Colt Northey: a new man and a triumphant ring warrior

The profound moment was ignited when the referee raised the young Tamworthian's hand in victory after his debut Muay Thai fight.

And it intensified immediately afterwards back stage at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club in Sydney, as the enormity of his achievement settled inside him while sharing the occasion with his family, his fight team of Scott and Clint Chaffey, and his best friend, Muay Thai sensation Josh McCulloch.

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"It's taken a long time to get there," the 21-year-old said of his ring debut. "And just after that fight, you're just like, 'I've done it'. So it was a good feeling."

He added: "I just remember being back stage and just sitting down, and I was like, 'Yep, that was an awesome experience.'"

Northey and McCulloch's friendship was forged at Chaffey's Martial Arts, after they began training together as boys.

They were a match age and body wise. They even looked alike; McCulloch's Baby-Faced Assassin fight moniker would suit Northey.

McCulloch was instrumental in helping his mate prepare for his ring baptism.

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"Josh wasn't even fighting, and he was training with me six times a week to help me get ready for it," said the Carinya Christian School alumnus.

Like McCulloch, Northey transformed his body in order to become a fighter - shedding 27kg and, in the process, shedding negative feelings about himself.

He weighed in at 66kg for his first contest, staged on September 30. At age 18, he weighed 93kg.

"I think I was just sick of it," he said of being overweight. "I wanted to get healthy." He added: "I just wanted to be a better me."

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Northey described his first opponent, Sydneysider Patrick Smith, as "a really tough guy". Northey won the three-rounder by decision.

After Smith caught a number of Northey's body kicks and swept his leg in the first round, the Tamworthian changed tactics and "used clean, straight knees" while lifting his intensity.

The effect, he said, was Smith "gassing".

Northey - a sales assistant at Harvey Norman - hopes to return to the ring in Sydney on November 18.

"I'm in a pretty good place," he said of his mindset.

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