Boxer Johnny Lesu is going professional and can't wait for his first bout.
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Lesu, who trains under Rodney Ryan at Rudy's Boxing, is scheduled to fight Tasmanian, Casey Lockett, on June 4 in a light-heavyweight battle.
"All the preparation I'm doing, it's all leading up to June 4," he said.
The 31-year-old joined Rudy's in mid-2020 and has loved working with his coach.
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He said Ryan helped him maintain focus during training.
"That's what I like, he's so fully straightforward," Lesu said.
"Sometimes I'm tired and a bit lazy and he pushes and pushes me to the point where I go ok 'I have to remind myself you need to be better at it, there's no shortcuts, you've got to push to your limit'."
Going professional will mean Lesu will compete for money.
But that's not why he's in the ring.
"I'm more trying to achieve the goal I want to," he said.
"I have a lot of goals, the first goal is to stay healthy as you've got to be ready (physically), always ready."
Keeping himself at the correct weight is something he's working hard at.
"If I fight 81 (kilograms), like I'm doing now, I have to be around 83, stay there, and then work around 83 and train that weight," he said.
"And then when you cut down your weight you just go quicker, you just lose a couple of kilos and you hit 81.
"My last fight, I was supposed be 81 but I was 80.3 kilos and that was going easy, I couldn't believe it - I felt like it was a motivation to make me to go even lower.
"If there's any weight down there I can fit in, I can push my limit to go even lighter."
He said professional fighting was different to amateur when it came to the rules - there's less intervention from the referee.
"There are a lot of rules in amateur, one clean shot to your face and they (the referee) stop it and you wear all this head gear," he said.
"With a pro boxer, it's a different story, you cop one and you keep piling it up until the referee (intervenes) or until you go down."
Lesu, who was born in Australia and grew up in Fiji, has a rugby league and union background.
He plays centre for the Gunditjmara Bulls in the Limestone Coast Rugby League competition and decided to take up boxing after the 2018 season.
He added he played as a flanker in rugby union.
Lesu, who trains five times a week, was one of Rudy's winners at Mount Gambier last weekend.
He knocked out his opponent in the second round.
Chelsie Rose and Will Benallack also had victories while Mat Wale and Nicolas Pucino were beaten in their first fights.
Lesu, who has been living in Australia the past six years, visits his family in Fiji when he can.
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