'I'm back': Harry Garside set for professional return, first fight since heart-wrenching Paris defeat
Australian boxing star Harry Garside is set to return to the professional scene some nine months after crashing out at the Paris Olympics in his opening bout — and he's set his sights on becoming a world champion.
Promotion company No Limit Boxing announced on Wednesday that Garside would take on Queenslander Charlie Bell in the lightweight division at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on May 14.
The Melbourne product's Moore Park fight will see him set foot in the ring for the first time since the Paris Games, where he lost to Hungarian Richard Kovacs in the 63.5-kilogram division.
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Garside is set for his first professional fight since May 2022.
On the same night at the Hordern Pavilion, Albion Park boxer Sam Goodman will clash with Mexican Cesar Vaca in a world title eliminator.
"I'm back — and I couldn't be more excited to do it with No Limit," Garside said.
"They're the biggest name in boxing on this side of the globe, and I believe this is the perfect team to help me reach my potential and inspire people along the way.
"I've taken time to reflect, grow and reset, and now I'm ready to chase greatness again.
"The goal is simple: be the best version of myself, inside and outside the ring, and become world champion."
Harry Garside at the No Limit Boxing event where his fight with Charlie Bell was announced. No Limit Boxing/Gregg Porteous
Garside has a professional boxing record of 3-0, having defeated Sachin Mudaliar, Manuer A Matet and Layton McFerran in the months that followed the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where he claimed bronze.
After bombing out in his first fight at the Paris Games, Garside admitted in a brutally honest interview with Nine: "I feel pretty numb right now ... I feel like a failure".
He had been vocal in the lead-up to Paris 2024 that he was hellbent on winning gold.
"I know sportsmen are just supposed to say the right thing right now ... but deep down inside I fear for what the next couple of months look like for myself," Garside said in Paris, visibly devastated.
"I'm sure there'll be some dark times ... I've got to be prepared for that now."
Bell, the man set to face Garside next month, has a professional record of 5-1.
"Harry Garside is one of the most talented and compelling athletes in the country, and we're absolutely thrilled to have him back with No Limit," said No Limit chief executive George Rose.
"We've seen what he can do in the amateurs, and now it's time to see him reach his full potential in the pros.
"His return is going to be a massive moment for Aussie boxing."
Goodman has a professional record of 19-0 (eight knockouts), while Vaca has a record of 19-1-1 (11 knockouts).
Goodman is set for his first fight since beating Thachtana Luangphon last July.
"I'm stoked to be back, doing what I love to do, getting back in the ring," Goodman said.
"There's nothing stopping me from becoming world champion. I'm ready to prove it. Vaca might have trained with [Japanese boxer Naoya] Inoue, but he's never faced someone like me."
