Alex Hanan, who attended John McGlashan College, won the Australian middleweight title in Sydney on Saturday night.
He beat Melbourne boxer Lachlan Higgins by unanimous decision over 10 rounds in a brutal fight at the Orion Function Centre in Campsie.
"Basically, we pretty much went to war for the whole 10 rounds," Hanan told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"I felt I won comfortably. But it was still a really hard slog, you know.
"I hit him with some bombs but he stayed there. I gave him everything I had.
"In the eighth round, I landed some big shots but he stayed up. So I played it smart and took it the distance and just took calculated risks."
Hanan (23) said he recovered quickly from the tough fight.
He was enjoying a week off then would get back into the gym and prepare for potentially two more fights, one a title defence, over the rest of the year.
The middleweight title had been vacant before Saturday’s fight.
Winning the Australian title is the highlight of a career that has included 15 wins and a single loss.
"It feels good to be back at the top, man."
He had to show some resolve last year when he suffered his first loss, to Andrei Mikhailovich.
"It set me back a bit but I just wanted to fight my way back."
Hanan returned in style by winning the New South Wales state title, knocking out Salih Ozdemir in the fourth round.
He has called Australia home for four years now, and while a proud family remains in Dunedin, he plans to keep pursuing his boxing dreams in Sydney.
"I love it over here. And if you want to make it in the fight game, over here is where it’s at."
