IT was a night to remember for Niall McGreevy in Verona, Italy, on Saturday as the Lenadoon man claimed the WBC welterweight Muay Thai title with a dominant victory over Thailand's Detchrit Sitsonpeenong.
The 26-year-old took charge and at no stage looked like relinquishing control. He remained composed and gave Sitsonpeenong no encouragement throughout with his Thai opponent resigned to his fate in the final round, acknowledging his challenge was up.
For McGreevy, reaching the top of the mountain is the reward for over a decade of hard work in the sport, which is also known as Thai boxing.
A former player with St Paul's GAC, McGreevy took up the offer from friend and fellow fighter Gareth Smylie to try out a class when aged 15 – and the rest is history.
Based out of Langka Muay Thai in Belfast, he is coached by Jamie Crawford and Davy Macintosh with his ascent in the sport bringing an International title earlier this year. That opened the door to the world title opportunity he grabbed with both hands at the weekend.
"I'm happy but even more happy with the performance - it's all just very surreal," said the West Belfast man as he returned home on Tuesday.
"I was just lucky to get the opportunity. Once we got it, I just got stuck into training.
"Beating a Thai is what you want to be doing, so you can't ask for a better opportunity to prove your skills."
Niall with his mum, Katrina 
It was a patient start from McGreevy who began to find his range with leg kicks as the Thai fighter also seemed to use the opening round as a scouting mission.
The action began to heat up in the second with McGreevy taking a right hook, but his feet proved a vital weapon as he continued to score and control the pace.
Sitsonpeenong began the third round with an excellent kick, but McGreevy immediately took over, landing twos and threes. His distance control was excellent as he gave his opponent very little to aim at, with the Thai's punches out of range and his leg attack scoring only sporadic success.
By the fourth the West Belfast man was completely on top, varying his attack effectively and breaking down Sitsonpeenong, who bore a look of resignation as he took hurtful kicks and was repeatedly knocked off-balance with accurate jabs.
The fifth and final round was simply a case of seeing it out for a dominant McGreevy. A cut opened over the left eye of Sitsonpeenong and this effectively ended the match as a contest as the fighters wound down the clock.
"I just got control and listened to my coaches, Davy and Jamie, so whatever they told me to do, I did it," said the new world champion, who will now take a break before considering his options – with Thailand a potential destination.
"It all worked, so I have them [coaches] to thank as they see everything and I just do what they tell me. I just didn't let the Thai get into it, so I was happy enough with that."
