The major momentum killer was a veteran Thai who emerged as a very handy late replacement.
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At the Revesby Worker's Club in Sydney on Saturday night, November 11, Tamworth muay thai fighter Josh McCulloch suffered his first loss in seven years when outpointed over three rounds by a Thai who fights under the name Lek SRG.
Two days before McCulloch's scheduled fight against Thongchai Petchrungruang, it was announced that the young Thai had been injured and replaced by Lek, a trainer at the SRG Thai Boxing Gym in Sydney who has purportedly fought more than 400 times.
In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, McCulloch said: "No win last night for me[,] lost via decision, it's all part of this game, you win some you lose some."
"I will come back from this as it [is] just a part of my journey and [a] bump in the road," he added.
McCulloch's last loss was as an amateur in August 2016. The former national amateur champion turned pro in early 2022 with a brutal KO victory and had won all of his seven pro fights - six by stoppage - heading into his latest contest.
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The 23-year-old's previous four ring assignments had been against Thais, and he had stopped them all, resulting in him climbing to No. 12 on the WBC's lightweight world rankings.
McCulloch now has a combined professional and amateur record of 23 wins, three losses and two draws.
"Spoken like a true Champion, that you are, darling," his mother, Janet Ryan, commented under his aforementioned Facebook post.
His elder brother, Beau, commented: "Always a champion my brother [-] losses are lessons, your learn[,] adapt and react[,] and go again."
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