Ah-See demolished his opponent, New Zealand journeyman Daniel Maxwell, in a unanimous, four-round points decision.

The powerful southpaw went into the bout with little-to-no preparation, and was nursing the two injuries in the lead-up.

“My preparation wasn’t any good,” Ah-See said.

“My ribs were bruised, and I had a fairly sore hand leading into it. But nothing was going to stop me in this fight. I was in the zone.”

Despite entering the fight with a solid plan, Ah-See said Maxwell surprised him by reverting from his usual style.

“Normally he walks into it and engages,” Ah-See said.

“But he fought completely different on Wednesday night, he pretty much ran the entire fight.

“It’s hard to get good punches on a fighter when they do that, it’s difficult to engage them.”

Ah-See’s manager Matt Rose agreed, saying Maxwell had done his homework.

“I spoke to him after the fight, and he said he’d seen Sam before,” Rose said.

“He was looking out for Sam’s right hook all night. He went so far as to say he’d never fought anyone like Sam, his words were ‘I just couldn’t hit him, he’s that good’.”

Ah-See humbly brushed over the compliment and said despite being disappointed about not landing a knockout blow, the win was monumental in his preparation for next February’s Australian title fight in Orange.

“I did want to stop him, more so the big names there could see my power,” Ah-See said.

“But it’s worked out well, going four rounds in that arena has taught me more than knocking him out in the first ever could.”

Fighting on the Anthony Mundine - Shane Mosley undercard, Ah-See said the experience of fighting on such a big stage was just as important as winning.

“The experience of fighting in that arena, with that crowd was priceless,” Ah-See said.

“That’s the first time I’ve fought on that kind of stage and I needed to get used to it, to be able to handle it for future fights.”

Ah-See said he will take a week off before beginning his training for his title fight next year.