TYLER Sargent-Wilson knows he doesn't have to fight. In a round about way, it's what gets him out of bed in the morning.
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Boxing is a sport rife with stories, good ones too, of blokes who were 'headed down a dark path' only to be saved by the sport. The Wollongong super-middleweight's trajectory is different though.
He wasn't headed down a dark path. In fact, he was quite the way down the road to a comfortable career in construction management. He was also quite happy doing it but, when it comes down to it, he was always fighter at heart.
A golden gloves champion as amateur in his youth, the 23-year-old always had designs on a pro career. In the end, that drive was gradually eroded by some stiff decisions and politics of the amateur scene.
With no shortage of other options he tossed it in. Returning for a pro debut at the WEC last year, a first-round TKO victory, was more of a bucket list item than the rebirth of a career.
Ultimately it was some prodding from a good mate you may have heard of - Dragons star Zac Lomax - that convinced him to give it a second crack.
"I thought I wanted a career where I could go in follow uni and go into management, which is what I was doing," Sargent-Wilson said.
"I had no real intention of coming back to fighting as a career but I was training Zaccy Lomax through his off-season and he just said 'mate, what are you doing? You've got all the talent in the world and you're not going to have a crack at while you're young?' I thought 'you've got a point'.
"He was drilling it into me and I ended up quitting my job and deciding to have a crack at it. Training him one-on-one and just seeing his mentality towards his sport is what's inspired me to adapt my mentality for my sport now.
"He's a killer in his own game and he's made me want to be a killer in my game. Training him has changed my whole approach to it."
Lomax himself was a bit more forthright after Sargent-Wilson put him through his off-season paces at Brett Harriot's Fit2Fight gym at Coniston. It was early in the piece he decided he wasn't going to let up on his mate until he agreed to jump back in the ring.
"Over the off-season I really just wanted to take a little bit of load off my legs, not do too much running, and do some training to keep the lungs ticking over," Lomax said.
"To see how good he was, how gifted he was and how technically sound he was, it was unbelievable. He told me he wasn't going to pursue it but I just stayed on his case and said mate 'you're kidding'.
"I was just on his case from there on in and just kept peppering him. He's one of the hardest trainers I've ever seen. He had to leave his job and he's just dedicated everything to it now. He eats sleep and breathes it."
In reality, Lomax was simply telling him what he already knew; he had unfinished business in the ring.
"The flame never went out," Sargent-Wilson said.
"The whole experience of the debut was unreal. It was a great result and I was on a high for two or three weeks after that. I was telling people 'that's it' but in my own mind I knew this is me and this is what I want to do.
"It was always a thorn in my side whenever I'd think about 'what if'. I'm just not leaving it to chance now. I'm going all in and I'm happy I've done it."
He'll get to do it on the big stage when he fights on the undercard of the Paul Gallen-Lucas Browne heavyweight blockbuster at the WIN Entertainment Centre on April 21.
It was originally slated to be a mouth-watering all-Wollongong showdown with former Australian and Oceania amateur light-heavyweight champion Jeremiah Jabbour before doctors discovered a blood clot in his nose that required immediate surgery and ruled him out of the clash.
To see how good he was, and how gifted he was, it was unbelievable. He told me he wasn't going to pursue it but I just stayed on his case from there on in and just kept peppering him.
- Zac Lomax on boxer Tyler Sargent-Wilson
Sargent-Wilson will now meet Wentworthville slugger Steven Rados (3-1). It's the definition of a live opponent, but he hasn't come back to the sport to muck around.
"If I've thrown in my career to make this my career why stuff around with it?" he said.
"Going forward no fight's going to be easy but I want to test myself, not just fight guys I know I can beat. The fact I don't have to box if I don't want to makes me that much hungrier. I'm doing because I love it and I want to do it.
"It's what's getting me out of bed in the morning, getting me out on the road doing runs and wanting to prove to myself that I can beat these guys in Australia and eventually take on an international level as well.
"The hard training is what I'm enjoying the most. I'm doing three sessions a day and this is my full-time job now, I live to train. It's different this time. I've always had that flame there, now I've made that decision, it's just that much easier to wake up and say 'this is me now'."
Lomax will be in his corner on the night, but don't expect him to follow his good mate through the ropes any time soon.
"If we ever don't see eye to eye I won't be taking him on that's for sure," Lomax joked.
"I'll focus on footy, I've got a fair bit to learn before I start jumping in the ring, I'm well off that."