Experience leads Mclachlan back from the brink
FIVE years ago Dallas Mclachlan was confined to a correctional centre farm, dreaming of a professional boxing career that seemed an impossibility. Now he is preparing for his highly anticipated debut in the ring.
Mclachlan will take on Joel Pavlides on November 20, on the undercard of fellow Townsville pugilist Lachlan O’shea’s Queensland title defence.
It is a moment Mclachlan describes as “crazy”, particularly given his struggles with alcohol, which eventually led to his stint behind bars.
“I had a problem with alcohol and stuff like that. Even as a teenager I was hanging around the wrong crowd and kept doing it until I ended up in the big house,” McLachlan said.
“I was on a correctional centre farm and someone asked me ‘ what would your dream be?’ I thought about it and I said ‘if I could do anything I would want to be a professional boxer’.
“It’s crazy, five years later it’s about to happen – my dream is about to become a reality.”
The moment when he steps into the ring will be especially profound for Mclachlan given it will be on the same card as O’shea.
The pair regard each other as brothers, with O’shea the man who first took Mclachlan through a gym session upon his release from the correctional centre.
Never could he have imagined how transformative his time with the gloves on would be, and now he wants to be a beacon of hope for
young men and women in North Queensland.
“Because of boxing I’ve got good support around me. There’s a lot of kids in the gym who look up to me so I want to be a good role model to them,” Mclachlan said.
“(I want to) show them if you buckle down and do what you want (you can achieve it).
“Everyone has dreams and if you just chase your dreams they can happen, you just have to be willing to make the sacrifice.”
With 12 amateur fights for 10 wins to his credit, Mclachlan’s rise to the professional ranks has been rapid.
According to his trainer, Hawks Boxing owner Dennis Clancy, the forthcoming bout will be an even contest in terms of skill. But in terms of heart he said Mclachlan had the means to emerge victorious.
Clancy said it was the likes of Mclachlan and O’shea who needed to be put on a higher pedestal, given how they have overcome adversity to get to where they are now in life.