BETHEL — Inspired by a boxing great, 13-year-old Cain Shatzer knew what he wanted.

“I remember looking at Muhammad Ali and I said, ‘I want to do that,’” said Cain, of Bethel.

His mother, Jackie, had a little bit different reaction. “I’m not too sure about this,” she said at the time.

But she was persuaded by her son and her husband, Matt, to go to the Gamache Gym in Lewiston about a year ago and look into it. After learning more, Jackie said, “Why not?”

So for the past year, the family has been trekking three to five times a week to Lewiston for Cain to train.

He was taught early on to “hit or be hit,” he said. “At first the workout was a little tough. But as time went on they became easier. When I first started, my punches seemed wild, but now they are focused and fast. I’m learning new things, but always going over what I first learned because that’s the most important.”

As his first matches approached recently, in Massachusetts and Vermont, they brought back worries for Jackie.

“It’s been a little tough,” she said. “I mean, he is my baby and the thought of watching him get punched — I was nervous and scared. When they spar at the gym, they are not hitting hard and going after it; it is more like practicing, but I thought to myself, ‘Will I be able to control myself ringside, watching my boy in a fight?’ So when his first fight came along and he won by TKO in the second round, I knew I had nothing to fear.”

Cain also won his second match, a unanimous decision after three rounds.

The matches, which can go up to three rounds, are set up by the coaches, who find opponents with the skill level and weight class of Cain.

One might think the biggest challenge for him would be dodging punches. But, Cain said, it’s actually “not getting scared in front of people, whether it be sparring and 20 people looking at you, or in a fight with 500 people looking at you.”

He said safety is a priority. In addition to the headgear, he said, “the ref is watching every move you’re doing, and if he sees anything wrong, like someone’s eyes fluttering, or something like excessive bleeding, he will stop it.”

Jackie, now over her initial fears, sees many positives in Cain’s new passion.

“He’s getting in shape, he’s being active, he’s off the Xbox and he’s keeping his grades up,” she said. “The schoolwork is very important — that comes first. And when he kept pretty much all B’s, that made it easier to support him. And the gym is like a second family for us. The support from them is phenomenal.”

Cain said he’s grateful for all the support he receives, including from his coaches/trainers Glenn Cugno, Scott Frost and Dan Escobar, and gym owner Joe Gamache Sr., as well as his gym mates.

“And a big ‘thank-you’ to my dad, who drives me to Lewiston three to four nights a week,” Cain said.