Back to the Beginning

Sometimes it takes a controversial decision to take you back to your roots, and rediscover why you're World Champ. Kathy Purcell shares Wayne Parr's journey back to the beginning...

Enter most gyms in Thailand and you're sure to find a bunch of sweaty foreigners in their 20s, with a dozen fights under their belt and the enthusiasm to take on the world. What you don't expect to see is ‘John' Wayne Parr slogging out the morning run with you - seven times World champ ‘John' Wayne Parr.

Rewind back a few years (okay maybe a few more) and you'll find a young 19-year-old Wayne Parr hitting the pads in a Thai gym. With 13 fights, and the Australian and South Pacific titles under his belt, it was fair to say that the kid had talent.

"My first stay in Thailand was for six months, and I had five fights for five wins in that time. I thought it was a great little getaway, but I had no plans of going back."

A six month holiday wasn't exactly what Boonchu's Richard Vell had planned for the future champ, and one month later Parr was en route to Pattaya with $700 in his pocket and 12 months of living and training in Thailand to look forward to. Twelve months turned into four years, and Wayne Parr developed into the world class fighter we all know today. It's not like Parr just stopped visiting Thailand though; he's been back more times than he can count over the years. But with a young family, a wife with her own successful fight career, and a gym to run, skipping off to Thailand for a few months isn't as easy as it used to be.

From Thailand, Parr travelled the globe collecting a bunch of belts and titles from quality opponents, truly living the dream. With Parr at the top of his game, he had little competition to worry about on his home turf... well little to worry about if Bruce Macfie hadn't been not-so-quietly racking up fights and his own following in and out of Australia.

Parr was happy to get in the ring with the man they called ‘The Preacher,' and in 2005 in front of a solid crowd in Brisbane, it was Parr who took home the glory. A rematch was called the following year in 2006, and this time when Parr dropped Macfie again with a succession of killer uppercuts, the crowd erupted. Macfie, went on to finish the five rounds, but victory and bragging rights belonged to Parr.

Those bragging rights appeared to be wearing off. Once again it would be Macfie's name Evolution promoter Josh Sexton, would take to Parr. Parr took the fight with no doubt in his mind that he would win the third fight against Macfie. As the fight played out, it was clear that Macfie also wanted this win as much as he did.

"He was fitter than I thought he was going to be, and he was aggressive in pushing the fight," says Parr.

Macfie was strong, but Parr was stronger. Parr picked and landed his shots. He avoided damage, keen to remain injury free for his upcoming fight against Yodsanklai.

"I felt great. In the fifth round I was even surprised at how fit I felt. I was winning the fight and I didn't pick it up because I didn't have to... Dip, who scores Thai style, would back me up, saying that I had each round easy."

The fight went the distance and after much deliberation the winner was called. The winner was Bruce ‘The Preacher' Macfie. What? The look of shock and confusion was written all over Parr's face.

"I spent a long time in Thailand and I know how to score a fight. I know in the ring if I'm winning, losing, or if its close and I have to pick it up or steal it. At no point during the Preacher fight did I think I was in trouble. Bruce was coming forward, which is great to make it exciting for the crowd, but if you're not landing, and my left body kick and teep is landing over and over again, stopping your momentum, then how does that not score?"

While Macfie fans were elated, Parr fans were devastated. The overload of people trying to get on kickboxermag.com.au to find out the result and talk about the fight on the discussion forum actually crashed the site! Everyone had an opinion.

"I had plenty of armchair critics email and private message me, saying that I'm a ‘bad sport' and that I need to ‘deal with the fact that Preacher is a better fighter.' I think it's funny. Watch the video and tell me how I lost."

Australia will always be divided in opinion of who really is the ‘People's Champ,' but to Parr there can only be one... and it's not Macfie.

"If I was beaten, then I would cop it on the chin. I'd knuckle down and make sure I learn from my mistakes, but I know I fought well that day. My game plan worked and I landed scoring shots."

Any loss is hard to deal with, but Parr was on an emotional rollercoaster. Being taken for a ride in front of thousands of people makes it pretty difficult to move on. After all the controversy and drama surrounding the Macfie fight, Parr struggled to see how he could focus on his fight with Yodsanklai, only some three weeks away.

"I had to fight Yoddy in a few weeks, and this was bigger than just a fight. Not only was it for a World title, but Yod is the sort of guy that if you're not on your game, you're either going to get very hurt or knocked out."

This was a big fight for Parr. He'd been in the ring and lost twice to Yodsanklai. He needed to focus and be at his absolute best if he was to have any chance of winning the fight, and his wife understood this better than anyone. It was actually Angela Parr who suggested he go to Thailand to prepare.

