Good deal has Joel pumped to perform
AN agreement with his father nearly 20 years ago got Joel Hutchison into the ring.
While it felt like an obligation at the time, the Townsville pugilist has been thankful for the deal ever since.
The 33-year-old was on course for big things in boxing having secured an AIS scholarship in 2007, and his sights were set on a professional berth.
But the politics of the sport drove him away for four years, the love for the fight lost for a period.
However he returned in August to claim the inaugural Rumble At The Ross, and he will be back tonight to defend his crown.
Hutchison’s love of the sport has returned, his thirst for competition rejuvenated and it has helped him come back from what he says was a dark time in his life.
“When you’re a teenager you want to go out partying with your mates, but Dad wouldn’t allow it so he said ‘if you want to party you’ve got to train at boxing as well’,” Hutchison said.
“I’ve always wanted to (go professional), I’ve just never taken that step, and the hiatus was me umming and ahhing about it.
“Then I finally got the kick in the a--e I needed and the love for it back. It’s good, I needed it, and it’s brought me back from a bad place.
“I was just stuck in a rut really, just work, and eating too much – I was 93kg at one point and I’m back to 74. I wanted to better myself and I didn’t have the motivation.
“The wake-up call would have been slowly coming in every day and progressing, just grinding away and eventually getting to that fitness point where I thought I could do this again.” Hutchison still harbours ambitions to earn a start on the pro circuit, and he is aiming for next year to make that dream a reality.
But for now his focus is on getting through this weekend’s Ross Island Hotel showcase, where he will have to fend off two rivals to claim the $1000 prize.
His approach will be a relaxed one – “you waste your energy when you’re tense” – and he will rely on the people in his corner to help uplift him in the throes of the battle.
However perhaps his greatest asset is how he feeds off the crowd. Each cheer, each scream, it all drives him beyond his perceived limitations and he intends to use that to his advantage.
“In footy you’ve got your mates with you and you’re in the trenches; boxing is like that but you go back to the trenches,” Hutchison said.
“It’s like a white noise, you’re still coherent to everything around you but your focus is on this guy – his movements, his twitches, his eye movements and whatever he’s trying to feint. You’re watching him at that same time, but everyone is still yelling which gives you energy.”