Jackson England fights on the Tim Tszyu vs Brian Mendoza undercard against Nathaniel May (Photo: Action Jackson England/Facebook)
On the undercard of the upcoming showdown between Light Middleweight standouts Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza, 25-year-old Super Featherweight Jackson England (14-2, 8 KO) looks to make a statement as he takes on Nathaniel May (22-3) on October 15.
The past year has been a quiet one for the Aussie, as cancelled fights have put him on the sidelines for a calendar year.
But England finally made his return to the ring last July, defeating former foe Shiva Mishra by a wide unanimous decision.
When asked about how satisfying the win was, England said that the victory was great to build the momentum he needed going into his fight on the Gold Coast.
“It was a bit of a struggle being inactive and trying to get fights,” England told The Inner Sanctum “We were trying to look for fights everywhere and then finally got an opportunity to fight in Gatton (QLD.)
“It was nice to fight there and get that win, especially in front of family and friends, it’s just built momentum to go into the next fight.”
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England’s next fight will be the second fight he has had on pay-per-view, in his previous encounter under the bright lights he had one of the best fights of 2022 against the recently retired Paul Fleming.
Although he came up short by a slim margin, Jackson said that he took many lessons from the experience.
“Every fight is a lesson, regardless of the result” England said, “I personally believe I did do enough for the win but unfortunately it wasn’t my night they gave it to Paul [Fleming] but I’ve got nothing but respect for him.
“I think the biggest thing I took from that experience was just being happy in my performance, being on the big stage, [was something] I wanted to do my whole career but also not wanting to rush anything.
“I felt the process of it all was really good, the timing was really good as well. So, I take a lot of the lessons from that and I’ll use that in the future.”
Although he had time off from competing, the sweet science has always been on the mind of the Penrith-born fighter, who has been learning from Australia’s best. England was a mainstay in the camp of George Kambosos Jr. for his last two fights as a sparring partner, while the former unified champion prepared for the rematch with Devin Haney and Maxi Hughes respectively.
England commented that it was an honour to share the ring with Kambosos Jr, who is considered Australian boxing royalty.
“That was an amazing experience” England said, “I remember after the Fleming fight George’s dad [Jim Kambosos] approached me, he actually said that they wanted me to come and be a sparring partner for George for his first fight with Devin Haney.
“Unfortunately it didn’t actually work out so I wasn’t a sparring partner for the first Haney fight but I was for the second.
“I reached out personally to George after the first Haney fight and said if you need sparring partners, I’d love to help out in any way I can, I’d love to fly over and be there.
“He had me there for the rematch and it was phenomenal to be able to share the ring with someone like George who’s world-class, he’s done one of the biggest things in Australian boxing history.
“I had that opportunity and he called me back again for his camp for the IBO world title fight with Maxi Hughes. I was there for about four weeks as a main sparring partner, I was very grateful.”
England’s next fight is against the 10-year veteran Nathaniel May. Although he has been far more inactive than Jackson, May has had experience under the bright lights when he fought James Dickens in Liverpool back in 2019.
However, the 25-year-old revealed that he has had his eyes on a showdown with May for a long time.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for Nathaniel [May], he’s a great fighter” England stated, “I remember when I was on my way up I was watching him fighting and I thought to myself at some point we may have to fight each other.
“On paper with his experience and what he’s done in his career, he’s been up there and I’ve got nothing but admiration.
“But at the same time, I look at where I’m at, I look at my development, I just think it’s going to be one hell of a fight and I see myself getting my hand raised at the end of it as well.”
The main event of the evening features Tim Tszyu in his biggest fight to date, as he defends his recently promoted status as WBO Light Middleweight champion against Brian Mendoza in what is said to be a mega fight for Australian boxing.
When asked to give his thoughts on the fight, Jackson said he thinks Tzsyu has the tools to get the stoppage win.
“Mendoza is a bit of a wild card” England said “I do feel Tim will be on the money as he proved against [Tony] Harrison.
“He was there to fight and he showed up, I think he will do the same with Mendoza, but in Mendoza’s last couple of fights he was the underdog and he showed he was there to fight.
“He boxes really well too, but I think Tim will be able to outthink him, outsmart him as well as use that dominant pressure and the strength that he’s got.
“Tim has got great punching power and hand speed. I don’t think it will go the distance, Tim may stop him in the later rounds but that’s just my opinion, I’m backing Tim with this one.”
Jackson England fights on October 15, you can order on Kayo Sports
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