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After a bit of a unlucky losing streak with some very close decisions the drought is finally over. After the Wonlop fight I got pretty depressed and I needed a win against Foley otherwise it would have been time to hang up the gloves.
After a good month of training and losing a bit of weight we flew down to Sydney Thursday afternoon, after a hour in the sauna was almost pretty much on the money.
We went to the weigh-in and caught up with Greg and his trainer Rhett who were really friendly and everything there went nice and smooth. After a quick bite to eat and then dinner again with the Promoter Jason Lapin I had put on 5kg in three hours and by the time we walked out of the room to leave for the venue I was back at my natural weight of 79kg.
Paul Briggs drove down from Sydney to be in my corner along with Sake, Richard Vell and Daniel Jones who flew from Qld, I also had 10 of my close friends and Angie come down as well for a bit of moral support.
We watched most of the fights on a tv in the change room then as it got closer started to prepare for my biffo. After a massage and a hit out on the pads it was time to get out there and do the business.
It was a good buzz to get a warm welcome as I made my way to the ring, the Penrith venue was nice and compact and made as if the crowd was almost sitting above you in the ring. When the ring announcer read the names out the crowd started the Foley chant which pumped me right up and I am sure Foley was feeling it too.
A few people have posted that I got boo'ed at but that's to be expected when going into someone else's home town and didn't bother me in the least, fighting overseas so many times I am used to being the visitor, also means I have to fight harder if I want to swing them over to start cheering for me.
When the bell started for the first Greg come out throwing hard leg kicks and using the ring well. I was just feeling him out to see what he had then half way through the round started to let go with my own technique's to let him feel my power to show him it was going to be a long night at the office.
End of the first I thought there wasn't much in it and could have gone either way. 2nd I started to pick it up a little as the engine was starting to get warm and getting in the swing of things, I landed some nice body punches that you could hear through the venue and also some nice knee's, as the bell sounded I am pretty sure I took the round.
Third picked it up another notch and now everytime I flinched Greg would cover up making it easier for me to pick my shots.
4th was the best round of the fight, I really put the pressure on this round throwing lots of punch, kick and knee's combo's with plenty of power behind them, near the end of the round I landed a hook I think that put Greg on the canvas for a eight count, after seeing he was in trouble I thought this was my time to end it, I ran across the ring and unloaded with my hands to try and end it, I was half way through my combo when Greg let go with a upper cut which I didn't see and I ended up kissing the canvas myself, now the crowd went crazy and the atmosphere in the room was thick as mud.
I got up straight away as it was only a flash down and even thought to myself that it was a good thing as now it was turning into a good fight, half way through the count the bell sounded to finish the round.
5th round I had plenty to prove and Greg also had grown in confidence after scoring a down. Greg came out hard for the first 30 seconds but then I put the pressure straight back on him till the final bell. At the end of the fight the crowd once again gave us a good applause as we both gave it everything we had and a really exciting fight. I was happy to hear the score cards and even more glade to get my hand raised after so long.
After the fight we spent time with many fans in the change room taking photos, shaking hands and photos, after a quick shower we went to the after party and let our hair down for a few hours meeting more people that come to support the night.
I would like to say thanks to Jason Lapin from Jabout for your hospitality, you looked after us very professionally and we had a great time down there and would love to fight for you again in the future. Also to Greg for giving me a good fight all the way to the final bell and for your sneaky upper cut that you got me with.
Thanks to the crowd in Sydney for coming and supporting the show, for or against me I don't really care but made for a great night at the fights.
The show will be aired on the 15th of August on Foxtel and I hope everyone can tune in as this really was a very exciting fight. I even asked Mark the Hammer what he though about it and he said that would have to be fight of the year so far for sure.
Thanks again to everyone for your support before the show and sticking with me during my not so good times.
JWP
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