Nicholas Cain only took up boxing about 15 months ago, thanks to inspiration from his younger brother.

The 32-year-old White River Junction resident, who lived in Windsor at the time, opted not to tell his brother that he had joined a boxing gym in Springfield, Vt., until three months after he started. But Cain fell in love with the sport right away and has stuck with it, even as his brother has since moved on.

On Saturday evening, Cain — who now trains at Real Steel Fitness in Claremont — will be the sole Upper Valley fighter competing as Claremont hosts its first boxing event since 2004. The show, which will be held at the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center, features 36 amateur boxers from all over the Northeast, paired off according to weight, skill level and experience.

“Boxing is about discipline,” Cain said. “I’ve never really been a fighter myself. I don’t really have anger issues or anything. But it’s one of the best workouts, it’s taught me a lot of confidence, and there’s a family aspect to our gym at Real Steel that I’m really drawn to.”

Cain will fight in just his third official bout with USA Boxing on Saturday, and he is still seeking his first victory. He began training at Real Steel last fall, and his goal is to participate in 15 fights before deciding whether to continue with his new favorite sport.

Ron “Frenchy” Morissette, the head boxing coach at Real Steel, said he has been trying to get this event on the calendar since 2021, when the COVID-19 vaccines became widely available. Subsequent resurgences in COVID-19 cases delayed Real Steel’s plans, but Saturday’s event will take place with the ring set up in the middle of the basketball floor at the CSBCC, with seating for roughly 550 people surrounding it.

“It’s been a real grassroots effort, because we really have no budget,” said Suzanne Lenz, another Real Steel boxing coach. “We’ve put a lot of our own money into this, and we’re hoping to break even. We have a real passion for it. We just love the group.”

Morissette and other Real Steel trainers have promoted the event on social media and got the word out to amateur fighters through USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing. Each of the 18 scheduled bouts will consist of three two-minute rounds with one minute of rest between rounds, so Morissette expects the program, which begins at 6 p.m., to end between 10 and 11. The boxers competing in Claremont range from 14 to 40 years old.

Cain is a longtime skateboarder who grew up in Brattleboro, Vt., and played football in elementary school, then competed in javelin, discus and shot put on the high school track and field team. Last winter, he was a lifeguard at the Carter Community Building Association in Lebanon, and he is now a full-time gardener for a private estate in Cornish.

Boxing, at least for now, is nothing more than a passionate hobby for Cain, who trains at Real Steel three times per week for two hours each.

“He’s a pretty hard worker,” Will Hatton, another boxing coach at Real Steel, said. “He’s going to be great at what he does. He’s got a pretty good attitude and wants to learn.”

Since his most recent fight in May, Cain has been sparring with another Real Steel boxer, Luke Forest, but Forest will be unable to compete Saturday after sustaining an arm injury in his last bout. Forest’s injury means Cain will be representing the Upper Valley on his own, and beyond raising his own profile, he hopes to help raise interest in boxing in the area.

“A lot of people think boxing is a very barbaric sport, and it’s completely the opposite. There’s a lot of respect, a lot of discipline,” Cain said. “It’s one of the only sports where you can punch someone in the face and, when you’re all done, give them a hug and congratulate them. It’s good for all age groups. I’m a little late to the game, but I’m hopeful that it brings a positive light to this pretty cool sport.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Nicholas Cain’s last name.