- Boxer Garth Wood says jail was different to what he imagined
- Was locked up for attack carried out in June this year
- Ex-NRL player spent time getting fit and training with others
Former professional boxer and rugby league star Garth Wood has opened up about his time in prison after being sentenced for assaulting his partner’s ex in what was said to be an act of retribution.
Wood, who famously knocked out Anthony Mundine in five rounds in 2010, was expecting prison to be full of hardened criminals, but instead found it a confronting place with many inmates suffering from mental health problems and drug addiction.
The 45-year-old former Souths star says he regrets attacking the victim.
Former boxer Garth Wood has broken his silence on what life was like behind bars
Wood (pictured) was sentenced for attacking his partner’s ex-boyfriend after claiming the man had assaulted her
Wood was arrested in his home after the incident and then taken to Newtown police station. From there he ended up in Parklea jail and later, Cessnock Correctional Centre.
‘I was expecting it [prison] to be more of a man’s man experience where everyone is a tough guy,’ Wood told the I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin podcast..
‘I thought I’d be confronted with guys who wanted to fight me, but a lot of it was drug addiction and mental health.’
Wood says he kept to himself to start with and trained alone inside his cell. The boxing star didn’t want to attract the attention of violent prisoners.
After a while he made friends with some other inmates who were also interested in fitness.
‘It was doing chin-ups, push-ups, burpees, running – I thought I’d play it day by day and stick to myself, but got talking to some blokes,’ he said.
Wood (pictured during his win over Anthony Mundine) says he kept busy in prison by focusing on his fitness and keeping a low profile
‘I got with a gang of people – not a gang, people who wanted to train – and I tell you what, I did some of the hardest training sessions in there.
‘We did a lot of burpees, bear crawls, squats, push-ups. It was like a big circuit which went for nearly 40 minutes and the first couple of sessions I couldn’t walk for the next couple of days.
‘I met some really good people in jail, but there’s also some evil f***ing people as well, which I wouldn’t care to run into ever again.’
Wood said one of the most confronting things he experienced in prison was to do with drug addicts.
‘There were seven blokes in Parklea who were all on the heavy s*** [heroin],’ he recalled.
Wood says he met some good people in jail, but also ran into others he described as evil
‘They all shared the syringe. Yet there was one bloke who had AIDS. He was the last one who was supposed to blast it.
‘It just shows you what they are willing to do for the addiction.’
Wood says he’s sorry for putting his loved ones through the ‘rollercoaster’ of his imprisonment and is very happy to be on the outside again.
When Wood was given his freedom, he says he decided to walk home from the Downing Centre court with his partner.
‘My girl wanted to get a cab, I said “No, I’m walking home”.
‘We went and had a feed first. I had a fair dinkum steak and some chicken wings. It was good and then I walked home from there. I soaked it up … it was amazing.’
