Jalen Tait looks to Liam Paro for inspiration as he takes on Ibrahim Balla

Jalen Tait (15-0, 8 KOs) will take another step up in class when he faces the resurgent Ibrahim Balla (16-2, 7 KOs) at the Southport Sharks AFL Club on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old from Townsville in North Queensland has established himself as one of the country's most talented youngsters since turning professional nearly five years ago, but boxing wasn't always in his future.

You can say that fate pushed him to the scene.

“I was bullied at school,” Tait told The Ring. “I've always been young, I'm a lightweight. I was an easy victim, an easy victim. It got to the point where I had to learn to defend myself because the bully was getting worse.

“I accidentally entered a boxing gym and discovered that I love it. And from then on, it was truly a blessing. I just continued on my way.

“If I had not been abused, there would be no need for me to go to the boxing gym. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?”

Not only did Tait discover that he enjoyed boxing, but he quickly learned that he was good at it. The naturally competitive youngster found early success. In his first year in the amateurs, he won the Golden Gloves, the state title, and the national crown.

“Just walking into the gym, I didn't think I was going to fight,” said Tait. “I was just in the off-season on the foot, trying to stay healthy. I ended up enjoying sparring and gave up fighting. I took it all the way that first year and from there, it just clicked with me. I knew I wanted to do this.”

Success only increased his passion for sports, making him a student of the game.

Jalen Tait (left) goes head-to-head with Alexander Espinoza (right) – Photo by Premier Boxing Series

“My first year of boxing, my dad and I were looking at southpaw boxers,” Tait said. “There were the obvious ones, Manny Pacquiao and all that, but I always liked the old school players like Sugar Ray Leonard and the guys from that era. So we found Pernell Whitaker and we were like, 'Who is this guy?'. The way he would slide the gun and shoot his fists in crazy directions; he makes boxing look fun and exciting. I really looked up to him from the age of 14 onwards.”

Tait adopted some of Whitaker's cues, but it wasn't always easy to emulate the southpaw stylist's distinctive moves.

“Every night before going to bed, I would read his videos on YouTube and just try to pick up the little things he would do that would give him a slight advantage over his opponents,” explained Tait.

“It was difficult. If I get into an accident or something and have to do it all over again, nah, I won't. It took me a very long time.”

Balla's fight will be Tait's second this year after his victory over Ecuador's Alexander Espinoza (18-2-1, 8 KOs) on a nationally televised card in March.

Tait controlled the early action in that fight with his speed and angles before Espinoza started timing him midway through the round. He regained control of the fight in the seventh round before a well-timed right hand from Espinoza dropped him in the ninth.

Tait survived the round and went on to claim a split decision victory with scores of 97-92, 94-95 and 96-93.

“That was my favorite fight I've ever had,” said Tait, who goes by the nickname 'Wolf'. “Espinoza is the best boxer in his weight class in his country. I felt like I was in control for most of the rounds until that ninth round. In fact, I felt like I was dominating the beginning of that round until I got the number eight put on me.

“It was great to be able to match it with a guy like that. He took that battle seriously; I could see that when I was there with him. He had a good punch to him, good skills and a good bag of tricks. It was a good experience to see what level I am at. I really enjoyed that fight.

“I had to reorganize there. That's what makes a good fighter. If you can retrain yourself to a different rhythm, you won't get very far. You have to be able to think on your feet. Some guys have one way of fighting and that's what holds them back in the end. But you have to adjust, and you have to fight good opponents who force you to do that, like Espinoza did.”

Balla represents another step in Tait's development. The 33-year-old Melburnian represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics and has a respectable record as a professional, despite losing twice in the first round. In December last year, Balla knocked out Youssef Dib to hand the younger brother of IBF featherweight Billy Dib his first majority decision loss.

Tait credits Aussie Liam Paro (seen here in his upset win over Subriel Matias, left) for being motivated in his career – Photo by Amanda Westcott/The Game Room

Tait doesn't take it lightly.

“We tried to cover all the bases,” he said. “He had a very decorated professional career. He is experienced, and has been for a while. I feel like he's going to try to pressure me so I've been working on punching and controlling the range a lot in this camp. I'm obviously bigger than Balla, so I'll try to use that to my advantage as much as I can, but if not, he's still old. You can't really reinvent the wheel. It's boxing, right?

“I think Balla surprised a few people last week. He just walked out. Dib was undefeated and not a bad fighter. I was impressed with the way Balla composed himself in that fight, so I'm looking forward to going in there and taking [regional] Take off his belts.”

International Boxing Hall of Famer Whitaker may have been an early influence on Tait's career, but it's a former gym partner that he's been inspired by now.

“When I started, I was lucky enough to have Liam Paro in the same gym where I trained, another southpaw as well. “Everything I learned from the beginning, to be a left-hander, I got from Liam,” said Tait, who was recently awarded the IBF junior welterweight title.

“We trained together a lot and he encouraged me. Obviously, he's a world champion now, but back then, he had that same fire.

“He was really encouraging. He made it look good. I was like, 'I think I want to do this too.' And we are here.”

But the real lesson learned from Paro was not that you can raise your hands and raise a southpaw. It was about paying it forward.

“If I can give one child the self-belief that was instilled in me as a teenager, I would be happy,” Tait said.