Steve Spark had a chance to fight on Matchroom Boxing’s first ever show in his Australia homeland.
He instead settled for a role as ringside commentator on that October 15 evening in Brisbane. A far more significant opportunity awaited the Queensland-bred knockout artist, who traveled to the other side of the world for a fight with Montana Love this Saturday on DAZN from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Love’s hometown in Cleveland, Ohio.
“It was a perfect opportunity for us, the type of opposition we were looking for,” Spark insisted to BoxingScene.com. “It was offered to us about 15 weeks ago.
“For a fight of this caliber, you want to do it properly. We wanted good prep, good sparring. I’ve watched Montana Love a few times. He’s a hell of a fighter. It made sense to take that fight straight away, with the amount of time we’ve had to prepare.”
The deck isn’t stacked against Spark (15-2, 14KOs) quite as much as it appears on the surface. The 26-year-old from Toowoomba was already in shape while fielding offers from Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn. The chance to fight on Matchroom’s inaugural show in Australia was considered, though not just for the sake of staying active. At a time when many fighters are lucky to get in the ring more than once a year, Spark has already banked three wins in a 2022 campaign, all coming in a span of just three months. The most significant feat came in his last bout, a third-round knockout of former title challenger Apinun Khongsong on June 11 in his Toowoomba hometown.
It was his third in a row since a third-round knockout defeat to unbeaten countryman Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15KOs) last July in Newcastle, Australia. Spark replaced Michael Zerafa on short notice, moving up two weight divisions for what was viewed as a no-lose scenario—at least beyond the official verdict.
The win convinced Spark of moving upward rather than settling for stay busy fights on the domestic level. The chance to appear on the Brisbane card was considered, though only if Matchroom could deliver a meaningful opponent. When that couldn’t happen, Spark and manager/trainer Brendon Smith considered taking a big fight elsewhere. When Hearn came back with the chance to fight Love (18-0-1, 9KOs), the team didn’t waste a minute to accept the offer and get to work on what is viewed as a career-changing opportunity.
“We were also at a point where we wanted a big opportunity,” noted Spark. “We were looking at a few opponents from the UK that Matchroom hoped to bring over, but we couldn’t get any of those fights over the line. At that point, we didn’t want to fight again in Australia just for the sake of fighting.
“Then Eddie told us about the show they were planning in Cleveland with Montana Love. It was a perfect opportunity for us, the type of opposition we were looking for.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox