Tayla-made sparring in Japan has women’s AFL star kicking on

AFL star Tayla Harris is putting her best foot forward in her second career as a women’s boxing champion. The Carlton ace hopes to fight for the world middleweight title before her home crowd at Princes Park.

Australia’s remarkable dual sport champion Tayla Harris has spent the last two weeks picking fights in Japan as she chases a world title bout on her home ground of Princes Park in Melbourne.

The big kicking Carlton women’s AFL ace, who grew up at Everton Park, hits the boxing big time on August 14 when she faces former Titans rugby league media co-ordinator Renee Gartner, an ex-amateur boxing champion, on a Main Event pay-per-view card in Sydney.

The showdown will be on the undercard to Australian super-welterweight champ Tim Tszyu’s battle with slick Victorian Dwight Ritchie and the 22-year-old Carlton forward is leaving nothing to chance as she chases her fifth professional boxing win.

Tayla Harris, AFL star and pro boxer at the Corporate Box Gym in Lutwyche. Picture Annette Dew

Now No. 8 in the world middleweight rankings, Harris has just spent two weeks in Japan punching on with some of that country’s toughest male fighters.

“Renee Gartner is a big challenge,’’ Harris said, “and I’ve been doing a lot of sparring against many different styles and experiences to make sure I’m ready for anything in the ring on August 14. Most of the people I spar with are men. Sometimes their egos get the better of them and they try to dominate me but I never take a backward step when I’m fighting.

“I did a lot of sparring in Japan. I just went to different gyms asking if people wanted to spar with me. I had some great sparring against a very good Japanese fighter named Kazuma who is a kickboxer and boxer. He didn’t hold back and we exchanged some good punches.

“I also do a lot of sparring in Brisbane with my coach Faris Chevalier, who is a former Australian champion.

High-profile AFLW player Tayla Harris with Gold Coast Muay Thai veteran John Wayne Parr, who fights Anthony Mundine in November. Picture Glenn Hampson

“I spar against anyone I can find. In Melbourne I train at a lot of different gyms and I take on anyone.’’

Harris’s ultimate goal is to fight for the world middleweight title in a huge open-air promotion at Princes Park, Carlton’s home ground.

The venue hosted one of the great battles in Australian boxing when Ghana’s underdog Azumah Nelson retained his world super-featherweight title against Australia’s Jeff Fenech before 37,000 fans in 1992.

Harris is the No. 8 contender for the WBA women’s middleweight title held by America’s two-time Olympic gold medallist Claressa Shields.

Professional boxer Renee Gartner poses at Grange High Performance in Smeaton Grange in Sydney. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I want to pursue boxing as far as I can,’’ Harris said.

“Women’s AFL is a huge sport now — we had more than 53,000 people for our grand final at Adelaide Oval this year.

“But boxing is a truly global sport and I have the opportunity to travel around the world and compete which I love. The two sports really complement each other and I know that the explosive fitness I’ve developed through boxing has really helped me kick on in the AFL.’’