WA's next Danny Green
Fed up of being the "big fat kid" at school, Jordan Samardali decided it was time for action.
Six years on, the 20-year-old is WA's only representative in Australia's Commonwealth Games boxing team heading to Glasgow in July.
Samardali was confirmed in the side yesterday but his place was all but secured last month when he won the 81kg title at the national championships in Fremantle and was voted boxer of the tournament.
It's a far cry from his days as a podgy schoolboy in Mullaloo.
"When I was in Year 8 I was 83 kilos, a big fat kid, so I decided to lose weight. My two older brothers boxed then so it was the natural thing to do," he said.
"When I started, one of my brothers knew straight away I would make it. I was doing stuff a fat kid couldn't do, like run and move, it was just natural.
"I was moving as if I was skinny, I had it in me."
The older Samardali brothers have since given up the sport, but they left behind a full-size ring they had built at the family home.
That's where Jordan trains, under the keen eye of veteran coach Pat Devellerez.
The Burmese-born 68-year-old trained Danny Green to the 2000 Olympics and believes Samardali could follow Green to the top.
"I got Jordan when he was 14 or 15, he was 80-odd kilos and a fat little blob," Devellerez said.
"He has plenty of room for improvement but if he keeps listening he could go past what Danny has achieved. Danny had that killer punch and was strong, while Jordan has the skills."
Green was ringside when Samardali triumphed in the nationals at the Esplanade Hotel.
"Jordan's a different proposition to me. Pat hasn't just trained a banger, a guy who's a stand-up boxer and a hard puncher," Green said.
"Jordan's a fast, slashy, points-scoring fighter. Either way, Pat's really got the runs on the board.
"Hopefully Jordan can be more successful than I was in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.
"I won my first fight but broke my hand and was unable to continue, so I'd love Jordan to be able to take it to the next level for him and Pat.
"With all respect to my other trainers who have all had an enormous influence, if I hadn't met Pat I wouldn't be in this position I'm in today.
"As a trainer and a fighter we had a great relationship and I love the bloke. We'll always have a lifelong bond.
"For him to have another kid succeed down the track all these years later, it's justified Pat's passion and the time and effort Pat has put in with Jordan."
Jordan's success in the ring is extra special for his older brother Laith, who faced an even bigger fight of his own four years ago.
The 25-year-old had to quit the sport after he was the victim of an assault on a night out in Perth. He was in a coma fighting for life after being hit over the back of the head with a concrete slab.
"I had to give up boxing so I live it through Jordan now," Laith said. "But this isn't about me, it's about my brother. He's done fantastic. We can't wait to go to Glasgow to cheer him on."
