Sunday, July 29, 2012, was a date the Tasmanian had waited eight years for, but it was effectively over in nine minutes.

Two years older and 9cm taller, the Chinese fighter, ranked ninth at the previous world championships, won all three rounds en route to a 20-7 points victory.

Jackson, captain of Australia’s boxing team in London, cut a distraught figure as he left the city’s vast ExCel exhibition centre as swiftly as possible.

Then 27, he was a four-time national champion, had been to two Commonwealth Games, two world championships and had suffered the devastating experience of winning the national title in 2008 only for his defeated opponent to gain revenge in the subsequent Olympic qualifier, denying him a spot at the Beijing Games.

He had already announced his intention to retire after London.

However, the swift end to such a long-awaited dream inevitably left a hollow feeling.

‘‘I put my whole life into making the Olympics and once it was over I was lost,’’ Jackson told The Examiner this week.

‘‘I also split up from my girlfriend around that time and I had no direction.

‘‘I went back to what I knew best, which was boxing, but I did not want to continue with the amateurs because I was annoyed with the system and how it worked and pro boxing was something different.

‘‘I always said I would never go pro, but boxers are a funny breed.

‘‘It’s been the best decision I’ve made because I feel I’m now boxing the best I ever have.’’

Two-and-a-half years after leaving the ring in London, Jackson will enter an alternative office in Toowoomba next Saturday seeking to add a maiden pro national title to those he won as an amateur.

‘‘If I can do it as a pro as well as an amateur, it will show my quality,’’ he said.

‘‘If I get a national title I hope it will open more doors. Everything is a step in the right direction to hopefully have a shot at a world title, but like anything you cannot build a house without foundations. I can’t look too far ahead.’’

Much like fellow Tasmanian Daniel Geale, who also fought at Commonwealth and Olympic Games before turning pro, Jackson has often struggled for the same recognition as mainland counterparts.

Born in Hobart on New Year’s Day, 1985, he attended Cosgrove High School in Glenorchy and ran his own asbestos removal company to help finance an amateur boxing career which saw him win national titles at both featherweight (57kg) and lightweight (60kg), claim gold (2010), silver (2008) and bronze (2005) medals at Oceania championships, bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and gold at the prestigious Arafura Games in 2011.

Since the decision to turn pro, he has reverted to featherweight, sold the asbestos company and opened up his own gym, Action Fitness Centre at Derwent Park, and begun his new career with seven emphatic wins, three by technical knockout and four unanimous points decisions.

In contrast, next week’s opponent, fellow 30-year-old Will Young, has lost three of his seven pro fights and Jackson believes his extensive amateur background will help when he heads to the Queenslander’s home town.

‘‘I had over 113 amateur fights and have fought five or six times in a week,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m very confident that I’m going to win because I’ve done the work and believe I’m the better fighter and he hasn’t been in the ring with anyone of my calibre.

‘‘I think I have faced better fighters in both amateurs and professional ranks. I’ve fought Russians in Russia, Cubans in Cuba, I’ve been all round the world boxing and once the bell goes his friends and family cannot fight for him.

‘‘I’ve got a solid crew of 50 going to Toowoomba and we know how Tasmanians carry on, so we’ll make a noise up there. We’re prepared for anything he brings.’’

Like Geale, Jackson has turned to Sydney in order to take the next step in his career and is full of praise for his trainer Billy Hussein, whose CV spans from Jeff Fenech to Billy Dib.

‘‘I believe I’ve got one of the best trainers in the world. He is a perfectionist and so am I,’’ Jackson said.

‘‘I’ve moved myself away from Tasmania and am doing everything in my power to make sure that I’m in the best shape possible.

‘‘It’s a big opportunity for me to prove my calibre and I’ve got to go to his hometown so it’s not going to be easy, but I’ve been in Sydney for six weeks to prepare and I’m ready to rock.’’

Whatever the result next Saturday, Luke ‘‘Action’’ Jackson said he has a more balanced future than when he left the Olympics in 2012.

‘‘After London I had nothing. Now I have my gym to fall back on when boxing is over.

‘‘That supports me and takes care of the bills, but I’m doing this as an investment in myself and hope it leads to bigger and better things.

‘‘I believe everything happens for a reason. I went through a lot after my Olympic disappointment, but when I made my debut as a pro I thought this is where I’m meant to be.

‘‘Boxing is my outlet and I love it.’’