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Recently Billionmore decided for the first time to sponsor a fighter’s travel expenses in order to bring a European star to fight in England.
Inevitably our choice was the fabulous ‘Iron Barbie’, MARIA PANTAZI, pride of Greece. RON SIMPSON was there to see how it worked out!
 
I don’t know how it is, but so many of the fighters involved with Billionmore become friends of the company – and the Billionmore people in turn regard them with pride and affection. This is very true of Maria Pantazi, a Greek K1 and Muay Thai fighter/kickboxer/boxer who has had a five-year career of great achievements with gaps in between where too many fights have been cancelled or she has not received federation support. A look at Maria’s facebook shows her enormous popularity with her fellow-countrymen and women (even if I don’t understand the words!) – and it’s easy to see why. Her nickname is totally appropriate: her toughness and aggression in the ring is a sharp contrast to her beauty, style and fondness for the colour pink! But most of all Maria is a real personality, exuberant and enthusiastic, who once send me an email consisting entirely of eight exclamation marks!
 
'Maria with Ernesto' 'Maria with Ron'
So it seemed a great idea to bring Maria over to fight in the UK: I was certain she would be a great crowd-pleaser, but I didn’t know what level she should be matched at (my thanks to all those who advised me). I was fortunate in getting her matched on Lady Killers 4 at Wythenshawe on June 19th, one of two outstanding June shows (the other at Bad Company in Leeds) that I had targeted – her opponent Anna Zuchelli of the KO Gym in London, one of those excellent fighters who somehow never get the acclaim they deserve.
In the weeks before the fight both fighters upped the ante. Maria, having just won the European K1 title, took on the formidable Christine Theiss over 10 rounds in Germany for the World Kickboxing title. I must confess to fearing the worst, but clearly Maria shocked the champion and, though Theiss got the verdict, video clips show her very much under pressure and Maria, to all appearances, on top. Then, at short notice, Anna got the chance of a world title fight against Bernise Alldis and won in fine style – the Wythenshawe match-up was looking decidedly tasty!
Unfortunately Maria’s work commitments meant that she had little time to enjoy her first visit to England, but the evening before the fight saw her celebrate weighing in within the limit by a first taste of Guinness (a firm request for ‘a black beer – a big one!’) and then being delighted to sit opposite one of her idols at dinner, K1 star Ernesto Hoost, trainer of Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Team Perfect, Holland, who featured in the bill-topper. There are many times in this piece I could thank Tricia McKeary of Beastmasters who promoted Lady Killers together with Bill Judd of KO Gym – and now’s as good as any. It made a huge difference being taken out for a meal on the first night and Maria also enjoyed the comfort and friendliness of the Amblehurst Hotel, even if the English breakfast puzzled her!
'Maria with Hercules'
Incidentally those who think that women boxing or fighting must be muscle-bound unfeminine roughs should have dropped in on Tricia’s favourite Italian restaurant and witnessed the demurely quiet conversation of eight or so attractive young women,
fighters from London, the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland!
Aside from the fight itself two things stand out on Saturday. Firstly the tension felt by fighters was horribly obvious in the transformation of Maria from a bright sparkling personality (which, fortunately, was charmingly in place again the next morning even for a 5.30 airport check-in) to a troubled silent soul who burst into life occasionally; for instance, at the sight of top-hatted Ascot toffs on the television or the prospect of a sirloin steak. Secondly I made my best and worst decisions of the weekend. The best was to ask Gary McAllister of Phoenix Gym, County Durham, to help Maria’s training partner, Hercules Mertoglou, in her corner; the worst was to allow Hercules to persuade me to join them – no details, please! Gary helped Maria so much and she and I are especially grateful as, in the previous fight, his fighter, Sam Mitchell, had limped out with an injured hamstring and a points defeat. Sam, another Billionmore Hall of Famer of whom we are tremendously proud, dropped an unlucky decision in a close fight with Alison Blease (KO Gym) after fighting with great skill and determination in her first fight for a year.
And so to Anna against Maria. Just before the ring entry I was concerned to see Anna with her trainer working on clinching and knees – Maria and Hercules, less experienced in Muay Thai, had been expecting low kicks as Anna’s main weapon. What followed was pretty remarkable. From the beginning it was obvious that Maria had almost no defence against Anna’s techniques, but Maria, with her fight face on, is a formidable proposition: fiercely patriotic, she had insisted on wearing her blue Hero srivichai shorts instead of the new pink and gold confection Billionmore had designed for her because she was a Greek fighting in another country and
wanted to wear her country’s colours.
'Maria Pantazi V Anna Zuchelli'
So for five rounds Maria kept driving forward, relying on battering Anna with heavy punches, and Anna neutralised her with clever clinching and powerful knee work. We often talk of a clear victory as ‘a comfortable win’. Anna, who fought the perfect fight, won clearly, but ‘comfortable’ is not the word. Bill Judd, Anna’s trainer, summed it up as well as anyone: ‘Anna dealt with a heavy hitter who was always dangerous.’
Watching Maria take knee after knee to the body, I felt guilty at having made the match, but she emerged from the fight smiling, happy despite the defeat, and got a slightly malicious pleasure from the news that Anna was still applying ice to her eye an hour or two later! I guess Muay Thai purists would find Maria Pantazi a pain to deal with – and, of course, many people I admire greatly devote themselves totally to Muay Thai and to Thai culture and practices (of which Maria knows little). They are, of course, right in what they do, but what about this as an alternative approach? Maria in the last four months has won a four-woman boxing tournament in Denmark, won the European K1 championship in Athens, lost narrowly in Germany for the world kickboxing title and given a Muay Thai world champion a real fight in England. I’m not going to argue against that as a record and, with her lovely personality, her courage and aggression, she is picking up friends and admirers all across Europe.
A couple of days later Greece’s football team lost in the World Cup in a timid defensive performance. No one could accuse Maria Pantazi of that!
Billionmore would be delighted to hear from any promoters looking to match Maria Pantazi on their shows. Maria is a very special talent and a very special person and we will always be happy to help promoters by sponsoring her and paying a share of the expenses.
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