Jake Carr relinquishes Australian super middleweight title

 
AUSTRALIAN super middleweight champion Jake Carr has announced that he will vacate his title with immediate effect, in an effort to expedite discussions for a Commonwealth title showdown with Englishman Luke Blackledge.

 
The undefeated Carr has had just ten professional bouts, but the experience of his current American training camp has prompted the decision to take action to accelerate his career.

 
Carr (10-0, 3 KOs) has been training in the presence of the legendary Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, with a view to defending his Australian title for a third time next month.

 
However, the 24-year-old is now making the surprise announcement that he will relinquish the national title as he seeks to launch into the international phase of his career.

 
“My team and I are going to vacate with Australian title and give other aspiring Australians the opportunity to fight for it while I look to step it up to the next level,” says Carr from the United States.

 
“The experience over here has been amazing so far. We have had some very high quality sparring and training and I’ve been improving with every session.”

 
“All of my training camps have been very good but where this experience has differed is that I’m training with a lot more higher quality fighters, in a country where boxing is very popular. It is a great feeling.”

 
Carr’s target is the Commonwealth super middleweight belt currently held by Lancashire’s Blackledge, who has lost just two of his 23 bouts.

 
Blackledge (19-2-2, 6 KOs) won the title in a unanimous points performance over fellow Englishman Liam Cameron in April, and following an injury delay is now expected to make his first defence in September.

 
“I would love to challenge for the Commonwealth title,” Carr added. “And him withdrawing from his first defence has presented a perfect opportunity for us to get it on,”

 
“Hopefully seeing me vacate my Australian title will show them how serious I am about taking the fight,”

 
“I haven’t seen too much of Blackledge, but you can tell by his record that he is certainly handy in the ring, and it would be a great test as I look to take the next step in my career.”

 
 
Words: Ben Damon
Photo: Matt King/Getty Images