AARON CHALMERS has given himself three years to achieve his boxing dreams of winning massive fights and even titles.
The ex-Geordie Shore star has confirmed his switch from MMA to professional boxing, signing for promotional company Boxxer and Sky Sports.
He left the cage with a 5-2 record, last fighting in February 2020, and was almost ready to hang up his gloves afterwards.
Chalmers, 34, told SunSport: “Not long after that we went into lockdown, then I had a baby and my life kind of spiralled a little bit.
“I was drinking and then it got to like August or September and I thought, ‘I’m going to give it one more chance in boxing’.”
Chalmers then spoke to close friend, 10–1–1 welterweight Josh Kelly – who suggested he try out their Surrey gym headed up by Adam Booth.
Soon enough, the former Bellator welterweight was training in front of esteemed British coach Adam Booth, where his boxing journey began.
Chalmers revealed: “The first day, Adam was like, ‘Right, shadow box’. I shadow boxed and obviously I’d never boxed before, I’d only ever done MMA.
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“From the level Adam has, he was like, ‘Right, we need to take everything back to scratch.’
“For the first six months, I was literally practising the perfect jab, for f***ing six months.
“There were many times I thought, is this going to work? But I thought stick in there and it will pay off.
“People think I’ve just joined to Adam’s a couple of weeks ago and just signed to Boxxer.
“That’s not the case. It’s been 17 months, living away, I’ve had two babies, and I’m living away from my missus and family as I knew eventually it would pay off, and it has.”
Chalmers is living close to his gym and is surrounded by the likes of Michael Conlan, 30, Liam Williams, 29, and Kelly, 27.
That does come at the cost of only spending one weekend every fortnight back home with his partner Talia and their three kids.
But with only limited time to give it his all in the ring, the boxing debutant is ready to do whatever it takes.
He said: “I’ve got three years, so it has to be done properly. If I wasn’t doing it properly, then I wouldn’t be at Adam’s gym.
“I’m not going to be a world champion, that’s a fact. I haven’t got time on my side.
“But my main goals are to fight on big, big shows, be on the undercards of massive events in England, Sky Sports events.
“Maybe finish off, at 37 and try a fight for an Area title. Who knows? My MMA career was a whirlwind, I look back and think, ‘Jesus Christ’.
“I’m hoping my boxing career will be the same, I’m hoping once we get the first fight in, I feel like everything is going to open up.”
Big celebrity fights, with the likes of YouTuber Jake Paul, 25, and Love Islander Tommy Fury, 22, in the sport could be inevitable.
But walking away with a prestigious domestic belt, like the famed English or British titles, could be just as rewarding for Chalmers.
He agreed: “You can never say never, three years is a long time, you can learn a lot.
“By all means, if Adam and I thought in two or three years time, I was ready, then 100 per cent I would never shy away from trying to earn a belt.
“For someone who started boxing at 33-years-old, I would f***ing love to retire with a British or English title.
“For me that is a big, big step, but we’ll see. Along with those fights, you’ve also got other fighters in boxing we can look at.
“I’m just excited, I’m so glad it’s been announced.”
Chalmers is set to make his pro boxing debut in April at the middleweight limit.
