WITH fight night fast approaching, the Vinton Street Gym’s stable of professional boxers are ramping up their preparations.

The California Gully-based gym, run by brothers Pat and Gary Connolly, will have four fighters in action on the March 17 ‘Night of the Dragons’ card at Bendigo Exhibition Centre.

It will be the long-running gym and its promotional arm VSG Promotions’ first ever professional fight night.

Eager to impress will be hometown trio Brad Morgan, Matt Hall and Dino Rafaeles, who head towards March 17 unbeaten in 14 previous combined fights.

They will be joined by stable-mate Jesse Tuitupuo, who will be making his professional debut.

All four boxers will face Thai opponents on a card headlined by a super bantamweight clash between former world champion Marlon Tapales (Philippines) and Rivo Rengkung (Indonesia).

Contracts for the bouts were signed in front of the Vahland fountain on Sunday, in between filming of a promotional video featuring Dja Dja Wurrung man Trent Nelson, which will showcase Australia and Bendigo to the world via live-streaming on the night.

The professional boxing showcase will mark the Australian debut for Rafaeles, whose four previous four fights have all been in Asia.

It will be Morgan and Hall’s first bouts on Australian soil since June 2016, with their last two fights being staged in Asia.

With both boxers last bouts ending in a win against Thai opponents, their trainer Gary Connolly said it would not just be the hometown fighters who would be eager to impress in Bendigo.

“Our guys (Morgan and Hall) went over there and on national TV KOed two guys, so I am sure they will want a little payback,” he said.

“The Thais are no slouches when it comes to world boxing; they’re a bit of a powerhouse.

“There are about four (current) world champions from Thailand.

“These guys we are bringing out to fight our guys have assorted records, but most of them have had 100-plus Muay Thai fights, so they are tough guys.”

Connolly said it would be a special moment for Tuitupou, who had trained on-and-off at the VSG Gym in recent years, but was now keen to try his hand at pro-boxing.

“He’s pretty excited – it will be a big night for him for many reasons,” he said.

“It’s an exciting time for anyone to step into the boxing ring for the first time and have a professional fight.

“All the boys are looking sharp. The three guys (Morgan, Hall and Rafaeles) who need to make weight are on track to do that.

“They’re training hard, all in good shape and we expect great results from all of them.”

Tickets for ‘Night of the Dragons’ are available from The Capital box office, GoTix.com, or 5434 6100.