If you missed Glory 9 on Saturday night then you missed Wayne Barrett make a splash on to the Kickboxing scene. Barrett was brought in to face Road to Glory USA winner Mike Lemaire and many considered him an under dog, but obviously he didn’t get the memo. It took him less than round to establish his dominance in the ring and just over one round to finish off Lemaire. In the second round Barrett stopped Lemaire with a left followed by a right that sent him crashing to the canvas face first. Muay Thai Authority caught up with Barrett to talk about his recent win.
MTA: Huge win this past weekend at Glory 9. You only had one pro fight when you got the call from Glory, but they obviously saw something in you that warranted they give you a shot. What was going through your mind when you were first contacted by Glory?
Wayne: I was excited but I also knew that it was time to get serious immediately.
MTA: You were brought in to fight Mike Lemaire, he was the Road to Glory USA champ in your weight class. How did you feel about facing him?
Wayne: When I first heard the name I said it sounds familiar let me Google him then I saw it was Mike. I'm a honest guy about my feelings I was concerned but not afraid I took him dead serious and being that he was who he was made me want to prove that I could beat him.
MTA: You seemed really comfortable and confident in the ring. Did you study video on Mike at all?
Wayne: I looked at his fights and I saw that as good as he was the biggest thing that no one focused on were his opponents no one moved like me, hit like me or had my speed so my confidence grew in knowing that I was under estimated and I have a lot of tools that guys dont have or dont use. I’m creative in the ring
MTA: A lot of people had you as an under dog but you came out and put on an amazing performance. At what point did you know you had that fight in the bag?
Wayne: I knew I would win when I signed the contract I’m better than a lot of people know and I needed a fight like this to show case my skill. I have always been looked at as not being good enough I dont walk around like a bad ass I love to smile but I LOVE the sport of competition I can turn on a switch that gives me a boost to the next level when I need it.
MTA: You had him hurt and the end of the first and it seemed the bell saved him and then you finished him in the second. Was your goal coming in to score a knockout or was it something that just presented itself and you took it?
Wayne: We thought it was going to be a knock out in the 3rd round actually. He comes out really hard in the fights we saw but then he gets gassed so we knew that he did not know how hard I hit or how fast I was but we would save it for the last round and just pick him off in rounds 1 and 2.
MTA: Can you give fight fans a little background on yourself like how did you get into fighting, where do you train, etc?
Wayne: I came into fighting thanks to my parents I was a hyper kid with tons of energy, I have watch karate movies since I was a baby I would dream about being a kung fu master or samurai all the time. I train my boxing with Kelly Richardson of Gumuboxing and my Thai guy is Rob Rogan out of squared circle NYC. I've been around for a while and I train with great guys that are in the UFC or at the top of the sport. I have known for a while that the ring is where I belong I just did not commit myself 100% so I did not want to go pro until I did. I dont smoke or drink I live in the gym I love to train it’s in my system.
MTA: What's next, has Glory already contacted you about another fight?
Wayne: I dont want to jinx anything but so far it seems that the world will see me again really soon GOD willing but I leave that up to the fans and the Glory organization, I will be ready and waiting with a new bag of tricks for my next opponent.
MTA: Any words for all your supporters out there?
Wayne: For my supporters and to those that just got to know me I fight for the person that wants to be in the ring but have been told they don’t belong and I am here to show that as long as you believe in your self and surround your self with the right people you can make anything happen. Once you start a journey and your serious things fall into place with GOD's grace. That’s why I can take these fights and know I’m going to win
MTA: Huge win this past weekend at Glory 9. You only had one pro fight when you got the call from Glory, but they obviously saw something in you that warranted they give you a shot. What was going through your mind when you were first contacted by Glory?
Wayne: I was excited but I also knew that it was time to get serious immediately.
MTA: You were brought in to fight Mike Lemaire, he was the Road to Glory USA champ in your weight class. How did you feel about facing him?
Wayne: When I first heard the name I said it sounds familiar let me Google him then I saw it was Mike. I'm a honest guy about my feelings I was concerned but not afraid I took him dead serious and being that he was who he was made me want to prove that I could beat him.
MTA: You seemed really comfortable and confident in the ring. Did you study video on Mike at all?
Wayne: I looked at his fights and I saw that as good as he was the biggest thing that no one focused on were his opponents no one moved like me, hit like me or had my speed so my confidence grew in knowing that I was under estimated and I have a lot of tools that guys dont have or dont use. I’m creative in the ring
MTA: A lot of people had you as an under dog but you came out and put on an amazing performance. At what point did you know you had that fight in the bag?
Wayne: I knew I would win when I signed the contract I’m better than a lot of people know and I needed a fight like this to show case my skill. I have always been looked at as not being good enough I dont walk around like a bad ass I love to smile but I LOVE the sport of competition I can turn on a switch that gives me a boost to the next level when I need it.
MTA: You had him hurt and the end of the first and it seemed the bell saved him and then you finished him in the second. Was your goal coming in to score a knockout or was it something that just presented itself and you took it?
Wayne: We thought it was going to be a knock out in the 3rd round actually. He comes out really hard in the fights we saw but then he gets gassed so we knew that he did not know how hard I hit or how fast I was but we would save it for the last round and just pick him off in rounds 1 and 2.
MTA: Can you give fight fans a little background on yourself like how did you get into fighting, where do you train, etc?
Wayne: I came into fighting thanks to my parents I was a hyper kid with tons of energy, I have watch karate movies since I was a baby I would dream about being a kung fu master or samurai all the time. I train my boxing with Kelly Richardson of Gumuboxing and my Thai guy is Rob Rogan out of squared circle NYC. I've been around for a while and I train with great guys that are in the UFC or at the top of the sport. I have known for a while that the ring is where I belong I just did not commit myself 100% so I did not want to go pro until I did. I dont smoke or drink I live in the gym I love to train it’s in my system.
MTA: What's next, has Glory already contacted you about another fight?
Wayne: I dont want to jinx anything but so far it seems that the world will see me again really soon GOD willing but I leave that up to the fans and the Glory organization, I will be ready and waiting with a new bag of tricks for my next opponent.
MTA: Any words for all your supporters out there?
Wayne: For my supporters and to those that just got to know me I fight for the person that wants to be in the ring but have been told they don’t belong and I am here to show that as long as you believe in your self and surround your self with the right people you can make anything happen. Once you start a journey and your serious things fall into place with GOD's grace. That’s why I can take these fights and know I’m going to win
*Photo Courtesy of Bauzen
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