COLUMN 13

BY RON SIMPSON But I thought it was about time I took a look at Muay Thai in Wales, so on January 31st headed off to Lee Power’s promotion, Championship Thai Boxing 2, for Eagles Thai Boxing in Cardiff. In fact there was only one title fight on view, for the Golden Belt Welsh Middleweight Title, and the billing ‘Rising Stars’ suggested that there were a fair number of novice fights.  So much the better: I like novice fights. For one thing, I write as a fan, not an expert. My only ring experience is with Western-style boxing, as one of a gang of old guys sparring or having slightly more serious bouts which I always end up losing, despite my wonderful fan club at Billionmore! For the non-expert, novice fights are often more open and clear-cut. Also there are dramas you don’t get with seasoned professionals: for example, aggressive and enthusiastic fighters who don’t know how to pace themselves can bring sudden changes of fortune in fights. Things are unpredictable, even a fighter’s reaction to taking punishment.     By the interval, after six fights, only one had finished inside the distance when the skilful and confident Kirsty Lund (Widnes) established such dominance over the much shorter Alison Jones (WPT Swansea) that the 4th round stoppage was inevitable, even though Alison had stayed on her feet and was always trying to attack. The most dramatic fight of the first half saw another, more surprising defeat for a WPT boxer. Dean Mylan really roughed up the stylish Dan Wilson (Skorpions, Exeter) who several times looked to be wilting, but came back brilliantly in the 5th round to floor an exhausted opponent twice and get the verdict. All the other first half fights were also close and competitive, so close in the case of teenage first-timers Paul McMahon (Phraya Pichai, Birmingham) and Alex Caswell (WPT Crickhowell) that the verdict was a draw.      The second half belonged to the host club, Eagles Thai Boxing of Cardiff, with six winners out of seven and one drawn bout. The most bizarre ending to a fight came when Said Hosini stopped Rod Kerr (Phraya Pichai) in the 2nd – from my seat it looked as if the referee was asking the boxer if he wished to continue after an eye injury (no blood to be seen), but, as the MC explained, ‘his contact lens has come out and he can’t see a thing!’ The key to several Eagles victories was the power and accuracy of their low kicking, with two fighters being forced to withdraw when virtually standing on one leg.    Despite a cracking points victory for Gobind Singh over Phil Gregory (Weston Combat Gym) for me the most exciting fights of the second half were Lewis Long’s 5th round victory over Alex Wilson (King Gym Southampton) and the final title fight. After a tentative 1st round Alex Wilson never got on terms with his stronger and more technical opponent, suffering the indignity of being thrown out of the ring and taking several counts. By the end of the 3rd round he looked to have had enough, but actually improved in the 4th before being stopped in the last. The MC, using the hackneyed phrase ‘gallant loser’, could not have more accurate.

MUAY THAI IN CARDIFF     Looking back to the first of these columns, I am embarrassed to see that I hoped to do one every two weeks. My record, as of now, is less than one a month, though I hadn’t realised that Billionmore would design the pages so elegantly (which takes longer!). Checking some 18 months of columns, I also find that Yorkshire and Lancashire have occupied rather a lot of my attention, understandable, I suppose, as I live in West Yorkshire and so much good Muay Thai happens either side of the Pennines.             As it turned out, the fighters on the excellent 13-fight card were extremely well-matched and, for the most part, fit and determined enough to last the five rounds: like Richard Smith in his novice shows in Leeds, Lee Power now prefers to match novices over five one-and-a-half minute rounds rather than three two-minutes – and it seems to work.       In the final bout the tall upright Leighton Mannings (WPT Swansea) looked every inch a champion, but it was the busy aggression of Sean Facey that took the title. I admired Mannings’ appearance of total control, his attempts to treat all Facey’s powerful attacks with arrogant calm, but by the 5th his unruffled manner was wearing thin and the Eagles boxer took a unanimous verdict.   In every way the Eagles show was a pleasure to visit. The Heath Hospital Sports and Social Club at the University Hospital is a first-class venue, a spacious hall with enough room for an audience of maybe 250 to sit in comfort with good views and plenty of leg-room – no crowding at the bar, either. The crowd was overwhelmingly friendly and good-humoured, with the WPT contingent particularly vocal in their support: only 2 of their 6 fighters won, but there was always a cheering word for the losers.      Though it was an efficiently run show, with boxers from a wide area, the atmosphere remained homely, with very little ring entry music, a dodgy sound system and a splendidly down-to-earth MC who finished off his brief introduction with, ‘You don’t want to listen to me – you want to see the boxing’ – that’s my sort of MC! And, to complete the sense of well-being, profits from the evening are to go to help finance a Welsh team for the World Amateur Championships.   Special thanks to Kru Lee Power  Read the latest Muay Thai News here ... www.billionmore.com