FINAL ROUND JOHN WAYNE PARR

”THE GUNSLINGER” JOHN WAYNE PARR

Hi Wayne, what an amazing way to bow out mate - with a big fight and a big win! After all these years, all the tough battles, how does it feel to be officially “retired” now? Ha ha to tell you the truth it’s very boring. I’m so used to laying in bed, going over game plans in my mind of how I’m going to fight my next opponent. All of a sudden, I have a void where I don’t have to worry anymore. I miss having the anxiety of “what’s next”.

After your “final fight” you also announced you need hip surgery, also one of the reasons your illustrious fight career must unfortunately now come to end. What´s the problem with the hips, can you explain a little? Approximately 2 years ago I started having a little bit of a hip issue while kicking and checking and just thought it might have been a pinched nerve. After a few months it progressively got worse and worse. I’ve had a few MRI’s and the prognosis is I have serve osteoarthritis. After 30 years of running, training and fighting, I no longer have any cartilage in the socket and also have what’s known as bone marrow edema, where the bone marrow is swelling inside the bone. The pain is so bad, it has taken away the enjoyment of training and fighting and with the agony so bad, I have no other option but to retire.

You have won so many big international titles over the last twenty years, fighting on most if not all of the biggest promotions in the world. Many great memories for sure, what do you think was your greatest moment? I’ve been so lucky to have so many great memories, fighting all over the world. But my favourite memories are definitely my Thailand fights because if you´re famous in Thailand, the rest of the world is paying attention.

My two best memories in Thailand were winning my world title on the Kings Birthday event in front of 100,000 Thais live on Thai tv. And my other was winning the S-1 tournament where I had 3 fights in two hours, winning all 3 fights, winning one million baht, a world title and a trophy from the prime minister of Thailand.

And now working back in the gym creating new champions? I see Rocky Ogden is signed to fight on ONE Championship already. Any other major plans for the future? We are all so excited for our Boonchu fighter Rocky to fight for the One Championship world title against Thai legend Sam-A. I also have Benny Mahoney, he has had 40 Muay Thai fights but has now gone to boxing where he has a record of 9-0. Besides that, I enjoy teaching classes and let people enjoy Muay Thai as a great way of staying fit while learning how to fight.

What advice would you give young fighters who look up to you, see your many achievements and want to go for it themselves too? Muay Thai is such an amazing sport that once you get to a certain level to take you on adventures all over the world. Life is about adventures so you have great memories to look back upon once you are older. Plus there is no greater rush than fighting in front of a huge crowd. If you can win by knockout there is no better feeling and you might not be able to sleep because of all the excitement.

Thanks for your time Wayne, all the best to you, your family and everyone down at Boonchu gym. Enjoy what´s to come and good luck with the hip surgery. Chok dee mate!

FIGHTER FACTS: Aka: J’Dubya“ Friends call him: Johnny Greatest achievements: S1 Champion Kings Cup Champion Fighting in Lumpinee & Rajadamnern stadiums Fighting on the K1 Max Grand Prix Reaching the final on “The Contender Asian“ Caged Muay Thai (CMT) Promoter & Champion 10 x World Champion Final fight: Against “The Man Mundine“ Won with on points over 10 rounds