LEE Mayo will be hoping to bring back his close friend Joe Emmons’ Muay Thai belt to England with him when he fights in his memory next month.

Emmons died in November and had been due to defend his Hua Hin Thai Boxing Gardens Stadium light heavyweight belt in Thailand in February.

But now his pal and former business partner Mayo will head out to Hua Hin to fight in Emmons’ honour.

“I was very close to Joe as he was a friend and partner at Southend Muay Thai,” said Mayo, who competes in mixed martial arts too.

“Joe was going to fight and I was going to go out there with him as his back up.

“But following his death I spoke to the people in Thailand and they offered to let me fight for his title.

“Now I want to fight to honour him and hope to win his belt in his memory.”

Emmons, 40, was found dead at his Southchurch home in November and had been planning to travel to Thailand with Mayo and two other kickboxers from the Southend club.

Mayo will now be joined by Mark Sword and Colin Burman in Hua Hin where all three will fight.

Thirty-eight-year old Mayo will wear a pair of Emmons’ shorts bearing his name when he steps into the ring on Wednesday, February 11, in the northern Thai district.

Mayo, 38, has been to Thailand three times and the last time was with Emmons in 2011.

“It has been hard since Joe passed away and I still have an empty feeling,” added Mayo.

“Going out there again will bring back a lot of memories.

“While we are there we will go to a temple and light lanterns to remember him.

“And the Thai people I have been speaking to said they had a ceremony in Joe’s memory too when they heard he had died.”

Mayo has not fought for a while as he had been concentrating on coaching at Southend Muay Thai, which is in Grainger Road.

He admitted it was hard getting back into training but said he was feeling in good shape now.

Sword heads to Thailand with three fights under his belt but Burman, who used to go on training runs with Emmons ahead of his fights, will be making his debut in the ring.