Jake Carr recaps Renold Quinlan test, reflects on title defence

 
FOR Jake Carr, a third successful defence of his Australian super middleweight title marked the end another year unbeaten for one of Australia’s fastest rising talents.

 
Carr, 23, ended the year with his hardest fight as a professional, outscoring and ultimately outfighting the previously unbeaten Renold Quinlan from the Hordern Pavilion on the stacked card headlined by Daniel Geale’s one-sided win over Jarrod Fletcher.

 
Having already beaten Lyndon Edney and scoring the impressive scalps of Dane Mulivai and Renold Quinlan – Carr was relatively happy with his performances this year – as well as his efforts in his most recent outing.

 
“Renold Quinlan gave me a very tough fight and I had to be at my fittest and my best to be able to have come away with the win,” said Carr in an exclusive interview with Aus-Boxing.

 
“It’s very hard to expect anything in a fight, but we knew he was fast and he was going to put on a good fight,”

 
Carr, who has now won all of his nine professional contests – with three wins inside the distance – weathered an early storm from Quinlan, before storming back to comfortably win the second half of the fight.

 
Quinlan, 25, who had scored wins over the previously world rated Joel Casey and big-punching Joseph Kwadjo, was ultimately outclassed by a more resilient Carr, who worked tirelessly behind his accurate jab for ten consecutive rounds.

 
Under the guidance of trainer Steve Stenborg, who has trained Carr since his professional debut in 2012, Carr has consistently improved and has showed a desire to win unlike many prospects in recent times. With that intense desire to win, comes the ability for a fighter to critique their own performances.

 
This is something that Carr does well, citing several areas for improvement, while still acknowledging the winning performances that he continues to put together.

 
“After watching the fight back, I can say that I am happy with my performance and how I controlled the fight,” Carr continued. “Quinlan landed early, but I stuck to my guns and maintained my control over the fight and came away with the win,”

 
With Carr having firmly established his stranglehold on the national strap, it appears increasingly likely that the Newport-based Carr will challenge for international honours in the coming year.

 
While he didn’t have any names or a fight date booked in for next year, Carr is eager to leave that job to his recently appointed management at Grange Old School Boxing.

 
“At the moment we don’t have anything in concrete yet,” said Carr in closing.

 
“I’ll let the boys from the Grange work out what is next for me, but I am looking forward to being back in the ring next year.”

 
 
Photo: Louie Abigail/Photography by Rockfingrz