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Welcome again to another Camp news update. I am late as always, with the fight season being in full swing, some major travels undertaken over the past few months and along with the everyday work keeping us all at the Camp busy there is never enough time for everything. But well worth the wait, I hope!
We have had some friends leave and some old friends revisit, Matt Pace returned to his hometown of NY City after a nine month and both Carla Fox and Joey Grier left last month after over one year with us, we hope to see you all back up this way again some time in the future. And after several years, Ross from New Zealand and Martin from Swaziland are back for more!
At the end of the last update we were looking forward to JRs' first visit to the Bangkok fight scene, but as always there have been delays and we are now expecting him to fight in Bangkok on the 24th November. In the meantime, JR has continued his winning ways, more on that later.
The first fight of this update comes on the 16th August at Gawilla Stadium in Chiangmai where Eric Wu, from Toronto Canada, took on a local boy and won a hard fought five round decision. Eric's fitness and determination making the difference.
The next fights, on the following day, were a special occasion for us, traveling to Macau and Hong Kong for the first time, Jaime (Kasper) Luengo and Ahmed Ait were privileged to be part of the Macau Muay Thai Championships. Ahmed took on an older but highly respect former Muay Thai Champion from Bangkok and despite two very powerful knees to his stomach at the end of the second round, Ahmed toughed out an exceptionally good five round fight and though he lost the decision, his strength and tenacity were much admired by the Thais attending the fights and later in the Muay Thai press. Kasper fought against a local Macau fighter and had to fight by the Chinese rules (an ugly form of fighting which allows leg grapples and throws similar to WWF but doesn't allow elbows and knees!) Nevertheless Jaime showed form and composure well above what was expected and he should have won the fight only to be beaten by the rules. Thank you to ISS/Brute Force Promotions for the introduction to another side of the wide world of the fight game!
Following our return from Macau the next fights were again at Gawilla Stadium, on the 23rd August, where Alex Ricci took on Payakdam for their third fight against each other. Going into this fight Alex had won the first encounter while Payakdam had won the second and on this night Alex prevailed with a fourth round TKO when the ref stopped the fight after a flurry of unanswered kicks and punches.
The next Friday, the 30th August, young Manat had another rematch against the same lad who has beaten him twice before and once again Manat lost to the knees but he has improved a lot and feels his turn to win will come soon! The next fight of the night was Eric Wu, up against another tough opponent in a fight that was going to be a close decision before Eric caught a big elbow with his temple in the fifth. The resulting cut stopped the fight and 17 stitches later Eric is the proud owner of a few battle scars!
The following Friday, 6th September, Guerra, from Spain finally had his chance to fight again after his injury shortened fight at the Amateurs back in July. Though a little scrappy Guerra showed good control and strength to go through five rounds and win by decision, a good way to end his stay with us for this year, we look forward to Guerra returning next year.
For a change of pace on the 11th of September I flew to Denmark to spend a month working with Dennis Ruiz helping set up his Muay Thai gym and train with friends old and new. It was my second visit to Arhus and it was very good to see Ninna and Nico again, amongst many others. Near the end of my stay Den came over from Manchester, where he is living now, and once again we worked together in Denmark for a week before I returned home. Den took over, continuing to help Dennis with the gym. And after also staying for a month, Den is now back in Manchester, freezing! but happy to be home with Sarah!! We wish Dennis all the best with the Gym and will look forward to hearing from him soon!
In the meantime while I was away in Denmark the fights continued with a Champions fight on the 14th September in Lamphun. Sompong fighting for a Northern Title Belt fought well and took the fight five rounds but his opponent was the more aggressive fighter and won the Title on a split decision. Earlier on the same card JR continued his winning ways with a first round KO of an opponent fancied to beat him, JR's record extends to 16-0-1.
One of the other reasons that I was going to Denmark was to attend a fight promotion in England to see Den take on an English lad. I am not superstitious but maybe Friday the 13th was lucky for me and had something to do with me being unable to get a flight to Manchester and then Dens opponent withdrawing at the last moment, in the ring! stomach problems? Den did take on a fight the following Sunday at short notice, but unfortunately the rules were no knees, clinch, or elbow! Den earned a very lopsided draw in a fight that proved once again few people outside of Thailand truly understand the respect that Thai fighters show when competing in the ring.
Next up is Wang, from China, on the 28th September in Lamphun, he had his first fight since returning for his second stay with us, and won in a spectacular first round KO, straight right punch! But this is only the start of the story, wait for more!
On the 4th October at Gawilla Stadium, Jaime (Kasper) Luengo fought an exciting five rounder and though he lost the decision proved he could go five hard rounds! Sompong was next up and after dominating the first two rounds the fight was stopped as a no contest after an unfortunate knee to the groin! And on this particular night the best was saved for last with JR winning a thrilling five rounder, showing that not only can he knock them out but has the strength to go the distance. He maintains his record at 17-0-1.
The next evening in Lamphun, Gat won by an easy KO in the second round and our newest fighter, at 11 years, Dtung, lost his first fight after being winded in the second round and unable to recover in time! Dtung is now back in training and showing extraordinary dedication for a young lad! A few of our older lads could take a lesson or two from him. He will go far if he keeps it up!
On the 11th October at Gawilla, Jono Redden fought his 14th fight in Thailand against a very good fighter from Lampang and though Jono gave his best throughout the 5 rounds he lost a close decision to a more experienced fighter.
And on the following weekend Eric Wu had his 6th fight since arriving in May and his first after being cut. Though he lost another close decision Eric continues to improve and is facing some very tough opponents in the process.
