Tyron Mustey and Beau Nichols will compete in the Battle of the Border event at Albury’s Hurricane Combat Centre on Saturday night.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Beau Nichols and Tyron Mustey send raking, forceful kicks into the pads at Goulburn Valley Martial Arts and Fitness, adding an extra layer of charge to the gym’s diesel engine-like hum.
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Sweaty, brutal, alive.
Both are adding the last licks of preparation for their upcoming Muay Thai fights at the Albury-hosted Battle of the Border event on Saturday, and when asked what time everything kicked off, Nichols had a blunt response in the chamber.
“The show starts when we fight,” he said.
He has every right to be confident.
Tyron Mustey and Beau Nichols are primed and ready to fight.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Nichols has spent the past four years in the Broomfield St forge, hardening will, sharpening edges, carving the soft into hard.
He’s as dedicated as they come; Nichols has a young family and is juggling running a new business with a rigorous Muay Thai training regimen.
Five days a week, the pads crack, the bags thud and the skipping sessions burn.
“If we've got a fight coming up, we usually run 5km before training, five rounds of skipping; we go pretty hard on the pad work. Just really intense training, ” he said.
“I started about four years ago, but I pretty much committed to five nights a week training for the whole four years.
“I've always sort of been into doing a bit of fighting … I used to do karate as a kid and I wanted to compete, so I got right into it. Sometimes I ask myself why I'm doing it.”
Beau Nichols is chasing the Light Heavyweight Muay Thai NSW State Title on Saturday.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
If Nichols needed a reason, Saturday bears a big one.
And a belt attached to it.
He takes on Dru Brodin for the Light Heavyweight Muay Thai NSW State Title and, with a strap on the line against a man who’s beaten him before, it’s less rematch, more unfinished business for Nichols.
“I fought him before; it was a very close fight, but I lost on decision,” he said.
“Yeah, we know each other.”
Sharing the card – and the same corner of the gym – is 16-year-old Mustey.
Bubbling with nervous energy, the Year 10 Notre Dame student is staring down the barrel of his amateur debut.
Like Nichols, Mustey has been training for four years – but nothing replicates the moment when the bell rings for the first time.
Tyron Mustey will front up for his amateur Muay Thai debut in Albury.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“I’ve always been into martial arts and fighting sports, and one of my friends said, ‘hey, you should come check this Muay Thai thing out’,” Mustey said.
“I’d heard of it, but I’d never tried it, so I thought I'd come along and now I’ve been training for the past four years.
“It’s my first fight, my first opportunity to show my skill, and I’m sort of real nervous but really excited to get stuck into it.”
Mustey is green in the ring, but not in spirit.
In Albury, he takes on Zeth Witt – an opponent he has crossed paths with and labelled “a nice bloke” – though that won’t matter on Saturday night.
It’s hands up, chin down combat, and Mustey is ready to bring the thunder.
“I think because I'm a southpaw I'm going to be just a bit too tricky for him – a bit too strong and too fast,” Mustey said.
