There's no stopping Haydon Bridge-based Muay Thai boxer Joe Welch who is back home after producing a masterclass performance in his latest fight on December 8 at the 8000-seater Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok.

He said: ''This was one of my toughest tests to date against an experienced Thai opponent (Fahsang) with over 150 fights under his belt. I started well and managed to drop him four times in the 1st and 2nd Round.

In the deciding 3rd Round, Fahsang came out very strong and knew that he had to knock me out as he was behind on the judges' scorecards. He was throwing plenty of big shots using a mixture of elbows, knees, punches and kicks but I defended myself pretty well and managed to secure victory with a Knockout via a big punching combination followed by numerous elbows.''

This latest success on foreign soil came little over a month after the self employed joiner won the WBC Muay Thai European Middleweight title in Newcastle and Welch is already looking forward to his next fight in Manchester on February 24.

Welch is very grateful for the local sponsorship he receives from Little Mexico Restaurant, Ink Therapy Tattoo Studio, Urban Bear Co and E.T Fitness & Therapy Gym.

Craig Jose, who coaches Welch at the Northern Kings Gym in Newcastle, said: ''He came to me under a year ago and has improved so much in a short space of time that the sky's the limit for him. He defeated an incredibly tough Thai opponent on home territory and his performance earned him the coveted accolade of 'fight of the night' on a packed programme of Muay Thai bouts.''