago fight in the United States under the watchful eye of his trainer Billy Hussein.

Talks are underway for the world title fight to take place in early 2018.