BECAUSE I've got a boxing background, a lot of people have wondered whether I might follow Anthony Mundine and a few of the other rugby league boys and have a serious go in the ring.

The answer is I'm not about to throw in my job with the Swans. But in three or four years, if I were still fit enough and I didn't need a long break to recover from my footy career, it might be something I would consider.

Boxing has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. My father, Ray, had a makeshift gym in our back shed, with a speed ball, a floor-to-ceiling bag and a couple of other bags. Dad was not a fighter but he used to train some of the local footy players and that got me interested. Eventually, Dad trained me, too.

I actually started with the martial arts, doing Muay Thai kickboxing when I was about 13. But with kickboxing, you couldn't have a full-contact fight until you were 18 and I wanted to get into the ring, so I started boxing when I was about 14.

Dad was pretty old school and for the first 12 months, I wasn't allowed to throw a punch. You had to work with the gloves tucked under your elbows, not letting them hit the ground, which was hard going but good for your footwork.

Later, we used to drive down to Melbourne from Broadford twice a week — a two-hour return trip — for sparring sessions. We went to all the big fights in town, although my hero was the American "Marvellous" Marvin Hagler. As for my boxing career, I can't really remember too much of what happened in the ring other than that I had about a dozen fights, lost the first and the last, and won all the others.

It's a bit like the three grand finals I've played: the games themselves are a bit of a blur. But I've got my broken nose to remind me about my boxing career. I was never nervous before fights, just a bit anxious to get it over with. But, by the time I was 16, I was struggling with the preparation.

I was fighting at 54 kilograms, believe it or not, and because I was tall for my division, it was a struggle to make the weight. I'd be training twice a day with garbage bags on to sweat off the pounds while my mates were playing footy, going to parties and eating what they wanted.

When I told Dad I wanted to play footy instead of boxing, he was pretty disappointed and, when I think about all the money and time he'd put into it on my behalf, I can understand why. But he's eventually come to realise I made a pretty good decision.

The boxing background was a bit of a problem in the early part of my footy career. When I got drafted by St Kilda, Dad told me to get on the front foot and that "the best form of defence is attack". But I found out pretty quickly that when you do that in the AFL, you spend a fair bit of time on the sidelines. It's taken some time and a bit of hard work and maturity to curb what had been my natural instincts.

I'm not sure whether my reputation gives me any advantage with opponents. I guess they know what they can and can't get away with. But the biggest advantage has been how boxing has helped with footwork and agility. Those sessions with the gloves tucked under my arms have helped with my step when I take off on a lead because you use those same foot skills.

We do a bit of boxing at the club on Wednesdays, although I never get to spar. The boys pair off and, for some reason, I'm always left by myself. Of the other blokes, Ryan O'Keefe goes OK and Nic Fosdike can look after himself.

So will you ever see me in the professional ring? I change my mind about it all the time, but I admire the footy blokes who go through the ropes.

Mundine has improved out of sight and even John Hopoate and Les Mason, who've copped a bit of stick, are at least having a go. And that's a good effort in a tough sport where there are a lot of armchair experts.

Barry Hall's column appears every Friday.