![Instead of crowns, Jarrod Denman (left) and Kyan Martin were given rings to commemorate their efforts in Sydney. Picture by One2Boxing Westside. Instead of crowns, Jarrod Denman (left) and Kyan Martin were given rings to commemorate their efforts in Sydney. Picture by One2Boxing Westside.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/3a21485b-8e33-4e7f-8626-2872758f832a.jpg/r276_720_2575_2289_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
On the surface, Jarrod Denman and Kyan Martin have little in common.
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Denman is a 33-year-old mine worker and father of two who took up boxing pre-pandemic as a way to stay fit for footy, and returned to the sport last year.
Martin is a 15-year-old Farrer student who first stepped into the ring 12 months ago at his mother's suggestion.
But in Sydney over the weekend, they were both crowned kings.
The pair represented One2Boxing Westside at the Boxing NSW PCYC King of the Ring tournament in Sydney, where they were among the least experienced in their divisions.
But that, coach Jamie Carroll said, did not daunt either fighter.
"Kyan's just got a mindset a lot stronger than other kids his age," he said.
"I always say to the guys, 'It's hard to beat somebody that doesn't want to be beat', and Kyan's got that ... [Jarrod] took a lot away from his last fight. He learned that you've got to be smart to win fights, and he executed the fight plan perfectly, and beat two really good guys.
"I was extremely proud of how both boys performed."
Martin and Denman both won two fights to earn their titles, against opponents "from really good gyms" who were "really skilled", Carroll said.
While Martin's biggest hurdle was overcoming foes with significantly more experience, Denman was up against behemoths who outsized him by as much as 20-30 kilograms.
"The first guy Jarrod fought was a six foot six giant, and the other guy was a 130-odd kilo heavyweight," Carroll said.
![Denman, Martin, and Jamie Carroll celebrate their sterling campaign. Picture by One2Boxing Westside. Denman, Martin, and Jamie Carroll celebrate their sterling campaign. Picture by One2Boxing Westside.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/8daf587a-9b75-4cb9-8ead-d61a952d6413.jpg/r175_455_1203_1241_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Jarrod just tips the scales at over 100. He's not a small man by any means, but he looked tiny compared to his competitors ... he was dominant in both fights.
"Kyan coming off his first two fights, which he lost, he's now put three wins together. It shows the determination and how much he wanted to win, and he really did out-muscle the guys he fought."
This is the latest in a long string of resounding successes for a gym that was founded in 2022.
In the two years since Carroll opened the club out of his garage, his students have won Golden Gloves titles, King of the Ring titles, and several regional, state, and national amateur titles.
It is down to more than just the work that he does with the fighters, Carroll said. It is the result of the efforts of everyone involved.
"The future of the club is looking bright, and that's down to the hard work from everyone," he said.
"The other coaches that help out, Jeremy Reading and Nathan Daley, and the committee that puts in a lot of work to get sponsors so we can do all this. It's a club effort, everyone's putting in and the results will keep coming."