Ballarat boxing prodigy Jack Denahy has clinched the elite men's national 57-kilogram boxing championship for the second straight year.
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The featherweight fighter was all-smiles while speaking to The Courier after clean sweeping the tournament in Melbourne last weekend.
Sporting a black eye, he described the accomplishment as his biggest to date.
"It was awesome, when you work so hard for it, it makes victory so much sweeter, so I'm very pleased with how I won it," he said.
The 20-year-old won a slew of fights across three days en-route to the final against Queensland's Orion Brown.
It was the second time Denahy had faced-off against the Queenslander after he beat Brown to clinch the same title last year.
WATCH VIDEO: JACK DENAHY CLAIMS HIS SECOND NATIONAL BOXING TITLE
"He was a bit of a back-foot fighter, he likes to counter-punch so I knew I had to put the pressure on him and make the fight myself," Denahy said.
The Ballarat fighter did just that.
Taking the initiative, Denahy took control of the fight early, forcing Brown to the ropes on more than one occasion. With his opponent cornered, Denahy felt a knock-out victory beckoning.
It wasn't to be.
Brown escaped, and Denahy went on to comfortably win the fight by decision.
But the Queenslander still managed to give Denahy a parting black eye for his efforts.
"I was clean going into the final but he ended up laying one on me in the last round, but that's all right," Denahy said.
He likes to counter-punch so I knew I had to put the pressure on him and make the fight myself.
- Jack Denahy
The win marks the latest achievement in what has been a big year for Denahy, who won a Victorian title-fight in March to qualify for nationals.
Denahy said his versatile style was the key to his success.
"One of my best assets is my adaptability and being able to suss-out my opponent and understand what I have to do to win early. You've only got three rounds, so you've got to be able to do a bit of everything," he said.
The victory qualifies Denahy for the world championships in Russia in September. To donate to Denahy's travel expenses you can visit his Go-Fund-Me page.