CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (WPRI) — Jeff Shabo is showing no signs of slowing down.

The 60-year-old butcher at Belmont Market is also an amateur boxer, who doesn’t plan to drop his gloves anytime soon.

Shabo believes it’s no coincidence that boxing legend Rocky Balboa trained in a meat-packing plant.

“When I first started learning how to cut meat, we used to have meat hanging on the rails,” he explained. “From time to time I would hit the hindquarters.”

Shabo, also known as the “Silverback Gorilla,” told 12 News he refuses to let a few extra candles on his birthday cake prevent him from lacing up his gloves.

And it’s not lost on him that his aspirations aren’t considered the norm.

“It’s just hard to let go,” Shabo said. “When you have been doing it all these years and then you have an opportunity to do it again … I feel just as good as if I was 25 years old.”

“It’s not an easy sport and you have to be in shape for it, but I feel like I can still do it,” he added.

Shabo said he first stepped into the ring decades ago, but his asthma got in the way.

“The medicine back then really wasn’t that good, so I had to give it up,” he explained.

Now that he’s on a new medication, Shabo is determined to pick up right where he left off.

“This is an opportunity to bounce back,” Shabo said. “Many years later, but I feel great.”

Shabo, who has sparred against fighters as young as 18 years old, told 12 News he’s taking his training at Grundy’s Gym in Central Falls seriously.

“It’s a tough sport,” Shabo said. “You really have to be a certain kind of person to take hits to the face and body. It’s not for everybody, so you have to be physically and mentally in shape.”

“There are a lot of things I can do to build up my wind, like running up stairs,” he continued, hinting at the famous Rocky training moment. “It’s all about wind and stamina.”

When asked why he wanted to box again, Shabo said his main reason is to prove that age is just a number.

“Anybody can do it,” Shabo said. “It’s a good example for people — don’t give up.”

“I’m hoping to do this for as long as I can,” he added.

Despite a hip replacement, fractured ribs and other past injuries from both inside and outside the ring, Shabo is hoping to compete in a three-round fight this fall.