After a triumphant return to the boxing scene a few years ago, Echuca resident Jason Garner is ready to challenge the world’s best this October.
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Garner will be heading to the World Kickboxing Association World Championships from October 16 to 19 at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England.
The WKA World Championships will see fighters from a range of disciplines such as kickboxing, Muay Thai, Kata and boxing.
A seasoned boxer, Garner has been involved in the sport since he could walk and last fought at the Australian Championships in Tasmania in 2022.
He finished that competition with a bronze medal after he was injured in his first fight.
“In the Australian titles I came home with bronze, I could have and probably should have won gold, but I was still happy,” Garner said.
“I tore my bicep in my first fight there, so I was in hospital overnight and then came back and tried to jab my way through but lost in a split decision.”
“Even to walk away with bronze after that injury was good enough, and I’m almost 40, so I thought that’d be it for me.”
Despite recent success in his return to the ring, life hasn’t been the easiest for Garner, who battled a tough upbringing and had a three-year stint in jail starting in 2017.
Yet, boxing has always been a north star for Garner, who attributes the training and discipline required to be successful in the sport as a guiding force in his life.
“I had a pretty tough upbringing so I could never really go down the right path, so I was always on and off with boxing,” he said.
“My parents separated when I was seven, and I went with my father, who did the best he could for me in his eyes.
“Boxing has definitely saved my life, I don’t know what or where I’d be without it.
“I have always found that if I am not boxing, I’m doing the wrong thing, which upsets me now to say that, but that’s how it has been all my life.
“Which is obviously what has led me to jail and so many years away from my family.”
However, there have been a few special people in Garner’s life who have set him on the right path, the first of which was Barry Quinlan, a boxing trainer and family friend who first introduced the sport to him when he was two years old.
“I was trained by an excellent trainer for most of my life, he was like a father to me, his name is Barry Quinlan,” he said.
“He always trained me to believe and have faith in myself and that your heart is the best thing you can have, so let that lead you in your fights.
“I started boxing at a young age, I was two years old when Barry would come around to the house and show me a couple of moves.
“I’d go away and then a couple of weeks later run up to him and show him what I’d been working on.
“I think he could see that I’d practised it in my room so many times and knew I had something in me.”
Quinlan wasn’t the only positive influence on Garner’s life. His wife Brooke, who he met when he was 14, has helped him navigate the various ups and downs of his journey.
“My wife has been a rock for me for basically my entire life, she got me my first bank card, my first wallet, everything that a person needs,” he said.
“She has been the biggest part of my life and has done everything for me. Without her, I know I wouldn’t be here.”
The pair have a family of three children, with his eldest son Jesse, 21, a successful builder, a homeowner and recently engaged.
Always one to look at a situation in a positive light, Garner emphasised that the trials and tribulations he had experienced meant that his son could learn from his mistakes.
“My three kids are the best thing I have ever done in this life,” he said.
“I believe that I have gone down the dirt road and smashed into every pole along the way, so he (Jesse) didn’t have to do it.”
“He’s definitely learnt from me and to take a positive out of my life instead of negatives, I believe that is what god put me here to do so that my son and my kids can learn from my mistakes.”
Looking ahead to his date with destiny in Sheffield, Garner wants to make his upcoming competition less about himself and more about the town that has shaped him.
He wants any residents to rally behind him as he continues his training, and has given an open invitation to anyone in Echuca-Moama to travel and support him.
“Obviously, I am getting older, so this is most likely my last year of fighting at that elite level,” he said.
“What I want it to be about this time is to make it about the town because I don’t remember anyone who has fought for a world title that has come from Echuca before.
“When I am running out on the street and training, I want people to yell out and beep their horn and get behind me.
“It is a dark, lonely road when you are out there running by yourself, so if I can get that support while I’m out training it’ll give me that little boost and encouragement.
“I’m building a big team to come over with me, anyone is welcome to come along.
“I’ll need the whole town’s support if I’m going to bring that belt home.”
Cadet Journalist