BOXER HAS BLOND

Thomas to make mark after time away

THE Blond Bomber is returning to the ring and, courtesy of a growing crop of Townsville young guns, he does not see it as a flash in the pan.

Townsville’s Dean Thomas will feature on the Ring Rivals Before Dark card on November 28, a concept which will include six other fellow North Queensland fighters.

It will be a comeback nearly two years in the making when he takes on Uton Chanavon, but the 26-year-old does not believe any rust will be on show.

Thomas had 91 fights — 88 amateur and three professional — under his belt before out-of-town work commitments restricted his ability to train.

Now back in his hometown, he has been on the bag at Hawks Boxing in anticipation for the upcoming showcase — which will also feature northern pugilists Lachlan O’shea, Patrick Clarke,

Tysinn Best, Jalen Tait, Aaron Styles and Ryan Lucas. Despite his recent absence from the ring, Thomas is confident in his capabilities.

While he appreciates the man in the other corner will be a heavy hitter to contender with, he backed his simple philosophy and more relaxed approach in his boxing rebirth to get the job done.

“Hit him hard and hit him often, that’s all I really want to do – and not get hit so much,” Thomas said.

“It’s all natural now, it’s just punching on with someone. I had a scrap with Lachie (O’shea) about two months ago and it was a bit of a blur.

“I wasn’t fit, I wasn’t settled but it was a good one – I’ve still got the chin there so that’s all that matters.

“It’s going to be tough, he’s fought all the top range boys, he’s fought Australian champions so he’s hard as – it’s going to be good.”

As more and more young fighters in Townsville have joined the ranks of Hawks and looked to launch their professional careers, Thomas rediscovered the urge to test himself in the throes of battle.

It gave him a spark, a flicker of belief that he still had plenty to offer.

Now that he is back and in the swing of training and competing, Thomas said he wants to at least reach the 100 bouts mark before contemplating his next move with the gloves on.

For the time being, he is lasered in on Chanavon and kickstarting his comeback in style.

“Now I’m back in town working and finally have the time to train, watching the young crew come through has given me the spark back,” Thomas said.

“There’s a lot of good boys in the welterweight division at the moment and there’s going to be top range fights, people chasing state titles and Australian titles so it’s going to be good to try and keep up with them.”