A dream is about to be realised for Gunnedah-based boxer Mace Eveleigh, who is set to have his first professional bout in a few weeks’ time.

Mace is gearing up to compete at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre (TRECC) on July 5, although his opponent is unknown after two candidates withdrew.

“The closer we get to the day, the more nerve-wracking it’s getting but at the same time the more exciting it’s becoming,” Mace said.

“It’s been a big dream of mine for a long time.”

Mace’s amateur boxing career yielded about 12 wins and about 15 losses, since his debut in 2020.

Having lost 10 successive fights at one point, Mace said the losing streak was part of his story while some fights were “about the experience”.

“I couldn’t find it in myself just to be content with what I’d done and step aside and say ‘maybe this isn’t for me’. Because it is for me,” he said.

“This is my dream. This is my life. I knew I wouldn’t be happy if I just set it aside and didn’t come back.”

Mace said he felt now was a good time to step up to professional level, after winning his Australian GLIBI featherweight champion fight in Sydney on March 1.

“The first time I walked into the gym, it really changed my life,” Mace said.

“I loved boxing. I couldn’t imagine not doing it.

“The more I trained, the more it really inspired me to do more for myself.

“Part of that journey is to go through the pro ranks.”

With a weight of 57.1 kilograms required for the featherweight division, Mace said he expected numerous changes at professional level compared to amateur level.

Weigh-ins will be on the day before the bout rather than the same day as the bout, while another change will be three-minute rounds instead of two-minute rounds.

Headgear, gloves and hand wraps were other aspects which Mace said would be different.

“(Going from) two minutes to three minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but inside that ring it’s a long minute,” he said.

“With three-minute rounds, you have a lot more time to be patient and calculating.

“It’s not about scoring points, it’s about making it impactful.

“In two-minute rounds you want to work work work the whole time.

“In three-minute rounds if you do that you’re going to tire out fairly quickly.”

Mace said setting goals was important, and to “break it down and achieve goals step by step”.

“In the future we can dream of world titles, but we really need to take it one fight at a time,” he said.

“I want to be better than I was the last time I got into the ring.”

Mace said his diet wouldn’t change too much while he needed enough energy for training, due to preparing for longer and higher intense bouts than the amateur fights.

“We need to make sure every T is crossed and every I is dotted,” he said.

“You’ve got to tick all those boxes, and don’t skip your sessions.”

Mace’s head coach Michael Kleinschafer said Mace had been “working very hard towards his goals of having a career in fighting and has spent years gathering the experience, knowledge and tools for this exact moment”.

“This decision has been one that’s been contemplated for at least two years, and coming off a win of the Australian title has given myself and Mace more than enough confidence to take this step forward in his journey,” the coach said.

“All this together is what makes us know that he is absolutely ready for this stage in the journey.”

Mace’s journey to professional boxing stemmed from his upbringing, which he said “wasn’t always easy” even if the family “always had enough to get by”.

“I started boxing because I was an angry teenager, and I couldn’t deal with the stuff that I’d learned and seen and experienced as a kid,” he said.

“This was the only way I found that helped me to deal with that.

“Without boxing I wouldn’t have much of a purpose. I’d feel lost.

“This gives me purpose to be good. This gives me reason to be good. This gives me reason to care.”

Mace stressed that there were common misconceptions about boxing, while boxers were “not inherently violent”.

“You have to have the ability to cause harm to be able to control yourself,” he said.

Mace said it was a proud moment to see his younger brother Logan had also taken up boxing.

To order photos from this page click here