Australian boxing royalty will oversee Tasmanian Tyler Blizzard's return to the ring after a five-year absence.
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Three-time world champion Jeff Fenech has taken the reins as Blizzard's trainer as the 23-year-old returned to full-time training in New South Wales in July.
"When I was working in the mines, I was chatting with one of my mates, Benny Harrington, about whether I should come back down to Tassie or where I could set myself up best to have a crack at the pros and he said he knew Jeff," Blizzard said.
"He passed my number on to Jeff and he gave me a call to come down to Sydney to do some training with him and the rest is kind of history.
"He's welcomed me in like his own with his family - it's a great experience and a great opportunity."
Admitting he was "starstruck" early on, the former St Patrick's College student, who moved to Queensland in 2016, has also decided to turn professional after an amateur career of 60 fights and eight years.
Having represented Australia at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa in 2015 and the amateur world championships in Germany in 2017, Blizzard will have to adjust to changes that come with the professional switch.
"Obviously there's no headgear and just the style of training is a lot different to amateurs," he said
"You've got to be a lot more durable to last longer rounds, instead of doing three rounds in the amateurs, you're looking at down the line possibly 10-12 three-minute rounds."
Describing himself as "Tassie at heart", with his family residing in Hadspen, Fenech's new pupil is aiming high.
"I want it to be something I look back on in 10-20 years' time and say I really gave it my best shot," he said.
"I just want to be the best version of myself and hopefully win a world title in the next 5-10 years' time."
Blizzard is aiming for a return to the ring towards the end of this year or early next, and predicts he'll be fighting as a 55kg bantamweight, three kilos heavier than where he fought most of his amateur career at flyweight.
The Tassie product, who is thankful for the ongoing support of Chris Reissig Builders, is looking for sponsors to further his journey, with Nic Colla on 0400 937880 his contact.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
