Daniel Matthews defeated Italian Gennaro De Meo in his debut with Rajadamnern World Series. Photo: Rajadamnern World Series.
Kyabram Muay Thai fighter Daniel Matthews stepped up in the biggest fight of his career at the weekend, winning his debut bout with Thai promotion Rajadamnern World Series.
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RWS is the world’s most prestigious Muay Thai promotion. Matthews earned the opportunity to make his debut after impressing in the Road to Rajadamnern series at the end of 2025.
The Echuca-trained fighter faced up to Italian counterpart Gennaro De Meo, also an RWS debutant, the two battling at super welterweight (154lbs) over three three-minute rounds.
The RWS April Inferno: Petchmorakot vs Salimkhan event was streamed free on the DAZN platform with English commentary on Anzac Day night, the broadcasters identifying Matthews’ left kick as a potent weapon headed into the bout.
That proved to be the case in the opening round, as Matthews scored consistently with the kick.
“We knew from the start that (De Meo) doesn’t block a lot of the kicks, so that was definitely a game plan going into the fight — play for our strength and just throw that left kick and see how he responds to it,” Matthews said.
“We realised that he was not really blocking anything again, so we utilised that the whole fight.”
Contrastingly to many combat sports, the judges revealed their scorecards following each round, and to few people’s surprise, all three judges awarded the round to the Australian 10-9.
Knowing he was now playing catch-up, De Meo came out aggressively in the second, managing to cut Matthews above the left eye with an elbow.
“We knew that he was going to come out pretty hard in the second round,” Matthews said.
“Obviously, it was a bit full on at the start, he came to fight.
“(My brother) Jack was telling me in the corner you need to use your hands a lot more to enter instead of just throwing a kick because he was just coming straight through with punches.
“That’s what we tried to do later in the second round. I felt like I picked up a little bit at the end and he faded.”
Matthews’ late work managed to sway one of the judges, but two gave the round to the Italian, meaning everything would be on the line in the third.
De Meo again came out firing, but eventually ran out of gas, Matthews’ more composed approach enough for two of the judges.
The moment Matthews was awarded the fight by split decision, with brother Jack also celebrating from the ring apron. Photos: Rajadamnern World Series.
It meant Matthews claimed the fight by split decision, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28, two of three judges awarding him the fight overall.
With both fighters bloodied after a frenetic battle, the announcer confirmed both Matthews and De Meo would receive a performance bonus of 50,000 Thai Baht, the equivalent of about AU$2000, awarded for putting on an exciting spectacle for the crowd.
“With any fight, win or lose, I just want it to be a good fight for the fans because people pay money for that and they want to see a good fight,” Matthews said.
“They don't want to see two people just standing in front of each other and taking it light, they want to see a fight, so that's always in the back of my mind, putting on a good performance for the people that come to watch.”
Matthews’ left kick scored consistently throughout the fight, particularly in round one.
After a quality performance and engaging contest, the promoter is already speaking with both fighters about a potential rematch, giving Matthews another opportunity to showcase himself in the company.
Matthews’ professional record now sits at 14-1.
His ultimate dream in the sport is to progress through the RWS rankings in the hopes of one day claiming the Rajadamnern championship.
Matthews trains at Muay Thai Lab in Echuca under head trainer Kiw Eikkasit.
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