BECOMING a professional footballer is the ultimate for many youngsters, but Matty Mainwaring has quit the game to chase his other dream – pro boxing.
The former Stockport County, Hyde and Chester midfielder left Vanarama Conference North Stalybridge Celtic in October for the ring.
It's been a lifelong passion for the 24-year-old who has no experience at all and has never even “had an argument”.
But when current European welterweight champion Matthew Hatton – brother of Ricky – saw his potential on the pads, he offered him the chance to train full-time.
Mainwaring, who hopes to get his first fight lined up in the first half of 2015, said: “He's thrown me in at the deep end and shown a lot of faith in me. I've been sparring with a lad who had a fight at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday.
“My dad's a massive football fan and that's all I've ever known. But on the sly I've always loved boxing. When I came home from football my mind wandered to boxing. I watch fights all the time – I'm a student of the sport. I watch a fight every day and I've seen Mayweather in Vegas twice.
“I've never had an argument with anyone. I wasn't the type to be aggressive and get sent off. I was more of a ball playing midfielder than one to be going in for crazy challenges. People might wonder where this has come from. But anybody really close to me knows this is my passion.”
Mainwaring made his Stockport County debut in League One and earned a move to Hull City. He later returned to the Hatters before spells in Non-League's top flight last season at Hyde and Chester.
He's now in the gym six days a week with Hatton as he aims to get in the right shape for his debut.
Having fought back from a broken leg suffered in a pre-season friendly in 2009, he's not afraid of a gruelling training regime.
“I had to learn to walk again from scratch,” he said. “I had an emergency four-hour operation and I was on crutches for 11 weeks. It taught me a lot and gave me strength.
“If you've learnt to walk again, you're not afraid of any battle. The work I had to put in to get the fitness to play football again was crazy so I'm not afraid to graft. Everything I've done is based around hard work.”
And despite his busy new career, he still keeps up to speed with the world he left behind.
“I still look for all the results of my old clubs,” he said. “Stockport County will always have a place in my heart and I'm pleased to see Stalybridge Celtic have got a few results recently.
“The manager Keith Briggs and all the lads were great down there. I'm sure a few of them will want to come and see my first fight!”
