Beau Hartas and Ben Dencio look like polar opposites, but together they have emerged as the faces of Canberra's next pack of pugilists desperate to make their mark on the world stage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dencio is "the most understated person on the planet", an unassuming carpenter that uses boxing to try to spark change for the better.
Both are NSW state champions - Hartas at middleweight and Dencio at super featherweight - and both will look to steal the show at Capital Fight Show 14 at the Hellenic Club in Woden on Friday night.
The unbeaten Hartas (3-0) will meet Ben Mahoney (4-0) in the toughest test of his short professional career - but he has been boxing for almost 13 years, so the Canberra cult hero isn't expecting anything new.
The belt won't be up for grabs this time so the 30-year-old plumber's sole motivation will be to make his family proud - then he wants to take wife Lauren and their two-year-old daughter Stella on holidays.
"She says to daddy that 'daddy does boxing', and when I’m at home shadow boxing she jumps around and goes a bit wild with her hands, so she knows what’s going on," Hartas said.
"It’s pretty rare these days that two undefeated fighters put their ‘0’ on the line so it’s giving me that little bit of extra drive to push harder and take his off him.
"I’m at the stage now where I want the tougher fights and I want the tougher fights. I just love to fight to be honest with you, all I want to do is get in there and rumble.
"I’m loving the pros, loving the big shows, loving the money, it’s good all round. Especially with my family, I can do things with them after I have a fight, go away or go on a holiday with the money I get from it. It gives me that extra incentive to get in there and get into gear and go hard."
Dencio (5-1) oozes confidence ahead of his clash with Kenny Tse (0-1) as he looks to take the next step towards an Australian super featherweight title shot.
The 27-year-old uses every fight as a stepping stone towards the world stage and Dencio believes there is no reason why he can't get there.
"I just take it as it comes and I know that a NSW title isn’t a world title, and a world title is where I’d like to be," Dencio said.
"Each fight is a building block and until I get to the top then it’s not good enough and I don’t see it as the biggest accomplishment.
"Mate I know nothing about [Tse], I know his record and that’s it. I don’t even know his name. If they’re top guys you do your homework, you watch them and do all that sort of stuff.
"If there is nothing on them then these guys are not top guys and I just do my own thing."
They aren't the only two Canberra products making waves in the infancy of their professional careers.
Ferdi Bartulovic is set to return to the squared circle, buoyed by the experience of working with boxing icon Floyd Mayweather Sr and a brush with the great Andre Ward in the United States.
Abe Archibald will go hunting for his first professional win, back to full fitness after salvaging a draw after tearing his bicep in his professional debut almost 12 months ago.
