World awaits for Jye

Jye Dixon, the Caboolture-born Brendale-based boxer, will go from Lawnton to Liverpool in search of the biggest prize in his career.

Dixon, from All Star Boxing Academy at Pine Rivers Showground, is in Australia’s team for the World Boxing Amateur Championships, from September 4-14.

With three superb performances the 20-year-old secured his ticket to the UK in last weekend’s Australian Elite Selection Tournament at the AIS, Canberra.

The countdown has now started to the M&S Bank Arena in England’s north-west for what he says is going to be a "big one for me”.

Dixon has spent his entire boxing career at the All Star Academy - first fighting at 30kgs on his way to 46 wins and 12 defeats from 58 amateur fights - so far.

He has seven Queensland and seven Australian titles, was fifth at the 2022 IBF World Youth Championships and is just the third All Star fighter (after Liam Pope and Liam Wilson) to win an Elite Australian title.

But the bantamweight, who trains 12-16 hours over five-six days each week, admits World Boxing’s first Elite global championships will be next level.

“The standard of competition will be the highest I’ve faced,” Dixon said, “elite is open age, everyone is there. Could be Olympians.

“Liverpool is going to be exciting and a big one for me. I’m looking forward to it. I want all the experience I can get. When it’s time to go, I’ll be ready.”

Paul Utia, Dixon’s coach at All Star Boxing Academy, said for the world titles they will prepare in “pretty much the same way” as the Elite Selection Tournament.

“I think part of Jye’s success in Canberra came down to preparation,” Utia said, “sparring was good, camp was good ... we’d done the work. I was pretty confident going into the fights.

“Now it’s world level so we’re expecting tough fights against experienced opponents. But looking at Jye, I think he’s at that level.”

In Canberra, over three rounds, Dixon had a superb 5-0 victory over 2024 Paris Olympian Yusaf Chothia, from Perth, in the 50-55kg quarter-finals.

He then beat fellow Queenslander Jess Wicks in the semis and came from behind against Victoria’s Riek Chuol (see video above) to win the final 3-2.

“I thought I was down (behind) after the first round but in the last two I got back,” Dixon said. “I knew it would be close but knew, deep down, I had it.”

Coach Paul Utia agreed: “I thought Jye had won the final,” he said, “I agreed with the score, it was close, but Jye does better as rounds progress.

“In most of Jye’s fights the last round it his best round. When you tell him to go, he goes.”

Ben Harrington, founder/owner of All Star Boxing Academy, was just as confident: “To be honest, I’d have been surprised if Jye had lost (in Canberra).

“Jye’s always had it, always been consistent with his training. He can go all the way. Him and coach Paul (Utia) put in a lot of hard work.

“Beating an Olympian in his first fight (in Canberra) was a really, really big win. Boxing Australia would have invested a lot of money into that guy over the years.

“Jye is a role model for others. How far he takes it is up to his commitment. So far, he has given no reason to think he’s not going to take it all the way.

Dixon has role models too, professional All Star boxers Liam Wilson, who has had two world title fights and rising star Vegas Larfield, both trained by Ben Harrington.

“Turning professional is always the end goal,” Dixon said, “but I’ll just try to do as much as I can in the amateurs, get everything I can and move up to the pros when I’m ready.”