FORMER Horsham man Mitchell Clark will make his professional boxing debut in Melbourne on Friday.
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Clark will step into the ring at Doncaster’s Shoppingtown Hotel to face Bentley Shefford in a super middleweight bout.
Shefford has a record of one win and one loss in two professional fights.
Clark, 19, has had a successful amateur career but said he was ready to take the next step.
“I’m just preparing myself and getting my body right for Friday,” he said.
“The nerves are always there for something new like this, but I’m excited too.
“I’m pretty pumped for it, and it’s good having the knowledge that I’m doing something I love and getting paid for it.”
Clark said he was set to face Shefford despite never fighting him before.
“I don’t really know too much about him other than he’s a Melbourne fella, he’s 26 years old and he’s got one win and one loss,” he said.
“I’m really just concentrating on myself and my preparation, and knowing in myself that I’m doing a bit more than he is to get over the line.”
Clark and Shefford will fight on a card that includes the World Boxing Council world youth super middleweight title fight between Australian defending champion Zac Dunn and Russian challenger Andrey Kalyuzhnny.
“I’m pretty pumped for it, and it’s good having the knowledge that I’m doing something I love and getting paid for it.”
- Mitchell Clark
Clark lived in the Wimmera as a teenager before relocating to Lucindale, South Australia and now Geelong.
He was mentored by his father Barry Clark and Coleraine’s Ray ‘Mocka’ McIntosh before moving from the Wimmera.
He has been training full-time under Bacchus Marsh’s Danny Kay since the start of the year.
Clark said his intense training regimen – which included boxing sessions in Essendon and cardio and fitness workouts in Bacchus Marsh – would give him a competitive edge.
He said he had high ambitions for a future boxing career.
“I’m just taking it in small steps, but I’ve got my eyes on the Victorian title in the near future,” he said.
“Then from there, I’ll be looking at the bigger picture and hopefully going for the Australian title.
“But for now I just want to get into the routine of fighting as a professional and working my way into it.”