Down an alleyway filled with skip bins and shipping containers, Arsene Fokou Fosso works tirelessly on the punches he hopes will change his life.
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You mightn't know it is there if not assisted, but Fyshwick's Stockade Training Centre has been Fosso's sanctuary for months as he dreams of becoming a world champion and flying the flag of Australia.
He is the life of the gym which construction workers continue to build as boxers train within. But the past 12 months have been anything but easy.
The 35-year-old Cameroonian is among a group of athletes still seeking asylum in Australia after fleeing the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast last April. He feels he cannot return home. So he wants to make this his new one.
Almost one year on to the day, Canberra-based Fosso is set to make his professional boxing debut against Fijian James Singh (3-1) at Capital Fight Show 16 at the Hellenic Club of Canberra on April 5.
"It has always been my dream to turn professional. My dream is to become world champion, and culturally, to wave the flag of Australia one day," Fosso said.
"It’s going to be a tremendous pleasure for me, and I would be highly honoured, if I could lift the flag of Australia.
"I am very very excited. I’m itching to get in the ring. It has been a long while since I have been in the ring. The people with whom I do some sparring, they are helping me to get ready for that feeling.
"I don’t even want to know about [my opponent]. If I start thinking of him, then probably it would create fear. I have no fear. I am sure, I am quite certain that I am going to win."
A win over the Fijian - whose only professional defeat came at the hands of 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist David Light - would be a dream start to Fosso's career.
Should he reach the lofty heights he is aiming for, Fosso would find himself entrenched in a division as exciting as it has been in years.
Anthony Joshua holds four world heavyweight championships, Deontay Wilder holds the other, and lineal champion Tyson Fury is determined to regain his place at the top of the food chain.
While it would take something special to see Fosso in the ring with any of those names, there can be no mistaking his pedigree.
Fosso won claimed a bronze medal at the 2017 world championships and was then named the captain of Cameroon's 2018 Commonwealth Games boxing team - and vice-captain for the country's entire squad.
With that came a responsibility he simply could not bring himself to take on - denouncing homosexuals in the team, who would then face certain persecution if identified and returned to their home countries.
His refusal to denounce gay athletes has left Fosso in trouble with authorities, with whom he has already had problems after speaking about the mistreatment of competitors in Cameroon. Now he feels he cannot return, not even to see the family members he misses every day.
Fosso is among a group of five athletes in Canberra being assisted by a registered migration agent in the ACT, Liz Huang Hughes-Brown of Welcome Legal, with four of their applications for protection visas already denied.
Hughes-Brown believes the denial reflects the Australian government's harsh stance towards refugees and asylum seekers, with the four in question now seeking a review of the decisions at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
However the group is holding out hope there may be other options to explore with the government based on their desire to represent Australia in their sport or the jobs they are working away from sport - among them is a disability worker and a construction worker.
Right now, Fosso's focus is on the ring - a place where he has no fear. This battle, he is certain he will win.
CAPITAL FIGHT SHOW
Friday: Capital Fight Show 16 - Dencio v Priestley at Hellenic Club of Canberra, 7.30pm. Tickets from Ticketbooth or at the door.
CFS 16 card
ANBF Australian super featherweight championship - Ben Dencio (7-1) v Tc Priestley (2-3)
ANBF Australian featherweight championship - Bianca Elmir (2-0) v Reanne Ware (debut)
Cruiserweight - Aaron Russell (11-6) v Harjinder Singh (2-8)
Middleweight - Beau Hartas (4-1) v Franco Fraser (5-5-2)
Super welterweight - Jorge Kapeen (debut) v Dimitri Iliev (debut)
Heavyweight - Arsene Fokou Fosso (debut) v James Singh (3-1)
Super welterweight - Abe Archibald (1-0-1) v Ryan Cotten (2-0-2)
Super welterweight - Ferdi Bartulovic (1-1-1) v Simoni Mario (3-2)