"Going to Thailand was all Angie's idea. There's no way I would have even thought about leaving her by herself with the kids and gym to look after, but she told me she had it all sorted and ‘to come back and win.' I really owe everything to her, she's a champion!"

It didn't take Parr long to agree, and after speaking with his trainer Dip, it was decided that Parr would train at 13 Coins with Saenchai and Mr Coke.

"I was lucky enough to meet Saenchai when he fought Kurt Finlayson on the Sunshine Coast, and he told me if I ever go back to Thailand to go and train with him. I said ‘yeah for sure' but in my head I was thinking there was no chance I was heading back to Thailand again at my age. I'm too old and there's no way I would be able to keep up with the young guys."

Parr started the gruelling training regime of almost 6 hours a day, soon after landing in Thailand

• Morning run for an hour
• Shadow work
• 3-5 rounds on the bag
• 3-4 rounds on the pads
• Sparring with Saenchai
• Sit ups
• Afternoon run for half an hour
• 5 rounds on the bag
• 6 rounds on the pads
• Grapple for half an hour
• Sparring with Saenchai
• Sit ups

And there he was. Back where it had all begun and ready to take on the world

"At home, training is a lot harder. Teaching classes takes it out of you a bit. Then there's thinking about bills and trying to make money to pay those bills. Kids want a lot of attention, and there's never enough hours in the day. Over in Thailand you wake up, train, and think about what you're having for breakfast and dinner, then sleep. I love the lifestyle."

Along with training was the weight loss. It's common knowledge that Parr drops ridiculous amounts of weight before he fights, and this would be no exception. Thailand proved to be the solution, with Parr landing back in Australia at 77kg and only 5kg to strip.

"It's the easiest I've made weight in years!"

Arriving home, it was time to put the training to good use. Everyone was left wondering whether Parr could pull it off after his prior two losses against Yodsanklai. Both times they had met in the ring Yodsanklai had dropped Parr, and taken the win convincingly.

"Both times I fought Yod were very painful. I got dropped for 8-counts both times."

This time Parr entered the ring with confidence and after a good first round, he stepped it up. After throwing Yodsanklai off with a catch and sweep, he was rewarded with a nice cut that resembled something from a horror film in the second. In the fourth, Parr answered back, landing a couple of massive rights and getting off the ropes and out of trouble. Parr showed his true colours in the final round though, straight out of the clinch he fired off a right kick followed by a barrage of punches in bunches that left Yodsanklai no choice but to get hit. The remainder of the round had both fighters playing smart and landing some good hits, but surprisingly no one was rattled. The fight ended with their arms around each other, satisfied that they'd both put up a solid fight.

"I was so happy that I'd given Yod a hard fight and that I'd gotten through all five rounds without getting dropped! I didn't think I'd won because of Yod's powerful left kicks, but I was just happy that I gave him a hard fight."

The decision seemed to drag out, and as the fighters waited anxiously for the result, so did the crowd. As ring announcer Perry Cale called out Parr's name, he couldn't contain himself.

"When Perry called my name as the winner I was so happy I ran 10 laps around the ring as if I was floating on a cloud. It's a memory I will take with me to the grave."

Clearly his time in Thailand had paid off. You're never too old to learn, and Parr had to do something different to win this fight.

So where to from here? The ‘retirement' word has reared its ugly head a few times too many, and Parr has decided that 2011 will be his final year. He'll put in another 12 months on the circuit before hanging up the gloves.

"I have lived my Muay Thai life 10 times over, doing so many things I never thought I could have done. As much as I love it, and the fact that I'm really shiting my pants with the thought of what I will do with my life after fighting, I have to be realistic and acknowledge that I'm almost 35-years-old, and this is a young man's sport. The whole idea of retiring really scares me, so if I put it off for another year then I don't have to think about it until then."

So that's it... well almost. Parr went back to the beginning to successfully near the end of his Muay Thai career with his head held high. The ‘People's champ' and seven time World champ ‘John Wayne' Parr has shown that you're never too old to learn. IK

"Before I go, I really want to send a big thank you to Richard Vell from Boonchu Restaurant, Steve and Darren Hull from Qest Environments for being part of my team for the last 12 months and hopefully many more years to come, and also Aron from Vas. The boys at Boonchu Gym for your hard work and making me want to push harder every session, 13 Coins, Mr Coke and Saenchai for coming to Australia and working my corner. Doctor Phil Bailey for being part of the team and putting me together after the fight... your stitch work is the best in the business. Last one, thank you to my wife Angie for being true to our wedding values and supporting my hopes and dreams. "

‘John' Wayne Parr