‘My hero’: Shepp teen named Victoria boxing captain ahead of Nationals

The teenage fighting sensation has been flanked by trainer Daniel Cleave on his journey to stardom, with the trainer having been central to the youngster’s development over the years.

Incredibly, Huffer is one of five Goulburn Valley pugilists that have been named as part of the Team Victoria contingent for the Australian School Championships event in Brisbane between July 8 and 11.

Speaking to the News as her son’s efforts were rewarded by Boxing Victoria, mum Nicole Huffer’s pride was palpable as she called her boy her “hero” - a sentiment shared by his dad, Darren.

“Kallym is my hero, his focus, determination and absolute dedication to the sport that he loves is massive,” she said.

“His resilience to be the best athlete he can possibly be drives Kallym every single day.

“It’s been a long road, starting when he was eight and he’s been competition fighting for four years, with this his fourth year in the state team.

“Now he’s state captain, which was always a bucket-list item for him so he’s been able to tick that off!”

Providing insight into the work that goes into becoming an elite fighter both inside and outside of the ring, the boxer’s mum outlined how his routine in preparation for his trip to Queensland.

She revealed that the youngster gets up at 6am to go running, or to partake in strength and conditioning sessions at the gym before school as part of his training regimen.

In addition, he runs a youth boxing class after school, before doing his own training, as well as taking PT class at Resolute Gym.

This level of dedication means that her son often does not get home until after 7pm - all while also juggling sparring commitments down in Melbourne a couple of evenings per week.

“He fights at 70kg, has a high-protein diet and is very regiment in terms of what he eats and drinks - training anywhere between five and seven days a week,” she said.

“For country kids to be competitive, we have to drive - we can go to Melbourne three or times a week - so it doesn’t matter what sport it is, country kids travel the highway.”

Earlier this year, the newly-appointed state captain was declared “King of the Ring” in Sydney and he is set to feature once more in Adelaide on the weekend of May 23 for the Club Championships.

Following on from that, the Nationals are the next item on the Greater Shepparton Secondary College schoolboy’s itinerary in July, before the Golden Gloves event up in Queensland again a month later.

“It’s a hard sport and it’s a one-person sport, he’s got no one to rely on in the ring but himself,” Nicole said.

“The support team that the kids have around them is mums and dads, coaches and their families, so that gives them the success.

“We ride the waves with him and it’s very emotional some days, they put in so much hard work - they give up a lot - Kallym turns 18 during the Nationals and he’s giving that up for the Nationals.”

Long-term trainer Cleave also described his joy after his “determined and resilient“ protégé was named skipper of Team Victoria’s Under-19s for the Nationals.

“Not everyone's got the best skill level when they start but some show up day-in-day-out and no matter the outcome of a boxing match at the weekend,” he said.

“A lot of kids will just sort of quit if they lose and [Kallym] has had his fair share of blows - but he still just keeps on bouncing back and obviously still wants to reach the top.

“He sets the standard for what we are as a gym already, we're obviously very community focused and having younger kids reach these heights sets the tone for the generations coming through.

“To Kallym, I say ‘go for gold and, whatever the result, I’ll still be his coach’.”