Caruana is Northam's working class hero

Perth’s final professional boxing show of 2014 takes place on Friday, where a 30-year-old novice will live his dream.

Vinnie Caruana is something of a cult hero around his home town of Northam, a "people person" who’s up for a fight.

Up to 200 fans will travel the 100km from the Avon Valley to cheer on Caruana at Metro City, impressive for a bloke in only his fifth pro bout.

“I don’t know what it is. I’m just a people person, I just treat people how you like to be treated,” said Caruana - aka 'the Working Class Man' - when asked about his popularity.

“I never expected to get this much support. When you look back on it it’s quite daunting really, it’s very humbling. Like, how do I know so many people?

“I don’t go to pubs and clubs but I’m in contact with people I’ve always worked with. People come down from Northam, and the people who do come down I try to get out there and make them feel part of the night.”

Caruana says he’s always been a boxing nut, he just never got round to putting his passion into action.

That was until a chat with his childhood mate Matty Garlett, the former WBC International super-featherweight champion.

“I’ve known Matty since we were kids in Northam,” Caruana said. “Matty kept going (with boxing) while I did some silly things, but I’ve always stayed in touch with Matty.

“They were looking at holding a boxing tournament in Northam and Matty knew I was always training, so I said to him, ‘Do you think I could get a fight on the card?’. He said, ‘Definitely, brother, I’ll help you’.

“I was serious because I was always wanted to be a professional boxer. The amateur scene wasn’t for me, I was more of a stocky-bodied kind of person and I’m not really a very fast boxer.

Caruana packs a punch with opponents and fans alike. Pic: Kim Johnson/Hitman Photography

"Matty said to come down to the gym and spar, so I went down and (promoter and trainer) Angelo Hyder said, ‘You can fight now, you can fight on the next show’. That was 10 days out. I said, 'You’re kidding?' and he said, 'No, I’ll get you a fight'. That was how it happened.

“I was nervous but I was excited at the same time. I was thinking there is no way I’m going to let this opportunity slide.”

Fight night in August last year was something of a blur for Caruana, a first-round win over fellow debutant Hanuman Charan Nam.

“You go to the weigh-in and it’s like everything you see on TV, it’s like your childhood dream coming true ... 'Holy s***, this is actually happening’,” he said. “I don’t remember the fight night at all, I don’t remember a thing. It must have been adrenaline or something, it had all just gone.

“We stayed in Perth the night, me, the wife and the kids, and I went back to the sister-in-law’s house, I woke up the next morning and said, ‘Did that actually happen?’.”

A father of two with another child on the way, Caruana admits he was a “troubled kid” during his teenage years. “I never really went to school and let’s just say I got involved in silly things. But I started working away and cleaned my life up and met my wife. That’s 10 years ago now.”

In fact, he turned his life around so much he is now a mining supervisor with Rio Tinto and was recently asked to give a motivational speech to youngsters.

“Not that I’m good at it but because people know my story I did a talk at the Clontarf football school in Northam,” he said. “They said how I inspired them and how the kids have taken on what I said on the day. I’ve had a rough trot in the past so it’s pretty touching.”

Caruana, who trains under Hyder at the Dragon Fire gym in Wangara, will want to add another chapter to his story when he defends his WA State light-heavyweight belt against Marcos Amado over eight rounds tomorrow.

A four-fight rookie headlining a 10-bout card brings its own pressures but for the modest Caruana it's just another opportunity to lace up the gloves and do what he enjoys most.

"I just love it. I love the whole discipline that it teaches you, it’s second to none," he said. "You can’t do this sport half-hearted, you have to be 100 per cent or you’re going to get beaten, you’re going to get hurt."

Tomorrow's Thunderdome IX show consists of seven boxing and three Muay Thai fights, including Luke Sharp defending his State super-middleweight belt against Marco Tuhumury.