Jack Flatley should have whole of Bolton supporting him, says his coach

The 22-year-old middleweight won his seventh straight bout since turning professional last Friday night.

He beat Anthony Fox from Wiltshire on points with an impressive display of boxing skills at Middleton Arena.

And his coach at Halliwell's Elite gym, Alex Matvienko, believes he is a rare talent his home town should start taking notice of.

"He's got a bit of a following but he should have a much bigger one, he's that good," said Matvienko.

"He's the kind of fighter people want to watch, he's exciting and he can box too.

"The lad he fought on Friday is a warrior and if you go to war with him you're going to have trouble.

"So we worked on boxing his head off and Jack was brilliant.

"The lad hardly laid a punch on Jack, I think he punched him twice all fight. Jack won comfortably on points."

Some towns and cities take their own boxers to their hearts, and Matvienko – a former professional boxer himself – thinks Farnworth man Flatley is the kind of fighter who could give a big Bolton following an exciting ride as he progresses in his career.

"A lot of people have said a lot of nice things about Jack already," he said.

"He was a top amateur who got to the ABA final, which is like the FA Cup final for boxing, and he beat some big names like Hughie Fury, Scott Fitzgerald and Jordan Reynolds.

"Bolton hasn't had too many top boxers and we want to get everyone in Bolton behind Jack Flatley like Manchester got behind Ricky Hatton.

"Half of Leeds gets behind Josh Warrington, Blackpool get behind Brian Rose, we want to see the same in Bolton for Jack.

"It would be great for him and great for Bolton and he's the kind of boxer who gets a big following.

"You won't meet a more dedicated young lad. He lives for boxing and he's Bolton and Farnworth through and through.

"The more support he gets the more momentum he will build and that would be good for him and for Bolton so I'd like to see the whole of Bolton take him to their hearts."