Jack Rafferty

Jack Rafferty is an English professional boxer competing in the super-lightweight division. Born on September 22, 1995, in Manchester, England, he fights under the nickname “The Demolition Man.” As an amateur, Rafferty was relatively unrecognized on the international stage but transitioned to professional boxing, making his debut in 2017 without a prominent amateur background.

He began his professional journey with a points decision victory over Kevin McCauley on October 7, 2017, and steadily progressed through local shows in small venues. Over the next few years, he achieved stoppage victories against opponents like Danny Little and Paul Cummings. Rafferty captured the vacant Commonwealth super-lightweight title in December 2023, winning by first-round TKO against Lee Appleyard. In October 2024, he stopped Henry Turner in the ninth round to claim both the British super-lightweight and WBC International Silver titles. He successfully defended all three belts in February 2025, forcing Reece MacMillan's corner to retire in the seventh round. He is scheduled to defend his titles again in August 2025.

Beyond boxing, his late mother serves as a significant source of inspiration for him. Before winning his British title, he sent her a message promising to dedicate the victory to her memory and visited her grave afterward.

Jack Rafferty is an orthodox super-lightweight whose technical approach centers on jab work, body-head flow, and angle-shifting footwork. In his British title fight against Henry Turner, he established early control with a jab to gauge distance, frequently following it with accurate straight right hands. As Turner began to tire in the later rounds, Rafferty shifted to a body-first attack, landing a powerful left hook to the body that drove Turner against the ropes. He then unleashed follow-up punches upstairs, using a rhythm of head-and-body combinations to destabilize Turner before delivering heavy combinations that forced Turner's corner to stop the fight in Round 9.

Earlier, in his Commonwealth Silver eliminator against Ben Fields, Rafferty mixed jabs and feinted with straight punches early on, then switched to a sustained body attack. Around Round 6, he scored a knockdown with a powerful left to the body, and later in Round 9, he landed another left to the body followed by a left hook upstairs that knocked Fields down, closing the show with uppercuts and hooks. Against Lee Appleyard, he quickly found his range with fluid jab-right-hand sequences, flooring Appleyard with a massive right cross in Round 1, then finishing him off with continued straight rights following the jab.

Rafferty’s footwork relies on lateral pivots and shuffling rather than long circling. He remains steady on his lead hand, allowing him to close the distance. His guard stays in control of the tempo. As his opponents tire, he engages in body-targeted combinations—particularly left hooks to the midsection that reset their posture. Defensively, Rafferty employs a high guard early on to shield against counters and slips behind the jab as the fight progresses. In close quarters, he deflects punches to control the action.