The next evening Saturday the 19th October, again in Lamphun, Wang had his second fight, and once more like his first fight he won with a first round KO, straight right, and there is still more to come!
The following Wednesday, 23rd October, in a small village south of Chiangmai, Matt Pace fought his third fight and despite losing the fight after five hard rounds he showed much improvement in all areas and lots of promise if he keeps up the training back in New York. Next, Wang stepped up and took a fight on the night, going up against a bigger Thai fighter and Wang got a dose of his own medicine being put down on his backside several times within the first two minutes before wisely staying down! Wang has had to return again to China to renew his visa and we are hoping for his quick return.
The first fights for November were on the 1st, at the Bar Beer Centre, Chiangmai, with Manat fighting a fast and furious five rounds and once again losing a close decision. Manat is showing dedication and strength beyond his years as he trains and fights and waits for that elusive win! Next up is Manats older brother Sompong, and he too has a tough fight against a bigger fighter (in Sompongs case they are always bigger!) losing a five round decision. Last up was Colin, from England, having only his second fight, up against an equally new opponent from Iran, in a fight that raised the roof, providing lots of cheers and wild swings! Colin caught one of those wild swings square on the chin!
For the next two weeks we had a period of intense training as we prepared Solam and Kem for their first fights in five months, China being their last outing where they both lost to the dubious Chinese rules and then an extended period of work but no training in China meant they lost most of their fighting fitness.
But on the 15th November we traveled down to Udttaradit, about 4 hours south of Chiangmai, a place where we have always had tough fights. Solam was first up in the heat of the afternoon, and despite lacking ring time gave a strong and solid performance to take a close decision. Kem fought later as the sun was going down and the heat of the day had eased and though he had to fight hard Kem scored a cut in the fourth and though it did not stop the fight all the steam went out of his opponent and Kem took a comfortable five round win. On the same day but back in Chiangmai at Gawilla Stadium, Marco, from Italy, had his first fight here in Chiangmai and showed good technique as he overwhelmed his opponent with knees to win by referee decision in the fourth.
Two days later we headed for Hang Dong, just south of Chiangmai, when only minutes from the fight location the heavens opened, drenched everybody in the back of the pick up and as the rain did not stop for several hours the fights were cancelled until the following evening. On the next evening the rains stayed away and Manat was first up. He exploded through the first two rounds winning both before his opponent took the third and fourth and then in the fifth Manat pulled out all the stops, delivered an excellent knee to the head of his opponent and won convincingly. It was a superb win and well deserved after all his hard work and his first win in six fights!
The luck followed and once again Manats older brother Sompong fought next, and won a very close decision over five rounds. The final fight of the evening turned into a bit of a miss-match with a 6'3" Jonathon, from the USA, up against a much smaller Thai fighter who toughed out three good rounds before succumbing to the reach and weight advantage of Jonathon. Despite his advantages Jonathon showed respect and control and did well for his first fight.
The final fights for this update come from the following day, 19th November, the annual holiday of Loi Krathong culminates for us in a fight day that starts at Thapae Gate in the centre of Chiangmai in the afternoon, to a small field at a local community centre just outside Chiangmai in the evening.
In the heat and sun of the late afternoon under the blaze of TV cameras Eric Wu took on a strong fighter from Tak, cheered on by many supporters and in a very closely fought match that had Eric close to winning in the fourth before the Thai lad came on strong in the fifth and won the decision. Eric is getting his fair share of strong opponents now and despite the losses he is growing in strength from fight to fight. With the evening fights looming we left Thapae Gate immediately after Erics fight, thus missing the Trophies ceremony, but Jono stepped in to accept for Eric the Trophy for Best fight of the afternoon.
That evening in the field, we had five fighters stepping into the ring. First up was Dtung, going for his second fight. The first kick hurt the other boy's stomach, a flurry of punches followed by a kick to the chest send the lad down! Winner in less than twenty seconds! Next up was Jin, and in a first round demonstration of total control he prompted his opponent to remain seated at the bell for the second round. Gat followed next with a controlled and composed fight despite a concentrated attack for two and half rounds and a well placed elbow in the third round gave Gat a deserved win.
The next fight was Chun, in a rare appearance in the ring these days this was not a fight at all, but two friends, in the ring after being asked to help fill the bill and give some good entertainment for the crowd. And that was what they proceeded to do with many believing they were watching the real thing. A demonstration of ability and control many of us would love to be able to possess.
The final fight of the evening, and for this report, is Chai, who has returned to stay with us and help work with our fighters for the next few months, entered the ring for the first time since Ubon back in June and his opponent was a local Chiangmai fighter, also a trainer, at the Bar Beer Centre Gym. The fight was a balanced battle of wits and tactics and with Chai using his superior IQ he took the decision at the end of an impressive fight.
We are now well into the fight season once again and are expecting some upcoming exciting events including the Kings Birthday and fights in Bangkok. Not to forget our young up and coming lads with lots of local promotions over the next few months too. I will be a bit more prompt with our updates, yes I know I have said this before but I have a helping hand now and should have no excuse from now, right Mel!
To finish up this update, I would like to offer a small piece of advice. I was asked for a hardcore training tip a while back and after some thought replied, train hard, train consistently, with respect and dedication, keep it simple and smile!
Good luck to every one, be strong!
Take Care
Andy
A victorious Guerra! |
Taywin preparing Kasper |
A moment of calm …….. |
Some of the motley crew at Gawilla Stadium! |
Jono in action at Gawilla |
Nuk, winning again! |
Matt working the speed ball! |
Colin wondering where it has all gone!!! |
And last but not least, a pair of clowns! |
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