Two years ago, after watching his twin brother box in Geraldton, Aaron Fury decided to join a boxing gym.
Feeling "a bit lost" and "between sports", he wanted to regain some of his fitness and get out of a rut, so he signed up and had no idea of the future that was in store for him.
"It started just as fitness, to see if I could get fit and get back into footy again," Fury said.
"But then I got addicted to the boxing and that led me to my first fight."
Under the watchful eye of trainers Danny and Kelly Heyes at Fighter Fit Boxing Gym in Mandurah, Fury began training hard to prepare for his first time stepping into the ring.
"I had about a year's training before my first fight - four or five training sessions a week. I loved the fitness side of it as well as learning the actual skill of boxing.
"Danny and Kelly are pretty strict on making sure you're ready before you get into the ring, which is a really good thing."
When it was time for his first fight, Fury exceeded expectations, winning after the first bout.
"It felt unreal - I was on a high for about five days after I think," he laughed.
Fury said as an anxious, introverted person, stepping into the ring was a "big challenge".
"I'm a bit of a nervous person with bad anxiety at times, so stepping into the ring was a big deal and to get away with the win - that was also a bit of a personal win for me."
With his first win under his belt, Fury went on to train and develop further accumulating seven fights with five wins in his repertoire.
The gym, Fury said, had become a place not only for training and fitness, but community.
"Boxing comes across as an individual sport but it's not. The time Danny and Kelly put into you and the people you work out with daily, it's a bit more of a community.
"I've made a lot of good friends down at the gym - every fight you're guaranteed to have the biggest cheer squad there."
Fury's wife and biggest supporter Lauren is also involved with the gym in training and fitness, and is there to cheer him on at each fight.
"My wife and I got married when I was about 22, we also have a close-knit family.
"Boxing has given me a new lease on life with all the health improvements - I've got more energy around the home, energy with my wife to go out and do things."
As for his future in boxing, Fury said he had a few big goals he wished to achieve by next year.
"I'm striving before the end of the year to get to 10 fights. I'm older in my career and started a bit late.
"I'm going to talk to Danny and hopefully in the middle of next year aim for a professional fight locally to move to that next level."
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
