ISKA New Zealand 75kg Full Thai Rules champion Jesse Morrow-Wilson is back in the gym preparing for a four man at the TMT show in Hamilton next month.

The Tihipuke Muay Thai fighter defeated South Island Lee Gar's Kieran Lock-Cullimore via TKO in the second round KA New Zealand 75kg Full Thai Rules title last Saturday. 

Watch the fight here.

Morrow-Wilson put on a technical masterclass, taking home the ISKA New Zealand 75kg Full Thai Rules title.

He dropped Lock-Cullimore with a left hook in round two, who quickly regained his feet, but Morrow-Wilson poured on the pressure, opening a nasty cut on the forehead.

The cut was deemed too severe to continue, awarding the win and NZ title belt to Morrow-Wilson.

Fight News caught up with Morrow-Wilson following his win. Check out the interview below.

How are you feeling following the fight?

I’m feeling good, I’m pretty happy with the result as you could imagine, but there’s always room for improvements though so we’ll get to working on what we can see from the footage of the fight. It was just an honour to be able to step in there with such an amazing fighter and person.

What were your thoughts leading into the fight?

I was pretty calm and ready, but I know he’s fought and beaten some high level opponents so I knew I had to be on the ball with every move I made. He’s a really nice guy though so I knew it was going to be a good, tidy, technical, and respectful fight and that in itself just made it a better vibe in general.

What did you do to prepare?

I basically just trained as per the usual, nothing special or in particular, just aimed to improve my game as much as we could, especially since King in the Ring, we’re forever trying to iron out any kinks in the armour, so analysing everything where we can in order to improve, in every fight, no matter how well it goes there will always be something I could have done better.

Otherwise I just did a whole heap of visualisation for the mental side of things too.

Following the left hook in round two, what was going through your head?

I was pretty excited and I had a good feeling that I had it locked in and that I had it in the bag, but I was sitting in the corner weighing up whether I should keep playing it steady and safe or go in hard to try and finish in, but he got up real quick so I wasn’t sure how much he had recovered, so I chose to play it safe and keep steady with it, as we may still have had another 3 and a half rounds to go.

What is next on the cards for you?

Next up, I have a four man at the TMT show in Hamilton on December 12, it’ll be a good night all round and I have no doubt the other three in the tournament will bring their A-Game, so for now I’ll get back to the gym and start working and focusing on that.

You started training in Hamilton, do you still fight out of there or are you based somewhere else now?

I’m still here, and can’t picture myself leaving any time soon. The gym is too much of a family for me to consider leaving for any other reason than if I were to be going overseas or something. Otherwise I’m happy with Darryl and the boys/girls, and it seems to be working out pretty good for me!

And if there is anything else you would like to add, please feel free.

Just want to have a quick shout out to my friends, family, and everyone at the gym for their constant support, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you all.

Also just want to quickly shout out to anyone struggling with mental health issues. I’ve had my struggles with it and I am lucky to be alive, I try my best to be proof that things can get better, I never thought I was ‘destined’ for any of this, but I hung in there, gave it time, and things have been getting better and better for me, and I am sure they’ll get better for you too, so please just keep hanging in there.

It took me over nine years to start feeling better and get through things, so it’s not a short track, but play the long game, and keep at it, you’ll get there. Reach out to your friends, your family, speak up, people love you. Stay strong, much love to you all.