And on Saturday night in Brisbane, the Tamworth Muay Thai fighter believes he may find himself in deep water for the first time in his career - in what is his biggest fight to date.

McCulloch will look to quickly capitalise on the substantial profile boost he got for a sensational KO pro debut when he takes on the Gold Coast's Jayden Staiti for the vacant Rise Championship lightweight national title at the Sleeman Sports Complex.

Read also:

"He's an aggressive fighter, he likes coming forward," McCulloch said of Staiti. "So I know it's gonna be a hard fight - potentially a war. I've been training for a hard fight."

McCulloch,21, said the "plan is to stay in there with him and not take a backward step".

The former national amateur champion's last loss was in August 2016. He has 17 wins, two loss and two draws in 21 fights. Staiti has 15 wins and seven losses in 22 fights.

In his last bout, McCulloch announced himself to the professional Muay Thai community in the most emphatic fashion: a head-kick KO in the first round.

He believes the attention he has received from promoters following the win would not have occurred had he not disposed of fellow New South Walshmen Nathan Jones in such a brutal and clinical manner.

With the delay to his career caused by Covid restrictions now in his rearview mirror, McCulloch said he was ideally placed to build on that momentum.

"I feel so much better than I did in my last camp. That's probably because I've just rolled straight on [from that fight]. My fitness is there, [so is] my power, my strength. It's going really good."

It's been going good for McCulloch ever since he walked into Chaffey's Black Belt Academy looking for a confidence boost after a school science-lab accident left him with third-degree burns.

He's known for his beaming smile, even during the pre-fight faceoff. It's a reflection of how much he loves the sport.

"The last promotion, the promoter was like, 'You're always smiling. What's going on?'"

McCulloch's trainer, Scott Chaffey, said his charge had that most special of sporting qualities: big-occasion bona fides.

Chaffey said McCulloch had "definitely been in positions where on paper the odds were stacked against him", including the Jones contest.

"But it seems to be that the bigger the occasion, the more Josh rises to the occasion, which is what I believe he will do this weekend."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: