Professional Muay Thai fighter Billy Baker speaks about his journey into the professional scene, a recent injury that threatened to ruin everything, and how his sporting motivation came from an unlikely source.

“It was my third pro fight, I remember I couldn’t feel my face,” Baker says. “My jaw was moving in ways it shouldn’t be able to move.”

Baker started Boxing when he was 16, and after a year in the sport, he transitioned into Muay Thai. 

“I just fell in love with the sport. Muay Thai, unlike boxing, has so many weapons; you can kick, elbow and other things,” he says. “After one session, I bought a membership at the gym, and I knew it was the sport for me.”

His rise through the ranks was meteoric. After fighting for the first time in January 2025, just over a year later, Baker fought his first official amateur fight in England in February 2026, and his first professional fight in Thailand just a couple of weeks later. He continued to win another fight in Thailand, yet in his third professional fight, Baker was caught with a kick in the face, which broke his jaw. 

“I just went dead silent, I couldn’t believe it had happened to me,” he says. “It took about a day to settle in, then I got the CT, and I broke down.”

After the CT scan, he was told he needed reconstructive surgery on his jaw. Baker recalled an emotional call to his father after learning the extent of his injury. 

Now, Baker is back in training, hoping to go back to Thailand and continue his progression later this year. He spoke about how, at a young age, he was never interested in Muay Thai, and his journey into the professional scene started with an unlikely motivator.

“I was pretty timid when I was young, because of this, I was picked on in secondary school from year seven to year nine,” he says. “I learned to fight so I could protect myself. At the time, I had no idea it would become my future career.”

In Baker’s eyes, his plans for the future couldn’t be clearer. 

“The injury has made me want it even more,” he says. “I want to fight full-time in England and Bangkok, and of course I want to get my hands on some belts pretty soon.”

Baker spoke about his aspirations to fight in the RWS, an event held at the Rajadamnern Stadium, the world’s first purpose-built Muay Thai boxing stadium. The event offers contracts to fighters and is broadcast in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

He is grateful he recovered from such an impactful injury and spoke about how his awareness of others’ struggles has grown since facing his own setback. 

“At the end of the day, it’s a privilege to be physically able to fight. There are so many people who wouldn’t be able to have the chance to compete in combat sports.

“The only thing I did think after the injury was, at least it’s not my knee,” he says.

For Baker, a sport which stemmed from an unlikely source is now a career path. 

Despite the setback, having clear targets and a strong mindset has helped him recover from a career-threatening injury. 

His sights now? A push toward RWS contention and domestic A‑class success.