A boxing world title fight could be bound for Canberra as soon as next year as the city positions itself to capitalise on a rebirth of the sweet science in Australia.
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D&L Events promoter Dean Lonergan brought Jeff Horn's stadium showdown with the legendary Manny Pacquiao to life and says a world championship bout at Canberra Stadium is within the realms of possibility.
Lonergan is on the verge of striking a deal with Capital Fight Show promoter Nick Boutzos to bring two televised shows to Canberra next year with the prospect of one turning into a pay-per-view event.
The first is slated for April with Boutzos eyeing two blockbuster bouts to headline the card with a long-term goal of generating enough interest to bring a world title fight to Canberra.
It comes in the wake of the National Boxing Series' first foray into Canberra with a sold-out event headlined by Brock Jarvis at Exhibition Park's Coorong Pavilion this month.
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Now a host of Lonergan's promotional stable including featherweight Jarvis (18-0), cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (20-0) and Olympic Games-bound heavyweight Justis Huni (2-0) are potentially within reach of world title shots.
"The answer is [a world title fight in Canberra] can happen and it will be incredibly special," Lonergan said.
"The key thing to making it happen is to have consistent shows down there of significant quality, and just keep slowly growing the fan base.
"Now you've got Josh Papalii deciding to throw his hat in the ring with boxing, and boxing in Australia is going through a big rebirth at the moment.
"With the quality of the show and card we had last time around, it could be realised."
Boutzos is keen to hold more shows at the Exhibition Park precinct with his eyes turning to the Budawang Pavilion to house a bigger crowd following the rousing success of the last show.
"Our ultimate goal is to work with the ACT government and try to bring a world title to Canberra," Boutzos said.
"I'm really happy with the first event we got together after the coronavirus pandemic knocked out the June event at the AIS.
"With the AIS Arena closing, we had a few obstacles. We've moved it to a new home now at Exhibition Park, where we were for our December event which had the fight of the year on it, and we want to bring it to you twice next year.
"With everything going on well we may be on pay-per-view later next year."
It marks a huge turnaround after Boutzos had all but given up on hosting another show in Canberra this year due to the strain COVID-19 restrictions put on crowd numbers.
He called a raft of Canberra-based fighters to a dinner in September with the intention of thanking them for their hard work in the face of uncertainty, and they would reconvene in the new year.
An hour before dinner Lonergan called, and what came next was a National Boxing Series card at the Coorong Pavilion which turned heads around the nation thanks to a Jarvis masterclass and a fight of the year contender.
Jeff Fenech's protege Jarvis moved to 18-0 with a brutal display of body punching to stop Mark Schleibs and claim a pair of regional featherweight titles.
Jacob Ng was dropped in the first round before stopping Hunter Ioane in one of the most exciting fights of the year which sent the sold-out crowd into raptures.
"It's fair to say after the success of the last show, we are closing in very soon on getting a deal done to do a double. We're nearly there," Lonergan said.
"I was really happy with the way it went. Jeff Fenech and Brock Jarvis and everybody else on that card, they were very happy. Nick rolled out the red carpet, so it was fantastic."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
