New Yorkâs Wayne Barrett (5-1-0, 4 KOâs) will head to Oklahoma in early November for a showdown with Jason âJaguarâ Wilnis (21-4-1, 6 KOâs), a Top Ten-ranked middleweight from the Netherlands, at GLORY 18: RETURN TO GLORY.
Barrettâs rise in the ranks has been little short of phenomenal given that his professional record is so short. But many new challenges await and Wilnis is one of them. Barrett sees the fight as a key test; if he wins, he canât see why his name wouldnât be in the title-shot conversation to face reigning champion Artem Levin (50-4-1, 33 KOâs).
âI think Wilnis is a great guy to go up against. If Levin couldnât knock him out but I can knock him out, dominate him the way Levin did, I think that speaks volumes for a match between me and Levin. I want to be the champ, thatâs no secret,â he says.
Europe, and in particular the Netherlands, has dominated the world kickboxing scene for over a decade. Wilnis is Barrettâs first Dutch opponent and his style, learned at Team Coliseum in the city of Utrecht, is the embodiment of Dutch kickboxingâs typically aggressive, forward-pressure approach.
Kickboxers from around the world usually pay homage to the Dutch style and do their best to emulate it. In recent interviews Barrett has been an extremely rare voice, critiquing the style and pointing out the limitations he sees in it.
Barrett, who has a background in boxing, believes that the classic Dutch style lacks footwork, evasive movement and use of angles. Now against Wilnis he has the chance to prove his theories in a practical setting.
âJason Wilnis does have good boxing. He does have a good jab. He has a great inside leg-kick, he tears people up with that. And he has a good overhand right. Other than that? Heâs gonna find out who I am. Simple and plain,â he smiles.
âI have studied him a lot, seen a ton of tape on him. Heâs a tough character. He comes forward and doesnât stop but I see some mistakes he makes a lot, I know shots he doesnât like to take and where he wears down.
âIt will be a good fight. So long as I do my homework, keep my hands up, I move and own the ring that night, I donât see him touching me.â
âHomeworkâ is a word you will come across over and over in Wayne Barrett interviews. He takes a very analytic approach to his opponents, physically and mentally. In his younger years Barrett aspired to become a psychologist and, listening to him talk, itâs clear he has a huge interest in the workings of the human mind.
âThe homework process starts with me. I look at myself: what is my opponent looking at, what are my habits in the last couple of fights? I put myself in my opponentâs coachâs mind: what are they looking for?â he reveals.
âI try to look at the coach and see how he is: is he aggressive, is he open-minded? If I understand the coach I understand the fighter because most fighters try to emulate their coach.
âA lot of guys wonât understand what I am saying but itâs not like I am giving away a secret. If you donât understand it you donât understand it. Maybe only three percent of people can do it. I try to get into the mind of the coach and then I look at the fighter - where is he trying to change?
âI saw that Jason tried some new things in the Contender tournament [at GLORY 14 ZAGREB] and then I saw how repetitive he was in fights previous to that. Then I looked at his coach ,what his coach yells out to him, how he reacts when [Jason] is being hurt and taking damage. I pick up on that.
âI have always been able to read people, I donât know what it is. I canât explain it but I know how to read people.â
If his calculations turn out to be correct then Barrett believes he will take the win in this fight and take little damage in the process. And when he talks about a possible title fight with Levin, it isnât that he is looking past Wilnis, itâs just that he has been watching Levin for a very long time and very much wants to test himself against the tricky Russian.
âHe has similar traits to myself. Heâs not afraid to try things. He thinks,â says Barrett.
âHeâs taken an American [boxing] approach to a European style and he has been successful. He has been able to use that upper-body movement, the spinning, the turning, touch, holding his hand on your gloveâŠ
âHeâs doing what up and coming fighters should be doing: donât try and be like anyone else, be yourself, be different. That is why I truly respect him and it would be an honor to fight him. It would be a battle of minds and a battle of guys who are not afraid to go outside the box.â
GLORY 18: RETURN TO GLORY takes place Friday November 7 at the Grand Casino in Shawnee, Oklahoma City, USA. The main card - which features a lightweight title fight between Davit Kiria and challenger Robin van Roosmalen - airs live on Spike TV from 9pm ET.
