THIS man is making his professional boxing debut this weekend.
Hutton's Michael Evans, 24, takes to the ring on Sunday at York Hall, Bethnal Green after a solid background in the amateur game which included four bouts for England and trips to New York and Nigeria.
The super middleweight takes on Lithuanian journeyman Dmitrij Kalrnovskij in a contest scheduled for four three minute rounds.
He said: "This is what I've been working so hard for over the past three years and it's what I've sacrificed everything for. Hopefully it's the start of a good career."
The former Shenfield High School pupil who stands at 6ft tall has worked odd jobs as an electrican's mate and on building sites since leaving school at 14. But it's boxing, and particularly the professional arena, that really gets him going.
"I couldn't see myself doing that stuff for the rest of my life," he said.
"I've done a few sparring sessions without the head guard and to be fair I find it a lot better.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if you get hit it's always best to have a bit of a cushion but you can see everything around you. I just can't wait to get in there." Managed by Brentwood's Tony Sims – who also looks after former European Champion Darren Barker – and trained by Romford's Jamie Williams, Michael's got an excellent back-room team. "I have got to start from the bottom but I've got great people around me," said the former Brenwood ABC member.
"All the opportunities are there as long as I work hard and produce the goods on the night.
"I've researched my opponent on YouTube but other than that I can't do much more."
His amateur career record stands at 19 fights, 16 wins and three defeats. That includes a gold medal at the Haringey Box Cup in 2010. He also captained England on his international debut in Ireland.
Over the past few months he's been undergoing a gruelling training regime that includes running for up to five and a half miles six days a week, as well as sparring sessions three days a week and gym work.
"It's heavy training, it's really, really hard," he said.
"I used to train hard but now I've gone pro the training in itself is a lot harder. I've naturally dropped down my weight."
Far from overawed by the prospect of his first fight as a pro Michael has got big plans for the future.
"All the work I've put in I wouldn't even attempt it if I didn't think I could go the whole way," he said.
"It's just one step at a time but my first goal is to win on Sunday and get off to a good start but then I just want to go all the way to the top. I know I've started late but I feel that if I believe it then I can achieve it.
"Hopefully in a couple of years I can win a British title and once you get a belt every belt is the key to another door and one day my one goal is to win a world title."
