Olympic Games: Harry Garside reveals 'uncomfortable' truth behind quest for boxing gold in Paris

Harry Garside has revealed the 'uncomfortable' reality he has had to come to terms with ahead of his tilt for an historic gold medal at this year's Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old headlines a history-making, 12-athlete Australian boxing team searching for the nation's first ever gold medal in the discipline.

He had a brief run in the pro-ranks following his bronze medal in Tokyo, before returning to amateur boxing with Paris in mind.

But he says that the huge expectations of him has made for 'uncomfortable' preparation for the Games.

'It's quite a simple one ... I'm filled with heaps of excitement but also heaps of nervousness,' Garside said.

'To get a bronze medal, the first medal in over 33 years and to come back and try win that gold medal, that's pretty uncomfortable.

'I could have put my hat on that bronze medal … but I'll always be the man in the arena and I'll always put myself in the firing line.

'I feel like this will be the most successful team ever and I hope that I'm one of them.'

The squad includes Australia's first Indigenous and Muslim women - Marissa Williamson Pohlman and Tina Rahimi - as part of a six-fighter female contingent that has tripled from the two that headed to Tokyo in 2021.

But none boast the name value of Garside, who headed to the professional ranks after breaking Australia's 33-year Olympic boxing medal drought in Tokyo.

Not a perfect 3-0 start to his professional tenure nor the Australian lightweight title could satisfy his dream of tasting Olympic gold.

'Professional boxing was great, right? You start building a bit more of a media profile, you're learning all these things, it's a different sport almost and I was getting paid for the first time,' Garside said earlier this year.

'But I felt like I was betraying my younger self by getting so close at Tokyo and not rolling the dice again.

'I just felt like I would be 50 years old and disappointed if I didn't.

'I'm a man who, once I commit to something, I'm all-in ... once I made that decision, I was locked in for Paris.'

A second tilt at a professional career looms for Garside after Paris, admitting the need to tend to his Olympic itch held him back during his first.

'It was great, but my heart wasn't fully in it because my younger self wants to be gold medallist,' he said.

'It was something different going 10 rounds, but I've always been a bit of an endurance athlete, I'm not a massive puncher so I don't think I'm so crowd-pleasing at times.

'Who knows about professional boxing, maybe another Olympics, I'm not sure but I'll make that decision post-Paris.'