CAPALABA boxer Matthew Jenkins might be small but he packs a big punch.
The nine-year-old claimed his first Muay Thai title at an autism awareness fight last month just two and a half years after strapping on a set of boxing gloves for the first time.
His mother Melanie Driver said Matthew, a student at Capalaba's St Luke's Catholic Parish School, played rugby league when he was not slugging it out in the boxing ring.
"He wants to be a professional sportsperson no matter what," she said.
"Whether it's running, throwing or catching he just loves sport."
Ms Driver said Matthew hailed from a long line of rugby league fanatics.
She said he took up his family's favourite sport as a six-year-old at the Capalaba Warriors and had not looked back since.
"All our family played rugby league so it was just a matter of giving him a go at it to see if he would like it and now he loves it," she said.
"My dad, his brothers and my brother played - it's very much in our family."
Ms Driver said Matthew trained at Capalaba's BloodShed Gym under accomplished Muay Thai fighter and centre owner Dwayne Glasgow.
She said his victory at the autism awareness bout was one of the biggest accomplishments in his career so far.
"He was on top of the world, absolutely ecstatic," Ms Driver said.
Ms Driver said Matthew's sporting prowess wasn't confined to the boxing ring or the football field, he was also a natural on the running track.
"He participates in a lot of different sports at school," she said.
"He's won the cross country and the 100 and 200 metre sprints."
- Read more local sport here.