Three fighters have a chance to bring coveted belts back to the Goulburn Valley this week.
Goulburn Valley Boxing Academy (GVBA) pupils Chris Boland, Marcus Turner and Nate Long flew to South Australia on Monday to compete in the 2023 Australian Schools Boxing Championships, representing Victoria in the event which runs from July 4-8.
Meanwhile, GVBA owner Zedda Harrington has been selected on the Victoria coaching panel for the first time, marking a strong list of representatives out of the Mooroopna gym’s stable.
Boland, 18, is donning the gloves in the youth division as a bantamweight, while flyweight Turner, 14, walks the canvas in the junior division.
Long, 13, will fight in the schoolboy division.
The draw is done on Tuesday where the trio will find out its slate for the week, with Turner and Long potentially going straight to Saturday’s final, while Boland will have to win at least one fight to qualify.
With a monster week inside the ring lying in wait, Harrington said his fighters had levelled up to reach the grand stage off the back of a tough period for the gym during last October’s floods.
“It’s crazy when you look at some of the opponents for the boys; Marcus is up against a kid that trains alongside Justis Huni, Nate’s opponent trains out of Jeff Horn’s Gym and we are this little country town known for fruit,” he said.
“I’m just glad we have had a clean sweep since the last disaster and we can live up to our potential.”
While the experience carries plenty of weight for the GVBA contingent, the stakes are raised tenfold for Long and Turner.
Long, who travels from Kilmore three times a week to train at GVBA, and Turner will book their tickets to the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Mexico on November 1 should they take out the national title in their respective divisions.
They are the real deal and Harrington knows it.
"If you take the state title or national title in the association, you really know you’re the best in the country,“ he said.
Harrington and GVBA wished to thank Cardamone Real Estate and Shepparton Denture Clinic for assisting the team with funding for the event.