Will Guilmette is serious about his pro boxing career, putting in the work that might someday give him a shot at a title.

He’s simultaneously working just as hard at another goal. It isn’t as visible but every bit as important.

He’s on track to become a journeyman wireman in May. Boxing remains his passion, but he understands the lifetime of security that comes with being an IBEW electrician.

“Obviously, you can’t box forever,” said Guilmette, a fifth-year apprentice at Providence, R.I., Local 99, and a rising middleweight fighter. “It’s a very small window in life when you can box. You have to have a career in mind and be able to support your family.

“That’s exactly what the IBEW does for you.”

Guilmette (pronounced Gil-MET), 23, turned pro earlier this year after a long amateur career and improved to 2-0 with a first-round knockout victory over Douglas Siva on Nov. 1 in Uncasville, Conn. He won his pro debut via a first-round knockout May 10.

Despite the physical demands of that career — which includes exhausting morning runs, long hours working on balance and technique, sometimes brutal sparring sessions — he’s keeping up with his apprenticeship duties, both on the jobsite and in the classroom.

Guilmette concedes that it’s often exhausting. But the sense of satisfaction he gets makes it all worth it.

“My head hits the pillow, I’m out,” he said. “I’m so tired that even on the weekends, I can’t think of going out.”

Individual sports played a major role throughout Guilmette’s life while growing up in Coventry, R.I., about a 30-minute drive southwest of Providence.

Wrestling was the sport of choice, but that changed at 13, when he accompanied a friend and his older brother to a boxing gym in nearby West Warwick.

“As soon as I went with them, I quit wrestling. I quit every other sport,” he said. “I fell in love with it.”

Guilmette doesn’t disagree that boxing is often brutal. He’s seen his share of fighters give it up quickly after absorbing a few punches.

But he found something deeper in the effort it demanded for someone to be successful.

“It was just that feeling of months of training and the dedication you put into it,” he said. “Even in fights I lost, while I wasn’t happy, I really enjoyed that feeling of training and seeing what the outcome was. I like having a goal in mind.”

Guilmette caught another break when he walked into that gym as a teenager.

It was owned by Bry Lemme, a longtime boxing trainer in New England who is also a journeyman wireman and third-generation Local 99 member.

Lemme not only became his trainer. When Guilmette was 15, he started taking him on side electrical jobs. Lemme needed the help. He also wanted to expose his star pupil to a potential career.

It worked. While fighting as an amateur, Guilmette was accepted into the Local 99 apprenticeship just after high school. Lemme, who continues to train him, said lessons learned in the ring can also transfer to the job and the classroom.

“He sees that the harder you work, the more work you put in, the more you have,” Lemme said. “You drive a nice truck, you worked for it.

“Through the union, I told him you put in your five years of apprenticeship, you’re rewarded in the end,” he added. “You get a pension. You get an annuity. You have a license no one can take away from you.”

Guilmette continued his amateur career, winning a New England Junior Olympics title and competing in the Southern New England Golden Gloves. He traveled to national tournaments in Ohio and Louisiana to see how he fared against top-level competition.

He turned professional earlier this year and signed with CES, a New England-based promotional company.

Lemme noted that at 6 feet, 1 inch, Guilmette is tall for a middleweight, where the weight limit is 160 pounds. But he thinks Guilmette might excel even more as a pro. He has better balance and coordination.

“Now, his body is mature and he’s fighting at a comfortable weight,” Lemme said.

Plus, professional boxers go through weigh-ins the day before a fight, giving them more time to rehydrate. Amateur weigh-ins are done just a few hours before.

“He’s a tall, unorthodox fighter who has a great jab, but sometimes he’s too tough for his own good,” Lemme said. “He should box a little more, but sometimes he comes right at you and wants to fight. You’ll get your money’s worth when you watch him. And when he drops down and works [the opposing fighter’s body], you’re done.”

Local 99 showed up in force for his first professional fight, at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. Not only were members in attendance, but Local 99 sponsored him. His trunks included a sponsorship patch for the local.

“They support me tremendously,” Guilmette said. “The president, the business manager, all the guys in the office, but also the members. There were probably 100 union guys standing and cheering for me. That really pushes you through a fight. It motivates you.”

Business Manager Joe Walsh and his staff have worked with JATC instructors and signatory contractors to give Guilmette enough time to pursue his boxing career while also making sure he’s meeting his apprenticeship responsibilities.

“My belief is that if someone is serious about pursuing their dreams, you do whatever you can to support them,” Walsh said. “Will has shown that he’s very serious about this.

“A lot of our members get a kick out of watching him, and he’s given all of us someone to rally around,” Walsh added. “I’m excited to see where his boxing career takes him, but I’m just as excited by his work as an apprentice and that he understands the significance of a career as an IBEW electrician.”

For Guilmette, the work is just beginning. In both arenas.

“The process of getting ready, staying disciplined, is something I’ve loved,” he said.