The decision from Brock Jarvis to split from long-time trainer Jeff Fenech before the biggest fight of his career backfired on Wednesday night.
The 27-year-old Sydney product, who had the Australian boxing icon in his corner for the majority of his career, was stopped by Keith Thurman inside three rounds.
It was a rather clinical performance from Thurman, who returned after more than three years away from the ring and now looks to be on a collision course with Tim Tszyu.
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However, for the rising Aussie star it was a major reality check that could have significant ramifications on his career long-term.
Keith Thurman lands a big left hand on Brock Jarvis. No Limit Boxing
Jarvis (22-2) decided just over a month ago that he wanted to move in a new direction in terms of his preparation, which saw Fenech walk away from the team entirely.
Instead, he was walked out to the ring by former NRL player Curtis Scott, among others, leading to some harsh words for Jarvis in the aftermath.
“I’ve gotta be critical of Brock Jarvis – splitting with Jeff Fenech a month before this fight was just lunacy,” journalist Peter Badel said on Main Event’s coverage.
“To have someone of Jeff’s greatness, intel and experience would have settled Brock. I believe that Brock defeated himself in many ways. He was beaten before he got to the ring, having a former footballer in your corner in Curtis Scott was ridiculous.
“He gave himself no chance tonight and Jeff Fenech will be very disappointed, because he loves him like a son and he wanted to help … he was no chance without Jeff.”
Jeff Fenech watches on as Brock Jarvis loses in Sydney. No Limit Boxing
Former world champion Shawn Porter, who flew into Sydney and commentated the card at Hordern Pavilion, admitted the decision “didn’t make sense” from the Jarvis camp.
“We have no clue what the camp is like with Jeff Fenech, maybe there is something we don’t know about with their personalities,” he said.
“But it doesn’t make sense to leave Jeff this close to a fight, you’ve got to weather the storm of whatever personality you are dealing with and put all that to the side.”
While any hopes of moving towards world title or global recognition have been dashed for Jarvis, there is still time to turn things around.
Tszyu believes the Cronulla product can remain a relevant figure in the local scene, despite the disappointing result in his home city.
Aussie boxing superstar Tim Tszyu. Getty
“He’s still a big name in the sport of boxing here in Australia,” Tszyu said.
“There’s still plenty of big fights to be made – Nikita (Tszyu) is still out there. I don’t think it’s over and he is young, he has got plenty of years ahead of him.
“It seemed like there was too many distractions and too much noise coming in. When you’re in camp, you don’t need noise – you need to be solely focused on what’s ahead.”
In the co-main event, Michael Zerafa scored a crucial seventh-round TKO win over the little-known Besir Ay, keeping himself in the mix for bigger fights later in 2025.
