Coldstream Boxing Club coach Hayden ‘H-Bomb’ Wright finally became a heavyweight champion of his hometown.
Wright had a TKO win against Indian boxer Ranjeet Singh in the second round at the Melbourne Pavilion on 22 June.
The champion said the title was special to him.
“I’m originally from Melbourne and I always trained here in Melbourne, so that [being a Melbourne champion] was like a lifetime achievement and goal for me,” Wright said.
“It’s very special to show my wife, kids and my boxing club kids that you can achieve your goals.”
The champion didn’t know he was going to fight until two days before the match.
“I had two original opponents pull out and I had covid on Tuesday of the week of the fight,” he said.
“And then they got me the number two ranked heavyweight in India, a really big Indian guy with a better record than me.
“He came in and he was more experienced. He was too fast for me.”
Wright was losing the first round on points, however, he came back in the second round starting to land some big power punches and hurt the opponent with a body punch.
Singh hurt his hand and finally fell down in the second round, which was the moment Wright became the new heavyweight champion of Melbourne.
The new champion announced his official retirement in the ring straight away and is now looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
Wright said he had reassessed where he was with his career, age, family and work one week leading up to the fight.
“I really wanted to go out with a win and I promised myself if I was going to win this, I would definitely stop my boxing career. The best way to go out was by winning the boxing championship, the Melbourne title,” he said.
“I will continue with the gym [Coldstream Boxing Club], work with more kids and possibly get a bigger venue. I will just keep it youth-orientated, free and community-based.
“I’d like to say thank you to my two main sponsors, Hands On Plumbing and Coldstream Cafe Roadhouse, that helped contribute to me in the club and made it possible.”
