More than 10 years passed between his first fight and his second fight, but Gunnedah-based boxer Shawn Hanslow (pictured) has finally shown he can rise to the occasion.

Having had a record of one loss and no wins, Shawn improved his record to two wins and one loss in the space of three months.

Shawn was among the victors at the Raymond Terrace Boxing Night, presented by Tuff’n’Up Boxing on September 27.

Having lost his maiden bout at the age of 14 back in 2015, Shawn gave up boxing for nearly a decade and focused on other things before returning to training late last year.

“I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t give it another go,” he said.

Shawn returned to the same gym where he trained in his early teens – Black ‘n’ Blue in Gunnedah – and improved his skills under the guidance of local boxing identities David ‘Spike’ Syphers and Wade Ryan.

Shawn had his maiden victory in July as he won by technical knockout, before encountering Jayden Thomas in a super heavyweight bout at the recent Raymond Terrace Boxing Night.

Shawn won by unanimous decision following three rounds of two minutes each, with the Gunnedah boxer notably gaining the upper hand in the second round when his opponent fell back into the ropes.

Another Gunnedah boxer, Matthew Williams, also had a bout on the night but the result did not go his way.

The main fights on the night were a Hunter region title (featuring two males in the 67kg weight division), and a Hunter region female title (63.5kg).

While pleased with his triumph, Shawn said “you can always get better”.

“I don’t want to get cocky,” he said.

“I want to focus on getting better.

“Everyone else trains to get better, and if you don’t they’ll surpass you.”

Next for Shawn is a bout at the fight night in Gunnedah later this month.

Wade meanwhile said he was happy with Shawn’s progress, with the former saying the latter had shown a good attitude and commitment while also having good speed and punching skills.

Wade said Shawn needed to “take it one fight at a time” while his next fight “should be a cracker” with two heavyweights facing off in Gunnedah.