Bradley Dusan Fletcher, drank, took cocaine and donned some boxing gloves with his friend Bradley Evennett to celebrate moving into a house together in Sydney's northwest on March 22, 2024.
But the friendly sparring session turned deadly when Fletcher unleashed blows which left his friend lying face down in a pool of blood.
"We were sparring, we were boxing, it was an accident, bro," he told police when he was arrested that evening.
The 39-year-old is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murdering his friend.
His plea of guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter was rejected by prosecutors.
Fletcher never intended to seriously injure Mr Evennett but has taken responsibility for his actions from the outset, his barrister James Trevallion SC said.
"He has never denied he assaulted the deceased," he said.
Fletcher gave police all the evidence they needed tied up with a bow during his drug-affected confession, even saying he deserved the maximum sentence, Mr Trevallion said.
He told the jurors they will need to determine whether the cage figher intended to seriously harm his friend when punching him, as alleged by the prosecution.
Fletcher was usually careful when sparring with Mr Evennett because of his brittle bone condition but he became angry that afternoon, crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe told the court.
He thought his friend had "pushed the parcel" and "saw red", hitting him as hard as he could to inflict multiple fatal injuries, including facial fractures and a brain bleed, she said.
"This is not a case of sparring that got out of hand," Ms Ratcliffe said.
"The accused wanted in that moment to hurt Mr Evennett".
Fletcher didn't call triple zero when he realised his friend was unconscious, telling the court he panicked and didn't realise the severity of the situation.
He told the court he took a Xanax and didn't remember dragging the dead man's body to a car, loading it into the boot and driving to a nearby street before dumping it on the footpath.
Fletcher may have been desperate and may have enacted a poorly thought out plan, but he knew what he was doing, Ms Ratcliffe told the jurors.
Closing statements will continue on Thursday before the jurors retire to consider their verdict.
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