MASTER SKENS WORLD TITLE THAI BOXING
Posted on | November 27, 2007 | 1 Comment
Sunday the 25th November saw Master Skens World Title Thai Boxing fights staged at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton near Manchester.
In total there were 9 bouts all held over 5 rounds to full Thai rules, Panikos Yusuf won a title from a points decision and Duwao from Thailand stopped a French opponent in the second round.
The first major bout was Andy Howson of Bad Company in Leeds who fought at Bantamweight against Juwapape Kitcorbit from Kho Samui in Thailand for a WMC Intercontinental title. From round one the fighters went to work and the crowd saw Howson swept to the floor and the Thai throw a powerful ?teep? front kick although Andy replied with strong knees. In an evenly matched second round Andy attacked strongly with boxing although Juwapape kept stronger position throughout the round and both competitors threw elbows and caught kicks.
The early part of round three saw Andy throwing good strong elbows in a mid range clinch. Despite Juwapapes confident knees in reply he showed signs of fatigue and when Andy threw a telling right hook to the body Juwapape was floored and unable to continue. Howson walked away WMC Intercontinental Champion by knockout.
Andy Thrasher s fight against the Frenchman Redwan Ameur at 67 kg proved to be a well fought contest between two competent fighters, Andy from GFC in Bury took the fight (his 21st) at short notice and despite the WMC failing to sanction the fight at the last minute for a European belt it was an exciting well matched event. Round one was evenly matched and fought at long to mid range with Redwan boxing in reply to Andy?s body kicks. In round two Andy boxed strongly and threw some tentative elbows, Redwan threw some good knees while Andy controlled the clinches.
Round three proved decisive when the Frenchman threw a fast, well timed backfist which left Andy on the canvass and listening to the referees count although when he got back to his feet Andy recovered well and controlled the Frenchman in the clinch and by the end of the round Redwan was showing fatigue after weathering Andy?s onslaught of body kicks and boxing. Andy started round four with good strong positive work with body kicks and knees although Redwan managed to throw him and land a telling knee towards the end of the round. A strong ?teep? front kick was enough to turn the tide against Andy?s work in the fifth round and although Andy looked the stronger of the two in terms of genuine Thai techniques throughout the fight, the count he took in round three was enough to turn the judges score card against him and the fight was awarded to Redwan.
On the line for the main event was the WMC World Lightweight title. It was fought out between Liam Harrison of Bad Company in Leeds and Numphon PK Sterio who originally hails form Buriram in North East Thailand. The fight was a much awaited rematch after Numphon had secured a points victory from the pairs encounter 6 months previously. Numphon is currently ranked number one at Rajadamnern stadium and Liam holds the WPMF World Title at Lightweight and the WAKO Pro World title at Lightwelter weight. The tension in the crowed rose as the two performed their pre fight Wai Krus and round one opened as the two tentatively found their ranges. In round two the pair fought at long range. Liam stalked Numphon round the ring, as he taunted Liam switching stance and opening his guard to tempt a shot out of Liam he could counter. Liam was swept off his feet at the end of the round although neither fighter really got into their stride. Prior to the fight it had been rumoured that Liam had been working on his body shots as Numphon had lost his last fight from a hook to the body and in round three Liam started to dominate sweeping the Thai off his feet and unloading a solid left body hook. In round four Liam took the initiative with his elbows at very short range then unleashed a telling left hook that saw Numphon visibly disturbed. The next left hook Liam threw knocked Numphon to the floor and when he came out of the count Liam unleashed a flurry of punches that left Numphon on the floor and Liam with his hand aloft with a win by knock out to even their aggregate score.
In staging the show, Master Sken has once again brought high quality International Championship standard Muay Thai to a knowledgeable audience in a modern arena. The show was run flawlessly and professionally and was a credit to the promoter.