BENDIGO boxer Matt ‘The Hawk’ Hall will put his undefeated record on line when he travels to Asia this weekend.
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Hall will fight Thailand's Pisituoy Jiranpataya on the undercard of a WBA world super bantamweight title fight in Laos on April 29.
It will be the 20-year-old's third trip to Asia and his second fight on foreign soil.
Hall defeated Melchar Valiente in his most recent fight in the Philippines last December, to take his record to three wins and a draw from four professional bouts.
His trainer-manager Gary Connolly said Hall, an apprentice plumber in Bendigo, had the dedication to go a long way in the sport.
"He's a tall guy with a lot of power. He just wants to get better and his work ethic will take him a long way," he said.
"This year we will just try and get a few fights (into Matt), next year we'll try for a few regional titles and then will decide upon how quickly he can progress from there.
"Ultimately, he and our other professional fighters (Brad Morgan and Dino Rafaeles) can go all the way."
Connolly said Hall had indeed come a long way in a short time after his relatively short career in the amateurs.
"His first three fights were against guys with a lot more amateur experience, and his final fight was in the Philippines which he won by knockout against another experienced opponent," he said.
Hall will spend the week leading up to the fight training at the gym of legendary Thai boxing promoter Narongwas Buamas.
His opponent has a similar number of professional fights under his belt, but has the added experience of nearly 100 muay thai bouts.
Hall was confident he would be well served by his previous fight experience in Asia and a rigorous training schedule that has seen him in the gym each day for the past eight weeks.
The 187cm middleweight said the only issued he faced in preparing for a fight was finding suitable sparring partners.
"At the moment it's just Brad, Dino and I in the pro-ranks, and there's a few amateur boys here as well," he said.
"It's difficult for me, because I'm so tall - Dino and Brad are a lot shorter than I am so I have to work a lot with the younger fellows.
"They're more might height or length, but don't have as much experience which can be tough for me at times."
Hall said he was unsure where boxing would lead him when he first walked through the doors of the Connolly's California Gully dream, but never dreamed he would be preparing for a second fight in Asia.
He and Vinton Street Gym head trainer Pat Connolly leave for Thailand on Saturday morning.
