The competitive fire inside Wayne Hall was never truly extinguished.
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Born in Inverell, Hall made the move to Tamworth in 1966 while still a teenager.
Boxing was his sport of choice.
Hall made a splash in the amateur and professional ranks before retiring at the age of 23 and went onto forge a successful career as a butcher.
"I gave it away because I was married and had a couple of young children, and it was a tough game back then to make any money," Hall said.
He had enjoyed much success in the amateur ranks, ranked the country's number three bantamweight before leaving his mark on the professional arena.
“I beat a number of top boxers, including Peter Butterfield, who I knocked out about six weeks before he went to the (1970) Commonwealth Games and won a bronze medal.
“I also beat Willie Leslie, who was a former Australian champion.”
But the last thing Hall envisaged after hanging up the gloves was a return to the ring.
That was until a chance conversion more than four decades after his last bout.
"I was training at Westside Gym one day and (owner) Mike Abra told me about Masters boxing," he said.
"I made a few calls to get some more information and thought I’d give it a go.
"My wife wants to know how long I'm going to have the bug again. But it's fantastic, I love the training and keeping fit."
Hall, who turns 67 next month, made an immediate impact, fighting for the Australian Masters lightweight title in 2015.
"I went to Adelaide and fought for the national title against Tony Kettlewell, who was 11 years younger than me," he said.
"Then last July I won the Queensland title against Rick Hammond after stepping up a division to fight him."
Hall will be defending his Over-61kg title at next week's Queensland Masters Titles at Kirra on the Gold Coast.
His mates at Kay’s Wholesale Meats have supported Hall's second coming as a pugilist.
There is no doubting Hall will be prepared to produce his best in the Sunshine State after a long build-up.
"I still move pretty well," he said.
"I spar with the 16-year-olds down there some times and don't wear a helmet.
"I tell them to focus on the upper body, the shoulders and chest, but from time to time they try and get me in the head, but I can dodge them."
And his best punch?
"The left hook mate," he laughed.