Champion Tait to tackle Clarke in a real blockbuster
Australian Lightweight boxing champion Jalen Tait will take on the ‘Pride of Palm Island’ Patrick Clarke for the Australasian Super Light belt in a fight North Queensland boxing fans have been waiting for years to see.
Tait, now 21, was too young to have crossed paths with Clarke when the pair were rising through North Queensland’s amateur boxing ranks in the late 2010s.
Promoter Matty Rooney of Knuckles Boxing Gym said the chance to bring together two of the region’s finest fighters for the first time on June 10, for an internationally recognised belt, was too good to pass up.
“They were the two best amateurs around but because of their age difference coming up - Jalen is 21 and Paddy is 28 - they never got to fight on the amateur ranks,” Rooney said.
“Now they’re both adults and professionals they finally get to fight. They’ve been professionals now for about four years so the intrigue around this fight has been around for even longer.”
It will be Tait’s first fight since winning the Australian Lightweight belt vacated by Olympic bronze medallist Harry Garside in April.
The ‘Wolf,’ 12-0, is coming up a weight division from 61kg to 63.5kg to challenge Clarke (2-6) for another vacant belt, the Austraian National Boxing Federation (ANBF) Super Light.
Rooney said Tait was more than capable of stepping up.
“In the world of boxing, fighting up a weight class is harder,” he said.
“The boys hit a bit harder and they’re both extremely quick because they are so light, and both boys possess power.”
The blockbuster title fight has attracted a strong undercard, including a bout between former Mad Cow DJ Aaron Stahl and Brayden Rawlins, making his pro debut.
The pair were former teammates at Hawks Gym before Rawlins jumped ship to Rooney’s Knuckles.
Quayside Terminal in South Townsville will host the fight night.