Abe Archibald set to defend NSW title as National Boxing Series puts Canberra on Fox Sports

This is a man who fought through a torn bicep in his professional boxing debut, who stole the show in a war of attrition to capture a state title, who trained for months on end with chances to defend the strap drying up.

Archibald [5-0-1] will end months of uncertainty when he defends his ANBF NSW welterweight championship against Terry Stevenson [4-0] on December 11.

Exhibition Park in Canberra's Coorong Pavilion will be at the centre of the Australian boxing sphere as it hosts the National Boxing Series event broadcast live on Fox Sports.

Yet there were moments Archibald wondered if his day would come at all as he slugged his way through home workouts with little more than a skipping rope and dumbbells.

Wind back to March 13 and Archibald was less than two weeks removed from the finest performance of his professional career in what was lauded as perhaps the greatest fight Canberra has ever seen.

He stood outside the AIS with a host of boxers and promoters for a photoshoot intended to launch a nationally-televised event slated for the AIS Arena in June.

Yet for all of the hype surrounding the chance to be beamed into pubs and lounge rooms across the country, it was the coronavirus outbreak dominating the conversation. The virus which would end that show before it got off the ground.

"I remember we were talking and someone said 'they've canned the NBA in the US'. I was thinking 'seriously? I can't imagine, this must be getting pretty real'. Next thing you know," Archibald said.

"It was kind of surreal, trying to train in the hope you might be able to get a fight, but not even being allowed to spar a sparring partner. It definitely took a lot of resilience to keep training right through.

"I just kind of felt like I had no idea what was going on. We actually had a Capital Fight Show team meeting, to more or less thank us for staying in the gym all year and say 'we'll see you next year'.

"I think it was that day [Capital Fight Show promoter Nick Boutzos] had a conversation [with NBS promoter Dean Lonergan] and the opportunity came up to put on the Fox Sports show down here.

"It was a bit of hope for us all, and the gym was open by then so I just started training flat out, and it's come off.

"It was so touch and go for a long time, we didn't know whether it was going to go ahead. It's surreal knowing that it is happening."

World-ranked featherweight Brock Jarvis will headline the show against Mark Schleibs in a bout for the vacant International Boxing Federation inter-continental strap.

It looms as a golden opportunity for Jeff Fenech's unbeaten protege [17-0] to continue his stunning rise up the ranks with the 22-year-old looming as the major drawcard in the televised event.

Yet the opportunity is just as big for a raft of locals looking to make their mark on the domestic scene with Alex Cooper [3-0] and Ben Dencio [7-3] joining Archibald on the six-fight card.

"It's what you dream of when you're growing up as a boxer, fighting for titles on TV and defending titles on TV," Archibald said.

"I'm really proud to have the opportunity to defend the title on Fox. A lot of my family are not going to be able to come here to watch the fight but they're still going to be able to watch it live on Fox.

"We've got a lot of guys in various weight divisions ranked in the top 10 in governing bodies around the world. The Moloney's are doing their thing at the elite level, we've got Kambosos on the brink of a world title.

"It's absolutely a rush to be around boxing right now."