One of Australia's top boxers posts throwback photo to his childhood as he nears the 'biggest event of my life' - so can you tell who it is?

• e-mail

Most Australian sports fans would be able to identify this youngster as the grown up boxing star he is today, but they might be hard pressed to recognise him when he first started in the sport.

The fighter in question took to social media this week to celebrate how far he has come and reflect on his journey ahead of the biggest fight of his career.

In the photo he can be seen holding a boxing trophy with veteran boxing trainer Brian Levier - the very same coach he has with him today.

So, can you guess who it is?

One Aussie boxing star has shared a photo of himself not long after he'd started the sport

That's right, it's Olympic bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Games champion Harry Garside.

Now 26, he posted the image to Instagram this week alongside a recent photo and a message to his thousands of followers.

'Weeks out from the biggest event of my life and taking some time to reflect on the ride,' he posted, referring to the Paris Olympics.

'From a little boy who was inspired by Grant Hackett winning the 1500m final in 2004. From almost losing more fights than I had won up until the age of 18. From countless failures to make the Australian Olympic Team. Two decades on, here we sit.

Garside went on to say that he was an extremely insecure and weak boy and cared a lot about the approval of others. 

Harry Garside is pictured in a recent photo as he prepares to go for gold at the Paris Olympics

Garside reflected on how far he'd come since he was a kid as he readiest himself for possibly the biggest test of his career

'I had no idea what my life would evolve in to, walking into that gym, but f**k am I happy I did,' he continued.

'Throughout the past 18 years, I've been on the wildest journey, one of self discovery. I've pushed myself in ways young harry didn't even know were possible. 

'I know I said I was scared to be myself, insecure and weak, but I was all of those things only because I had no idea who I was or what I was capable of. 

'I almost walked away from the sport in 2022 and I'm so grateful I didn't.' 

Last month, Garside reflected on the domestic violence court case ordeal he went through in 2023, revealing that boxing helped provide clarity during that turbulent spell.

The boxing champ was arrested by NSW Police in dramatic scenes at Sydney Airport as he returned home with his father after shooting the reality TV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! in South Africa.

Police dropped the charges against the 26-year-old in a Sydney court after his legal team produced video evidence they said showed his ex-girlfriend, Ashley Ruscoe, was the alleged aggressor during an incident on March 1.

Garside had steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, but admitted it was a testing time.

Garside (pictured during a professional fight in 2022) says he almost quit the sport in 2022 but is grateful that he stuck with it

'I've got sweaty palms right now,' he joked when asked about the criminal proceedings on The Project.

'It was tough, there's no denying that. I think it was very therapeutic to... I sort of distracted myself with the Olympics to get through that, to disconnect from it, which I think I needed to [do].'

Garside has authored a new book inbetween training sessions for the Paris Games, and says that the exercise allowed him to compute everything.

'I think to sit down and actually go over it and [say] 'what happened?' I sort of numbed it out as much as I could.

I't was exactly what I needed to make sure I could get through it and focus on the Olympic gold medal.'