Charlie Thompson has a weapon in his hands; the 15-year-old wants a fight but can’t find one so resorts to his father’s shed in Kyneton. The old man is standing there among his paint-cans and a dusty six-pack of Carlton Draught. Charlie stares him in the eyes with eerie confidence and unloads the clip.

BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP.

“Good Charlie,” his father says. “Again.”

BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP.

They’re part-way through a two-hour boxing session they’ve completed every single day for the past eight years. Father and head-coach Matthew Thompson says they shadow box, work on his feet, and hit the pads, before heading to the park for sprints and finishing off with weights in the gym.

“He’s probably only missed a couple of sessions the entire time,” Matthew says. “Trust me, there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but we always say, ‘trust the journey’.”

Charlie weighs 40kg and looks unassuming in his hoodie, but years of practising technique has given him the ability to throw his entire body behind a punch. Matthew weighs double his size and says Charlie has nearly broken his nose on more than one occasion while training.

And all the hard work has paid off. Two weeks ago, the father-son duo travelled to Queensland and Charlie won the National Golden Gloves Championship in the Under 17s division, beating his rival from Nauru in a split decision.

It marks the second time he’s walked away with gold from the competition, having won the Under 15s Golden Gloves title in 2023.

  • Charlie and Matthew training in their shed.

Charlie says he doesn’t tell many people at school about his boxing, but is adamant on turning pro in the future. “I’ve always loved it, ever since I was a kid punching the couch,” he says.

Matthew, an ex-boxer himself, remembers the same moment. “I saw him punching the couch going ‘boom, boom, boom’ like a machine gun, and I thought, ‘we might be on here’.”

He was given the nickname, ‘Machine Gun’, and a fighter was born.

Today, his team comprises his father, ex-Olympian boxer Lynden Hoskins, and Graham Phillipson, who collectively train Charlie, while Pauline Johnson, a businesswoman in the region, is his sponsor for interstate travels.

After he was “thrown against the wolves in his first ever fight”, Charlie’s amateur record now stands at 8-2-0. His only two losses came against national champions and the team isn’t fazed, for Charlie has put most of his opponents on an eight count.

But this firepower in his fists has hindered his next bout.

“We’ve been challenging everyone and no one wants to fight him,” Matthew says. “I‘ve put Charlie into every state and I cannot book a fight.”

The trajectory of becoming a doctor, a plumber, or teacher is well documented in terms of the qualifications and the skills required. But boxing is a different beast. How does Charlie ‘Machine Gun’ Thompson feel about his future?

“Trust the journey,” he says.

  • Charlie ‘Machine Gun’ Thompson wearing his Golden Gloves Championship necklace