A 27-year-old Melbourne man has won his first bout in the boxing ring – a Victorian amateur title fight – last Saturday after first picking up the gloves just over a year ago.
Thomas Konstantinidis, trained by fellow Greek Australian and Victorian kickboxing champion Kosta Drakoulakos, beat his opponent on points in Burwood last week, after four two-minute rounds decided the winner.
Drakoulakos, who has now trained 14 fighters from scratch, told Neos Kosmos Konstantinidis’ determination has been pivotal to his quick success.
“Thomas is a very determined fighter. He started training for me about 18 months ago, with no fighting experience, and to this day he’s had three fights – two kickboxing and one boxing fight,” he said.
Konstantinidis has always been an avid fitness enthusiast, but after suffering sciatic nerve damage, facet joint damage in his neck and a bulging disc that left him with a permanent limp for 12 months, his doctor told him to keep away from weights training and put his energy into swimming – but that’s when he found boxing.
“He had no natural ability whatsoever; I had to build him up from scratch. The first six months were the hardest getting him into the sport, but now he’s building himself up for a good career using his determination when he comes to training.
“Thomas is not the most talented but it’s just his determination to keep going. The days that he doesn’t do well he still comes back. He comes back day in and day out,” Drakoulakos continued.
The newly-crowned Victorian Amateur Boxing League (VABL) light middleweight champion trains two hours a night four times a week, and now has his eyes set on claiming a Victorian kickboxing middleweight title.
“The thing with him is that the opportunities are endless because of his work ethic. I’ll take him as far as he wants to go – he’s a great story.”
Konstantinidis’ next bout is a professional kickboxing fight at Chelsea Heights Hotel on December 13.