"Mate, there is no way know I'm going to give up my time to train you, until you show me you're serious and you start really losing some weight," Len said.

"Until you show me you're prepared to put the work in, there is no way known I'm setting foot in the gym with you."

It left would-be super middleweight boxer Mitchell (20-1) with a sense of deja vu, long before his looming bout against Istvan Szili (23-2-2) in the main event of a National Boxing Series show live on Fox Sports at St Kilda Town Hall on Saturday.

Because once he was an overweight 15-year-old growing up on the Mornington Peninsula with big dreams of a life in boxing, just like the one his father had forged before him.

MORE BOXING

That was back when Mitchell had left school to get a job, back when his father would drive him halfway to work and make him run the rest to help him shake off the weight and fulfil his dream.

That coupled with a strict diet of tuna, greens and egg white omelettes helped Mitchell drop 15 kilograms. His amateur debut brought with it a Victorian title.

Two fights later he was the Australian champion, yet injuries and boxing politics kept Mitchell from ever representing his country at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games or world championships.

Mitchell fell out of love with the sport, and turned his attention to making a career as a concreter. His weight blew out and soon enough he had to drop it all over again.

He knew he could do it - because if Mitchell was to make a professional boxing debut, he wanted his father in his corner.

"I'm really struggling to articulate what I'm trying to say here. He's my best mate, he's my coach, he's my father. It's amazing to be on this ride with him," Mitchell said.

"It's just an awesome relationship we have. That's the same relationship I want to have with my kids. He's been a mentor, and a mate, he's made me work for everything I have got. I owe a lot to Lenifer, that's for sure.

"I was [initially] pushed away from boxing by dad. Dad knew how hard of a sport it was and how hard it was to make money, and especially how hard it was to get to the top.

"Boxing is a sport you can't do half-hearted, it's got to be your life. You've got to live it, you've got to do it properly, and you've got to get out before you do any damage to yourself, because it's a very unforgiving sport.

"I was pushed away from it but I just gravitated towards boxing and dad couldn't keep me away from it."

Today Mitchell walks around at about 85 kilograms, and he weighs in at the super middleweight limit of 76.2 kilograms.

Mitchell says he could realistically fight at middleweight, but he knows he is more than strong enough to compete with the best in a heavier division.

"There is just no one in the super middleweight division in the world that actually fights like I fight," Mitchell said.

"There's no one who utilises movement the way I utilise movement, there's no one who volume punches the way I volume punch.

"There's just no one around who does it, so I think I'm really suited for success in this division. I'm strong enough to mix it with the biggest and baddest of them, as I proved against [Stanislav] Kashtanov.

"This is where I'll stay."

NATIONAL BOXING SERIES

Saturday: National Boxing Series: Jayde Mitchell v Istvan Szili at St Kilda Town Hall, live on Fox Sports.