At just 10 years old, Dennis Newton weighed 75kg. Now 17, Dennis will be travelling to Queenstown to fight in the youth age group (17-19 years) for the title of Super Heavy Weight in the New Zealand Boxing Nationals.
Dennis' single mother wanted him to start boxing for self-defence because of the rough area they lived in, and after being turned down from one club, he started training with founder of Nawton Boxing Club, Merrill Purcell.
"He was too big to box, so the first thing I said was he has to run the football field. He couldn't run it without stopping. It took him one year before he could run it without stopping. He wanted to do it. That is how determined he was, trying to run it without stopping."
Dennis, now weighing in at 120kg, will be stepping back into the ring in time for the nationals, after taking a three-year break to hone his skills playing rugby league with the Waicoa Bay Stallions under-17 team.
He said boxing has helped him in other aspects of his life and has not made him a violent person.
"It has helped me quite a lot with discipline and control - I don't get angry. One of the things is we can't fight in school or outside the gym. I took that on. There are a lot tough guys who think they are tough and fight at school, but I didn't [need to].
"When I think about [that] now, it feels a lot better. My mum was always at work. She didn't finish until midnight, so I didn't see her that much. It was just me and my sister. [Without boxing], I'd be a lot bigger than I am - still lazy, still eating."
Merrill said when people start boxing at a young age, it shows them how to be dedicated.
"It gets them into the mentality, but for Dennis is was a lot harder because of his size. It is a lot of fun for the kids. It is a discipline leading up to the boxing at that age."
Merrill said because Dennis was the youngest but also the heaviest, it was harder for him to learn to box as he had to be matched with men much older in order to balance out the weight ratio.
"If he wins at the nationals, that will set him up to box overseas. There are a lot of doors that can open and it sets him up for when he goes to the next levels."
Winston Broadway is a coach at Nawton Boxing Gym and spars against Dennis as part of the training for the nationals. He said he is one of the strongest fighters he has sparred against.
"To run that field, that is massive dedication from a young age. [The nationals] is the top of the top boxers who have earned the right to go there and compete. He has a tough category."
When asked if he gets nervous before a fight, Dennis laughs and said the way he sees it, there is no point stressing about it.
"You're losing energy. By the time you get in the ring you have lost most of your energy because you're thinking about the fight. I try not to find out who my fighter is until I get in the ring. As soon as a I find out, I'll start thinking. I just don't even think about it."
Four years ago Dennis won the cadet age group at the nationals. As a result, he was able to enter this year for the youth age group, even after three years off from boxing.
Recently he won his first fight back from his break, where he played league for a change of pace. In his second year of playing league, Dennis was picked for the Waicoa Bay Stallions under-17 team.
Dennis will be at the Boxing Nationals from October 8-12.