A "next-level" Josh McCulloch has said his improvement "takes his breath away", as he prepares to resume his celebrated Muay Thai career.
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The 20-year-old will fight for the first time since February last year when he puts his Martial Arts Sports Association 58kg national title on the line against Sydney fighter Sean Lightford in Punchbowl on March 6.
The card-headlining bout - McCulloch's first defence of the amateur title - had been scheduled for the Hurstville Civic Centre in Sydney on February 19 but that fight night was cancelled by police after a fatal shooting outside the centre on Sunday.
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The new venue is yet to be revealed.
McCulloch - whose ascent in the sport has been one of Tamworth's most captivating stories - will take a long unbeaten streak into the fight after the COVID-enforced layoff.
He will also showcase an improved physique after overhauling his diet while corresponding online with famed US-based trainer Mike Dolce and resuming his training with Scott Chaffey following the lockdown.
Chaffey has been his mentor since he first walked into Chaffeys Black Belt Academy as an overweight 14-year-old lacking confidence.
McCulloch said the layoff "was probably the best thing that could have happened" to him.
"I honestly believe this break has been a godsend," he said. "I feel sharper in the mind and in the body - refined."
The break, he continued, has "brought that fire back" and he is "ready to go again".
McCulloch - whose record stands at 15 wins, two losses and two draws - said defending the title required "a different mindset" to chasing it.
"Someone could potentially take it from ya," he said. "So you've gotta be that extra 10 per cent better [than you were previously] - no matter what."
Lightford is a replacement for a Western Australian that McCulloch was supposed to fight.
The Tamworthian does not know much about Lightford but said he came from the "massive" SRG Thai Boxing Gym in Sydney, which boasted "a lot of great trainers".
"So he's definitely gonna be a very tough fight," McCulloch said, adding: "It's gonna be a very technical fight.
"But like I said before, Scott and I have worked on a lot over this year break.
"Looking back at it, it takes my breath away at how much I've [improved] my power, my speed, my fitness - everything is next level."
In his last bout, the 2019 Tamworth Sportsperson of the Year won the Muay Thai Australia 58.9kg state title by avenging a controversial draw against NSW's Nathan Jones.
