BEATING THE COUNT
It’s an ugly fight for Khalid “Pretty Boy” Baker. Blinking away the sweat, he circles his opponent, feinting and weaving as he probes for a chink in his defence. Tonight, he wants to put on a show – let loose with jabs and crosses that flow like honey. But Sanong Seepongsert isn’t here to play. The gnarled veteran is a former Muay Thai world champion with 300 fights under his belt. As a boxer, he’s streetwise and granite-tough. Knowing he’s up against a more powerful fighter, Seepongsert constantly lunges in to clinch, muffling Baker’s attacks and disrupting his rhythm while throwing sly elbows as they grapple. The ref steps in once more to warn the Thai for holding, while the crowd in the Melbourne Pavilion hollers and yells.
Baker is visibly frustrated. With his arms entangled, he’s unable to fire off his jabs. At the end of the fourth round, his corner-man and strike-coach Pete Hatton leans in. “Bite down on your mouthguard and just go toe-to-toe with him,” he demands. “He won’t beat you with power.”
The advice left-hooks Baker back to reality. He starts to up his work rate and lands a couple of teeth-rattling uppercuts, before the inevitable clinch strangles his momentum once more. He’s dominating the close exchanges now, keeping his defence rock solid and refusing to concede any ground.
When the final bell rings, the judges’ verdict is unanimous: Khalid Baker is Victoria’s new cruiserweight champion. At the decision, the 32-year-old leaps into the air in delight, before an interviewer’s microphone is thrust into his face. “When I was sitting in my cell,” Baker says with a dazed grin, “I always dreamed of this moment”.
It’s a stark reminder of just how long Baker has waited for this chance. Barely a year ago, he was behind bars serving time for a murder that
