HAVING been away for four years, returning home is always something to look forward to and Nathan Watson was thrilled to touch down on Irish soil with an extra piece of luggage last week as he had the Australian National Boxing Federation's Australasian middleweight title belt following his recent win over Declan Kelly.
The Twinbrook man is now 10-2 in his pro career that began with his move to Australia and was not without its challenges.
There was a change in team, a move up in weight following his second defeat but he adapted and was rewarded with a win over Kelly that saw him get his hands on a first career title and indeed, became the first Irishman to get his hands on the belt.
Returning to see friends and family with the belt was special, but so too was paying a visit to his old amateur club, Saints, to display the fruits of his labours to some of the young members and catch up with coaches Liam and Harry Cunningham Jnr.
"It's great to have it," said the 26-year-old.
"Four years is a long time to be away, but it's great to have something to bring back to my old club. Harry (Cunningham) Snr passed away a couple of years ago, so it's a special thing.
"I'm looking to get my head down and climbing up the rankings because I want to move onto the regional belts.
"This will give me a bit more confidence and that's what I needed and asked for. I wanted to move up in weight so you need those rewards. You don't want to be getting punched in the head for nothing, so to have something to show for it is amazing."
Watson is not just kicking back and relaxing on his visit home, but using his time to keep ticking over ahead of an expected return to action in Australia at the end of September in a title defence.
He plans to attends Friday's Féile Fight Night at the Falls Park with friend and former neighbour in Australia, Conor Quinn fighting on the card.
There is no place like home, but his future lies Down Under and he is excited to see just what it holds having found new lease of life with the Kelly win.
"The club feels small, but this is family and home," he said of his return.
"My girlfriend and me have built a life for ourselves out there and we have plans to stay there.
"I'm heading back on August 13 so I've just started to get my head down and start training again this week. It's good to have a week or two off to let the hair down a bit and relax after a fight.
"There is talk of the end of September for a defence of the title. I was going to vacate but a name came up and that seems a better option."
Saints' coach, Harry Cunningham Jnr was thrilled to welcome his old charge back to the club.
All in the Twinbrook club have continued to monitor Watson's progress and indeed, remain in contact, so they were thrilled to see him claim his first title and believe the move up to middleweight has seen him look much more like himself.
"We were all buzzing for him as it seems his change of management is working out," he said.
"He fought twice (in spring) and was beaten by someone (Manyang Dut) he should never get beaten by, so we had a chat with him and said about the weight.
"We didn't know until it happened, but he's the first Irishman to win that belt and it's great to have somebody from our club do that.
"For the kids in the estate, they can look at him and think that if he can do it, they can do it."
