LIFE changing.

That is how Jesse Tuitupou describes the preparation for his first professional boxing match.

The 28-year-old heavyweight from Bendigo will make his long-awaited debut on the Vinton Street Gym Promotion’s ‘Night of the Dragons’ card at Bendigo Exhibition Centre on March 17.

The story of Tuitupou’s ascension to pro-boxing is about 12-years in the making.

He has been a staple but irregular feature at California Gully trainers Pat and Gary Connolly’s Vinton Street Gym for more than a decade, but never committed full-time to a training regime or properly entertained the idea of a career in the ring.

That was until a few months ago.

“The gym approached me a few months ago and asked if I wanted to fight, so I said pencil me in,” Tuitupou said.

“I had always wanted to fight but never stuck at it, but this time I’ve turned it around.

“Coming up to my first fight, the nerves are starting to set in, but I really want to get this done. I’m really excited to see how my training pays off.”

Tuitupou will challenge Thailand's Tinnakorn Sirikul, also a newcomer to boxing, but a competitor with an extensive mixed martial arts background.

More than 40 of his friends and family are expected to be ringside for the fight.

Tuitupou, a former captain and long-serving player for rugby side Bendigo Fighting Miners – who tips the scales at 160kg - said he was eager to not disappoint.

He remains fiercely proud of his heritage – his mother is aboriginal and his father Tongan – and is pleased the boxing showcase will have a multicultural flavour to it.

If he was ever going to take the plunge into pro-boxing, Tuitupou said there was only ever going to be one gym that he would fight for.

He views VSG as a home away from home and the Connolly brothers as exemplary mentors and role models. He hopes their patience and devotion is rewarded with a big crowd next Saturday night.

“It (the gym) has a very old school feel to it. I’ve been to a few other gyms, but there’s nothing better than I’ve got here with Pat and Gary,” he said.

“They don’t stuff around; they’re great influences.

“They’re definitely gurus of boxing; they might come in when I think I am doing everything right, but they will mention something and it just turns everything around.

“This is the first of three boxing shows hopefully for them this year, so I hope it really pays off for them.

“They virtually do all this (training) for nothing but the love of the game.”

For a boxer who openly concedes he is late getting into the sport, Tuitupou still hopes to make a fist of things in terms of  a career in the sport.

“It’s one of the biggest things I have ever done or achieved – it’s going to be a great sense of accomplishment on the night once it’s done,” he said.

“Win, lose or draw it’s been a life changing experience for me.”

Tuitupou’s trainer Gary Connolly said Jesse would carry a height and weight advantage into the fight, with his opponent holding an edge in experience.

“(Sirikul) has got a mixed martial arts background. This is his first professional fight in the ring, but he has some of those bouts you see in clubs and places like that,” he said.

“The footage I have seen of him, he basically KOed a guy in five seconds, so he’s not mucking around. He’s a serious fighter.

“It’s going to be two massive guys colliding, with a lot of hard shots thrown.”

Win, lose, or draw, Connolly said Tuitupou had already won the respect and admiration of all those involved at VSG.

“He’s been umming and ahhing about doing boxing for a while and when put to him he’s basically said it’s now or never,” the trainer said.

“And here he is a couple of months later looking to step into the boxing ring to fight on a world-wide televised card against a big opponent from Thailand.

“He’ done amazing things and as he has said to me and other, it’s been a life changing experience.”

Tickets for ‘Night of the Dragons’, which will feature two Asian Boxing Federation title fights, are available from The Capital box office, GoTix.com, or 5434 6100.