Boxing: Training has Carlos in hot form

Carlos Spencer has worked himself into impressive shape. Photo / Dean Purcell

Back in his prime, Carlos Spencer was best known for his twinkling feet and sleight of hand.

His style on the rugby field was probably more dancer than fighter, so the kid from Levin is hoping to rediscover some inner mongrel when he steps into the boxing ring for next week's Woodstock Reserve Fight for Life.

"Back in my school days, I used to throw a few punches," chuckles the former All Black first-five. "But I grew out of that and concentrated on playing rugby. Hopefully, it's still in me somewhere."

As summer settles over Johannesburg, Spencer has worked himself into impressive shape as he prepares for his rugby v league showdown with former Kiwi second rower Awen Guttenbeil at Waitakere's Trusts Stadium on Saturday.

The South African heat has certainly played a major hand as Spencer (36) quickly shed the extra weight accumulated in the months since he hung up his boots and moved into coaching.

When he last visited New Zealand in March, the 35-test veteran was settling into his new role, assisting former All Black coach John Mitchell with the Lions backs in the Super 15.

The pair are now riding a wave of popularity, having guided the Golden Lions to their first Currie Cup title since 1999, when another former All Black coach - Laurie Mains - held the reins.

But Spencer is looking forward to returning home for all the wrong reasons. Wind, rain, cold - bring it on.

"It'll be nice to get back to a normal temperature," he reflects.

"The weather over here has been tremendous lately, with temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius. It's been hot and since I started boxing, I've trimmed down quite a bit and dropped about 7kg-8kg."

Spencer has been putting in the hard yards at Smiths Boxercise Gym in Johannesburg, supervised by one of South Africa's most respected boxing families.

"I hadn't really done much cardio work since retiring, just a bit of weights to keep in shape," he says. "But over the last couple of months, I've been doing road work, a lot of stairs, a few circuits ... a bit of everything. It's a new challenge for me and when the promoters rang me, I was keen as. It's hard work, though, and I have a whole new respect for boxers.

"You can do all the fitness work you like, but when you jump in the ring, it's a whole new ball game and you get tired quickly. Ring fitness is totally different. You've got to learn to relax and get your breathing right, while taking and throwing punches."

Spencer knows little about his opponent, apart from his reputation as a league star and his size. At 1.85m and 93kg, he's likely to give up a reach advantage to the rangy Guttenbeil.

"I'm probably a bit light but this heat certainly hasn't helped me keep weight on."