JEFF Fenech knows he has someone special on his hands in 21-year-old protege Brock Jarvis.
The three-time world champion hopes Bendigo boxing fans will soon learn it for themselves.
Sydneysider Jarvis and his trainer Fenech were in Bendigo on Thursday to promote the undefeated young gun's bout against Filipino challenger Ernesto Saulong on August 31, as part of the Jeff Horn-Michael Zerafa 'Battle of Bendigo' undercard.
Jarvis declared himself fully recovered from the emergency intestine surgery he underwent during a recent training trip to Thailand and eager to build on his super-impressive 16-0 record with 15 knock-outs.
"I had to take three weeks off because of that, but I have been back training and everything is fine," he said.
"I'm not sure (what happened), I woke up one day before training and I was having pain. I still went to training and afterwards I was feeling worse, I said to the boys 'what do you think is wrong?'
"In a short amount of time I was having surgery, it was a strange thing. I'm all okay now."
The fight will be Jarvis' first since landing the IBF youth super bantamweight title with a first round knock-out of another Filipino Philip Luis Cuerdo in March.
That win is seen as just the tip of the iceberg as far as potential title wins for Jarvis.
Speaking at the Hit Factory Boxing gym in Golden Square, Fenech paid the 21-year-old the ultimate compliment.
"The kid can do things I could never dreamed of doing," the Australian boxing legend said.
"He has so much skill and is one of those fighters who learns everything quickly.
"He had 13 amateur fights and started boxing at 16, he's been fast-tracked, but with (promoter) Dean Lonergan's help, hopefully in a year and a half he'll be world champion.
"In me he has someone who doesn't tell him how to do things, I show him how to do things - I'm not a trainer, I'm a teacher."
Jarvis considers himself privileged to find himself on the undercard of such a major boxing card and anticipates he will relish the opportunity to fight in front of 5000 spectators at Bendigo Stadium.
"There's pressure (with each fight), but that's my job to handle - I want to keep stepping up and getting bigger fights," he said.
"This is a good next step. 5000 people is a big crowd, I don't think I have fought in front of that many people before, but I'm looking forward to it."
READ MORE:
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
