Up-and-coming Dubbo boxer Enja Prest will continue chasing her dream of making a career in the sport this weekend when her unbeaten record goes on the line.
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Prest, training out of the Pound For Pound Gym under Robert ‘Gummy’ Toomey, has had four wins from four bouts up to this point and has shown some real talent in her ability to match different styles.
“I got into with a group of friends and ‘Gummy’ saw potential so kept pressing forward with it,” she said.
“I’d love to get a career out of it one day, I’m really enjoying it.”
Prest creditted ‘Gummy’ Toomey for much of her success, as she hs made the transition from boxing for fitness to stepping into the ring.
The pugilist heads to Yarrawonga on the Victorian border this weekend to keep her unbeaten run going and she says Toomey’s training has been
“He’s been an inspiration and a great coach and mentor,” she said.
“I couldn’t ask for a better coach and he really supports us at competitions and at training.
“He makes sure our head is right as well as our body.”
While Toomey has done plenty of work, Prest is the one who has made the impact in the ring.
Since winning an exhibition bout in Newcaste she has gone from strength to strength and last weekend scored a gritty win over Sam Mulley at Bathurst.
Graham Wallace, who works alongside Toomey at the Pound For Pound gym, described the bout as “brutal”, as Prest took on the physically larger Mulley.
Wallace described Prest as a boxer with a “beautiful left jab”, and her sparring sessions with local Australian Boxing League title holder Ayla Barker has worked wonders alongside her own fitness work.
Prest admits she took a lot of confidence out of her win at Bathurst, where she weighed in at 62kg compared to Mulley’s 66kg.
“That was a lot harder because the chick was quite larger and larger than me and a few kilos more,” she said.
“She couldn’t box but it took a fair bit to knock her over because she used her weight and I couldn’t get back and box.
“It obviously helps, gaining more experience and the different weight and stuff like that.
“It really does play a big role in the sport., You would’t think a few kilos would make a difference bit it does.”
In Prest, Barker and also Ally Waters, Dubbo is home to a number of talented female boxers.
Bouts are hard to come by for champion Barker now given her quality and reputation but Prest and Waters are expected to also fight at a fight night at Dubbo’s Garden Hotel in December.
But firstly, Prest is focused on this weekend’s bout and her path towards the top.