Hard hitting Smilla
(In this photo: KPLC5, BPV2-Red/Black)
The Swedish Storm is defending her belt. Smilla Sundell battles Jackie Buntan in Singapore at the end of September. She faced Buntan for the initial belt challenge. Now it’s revenge or repeat.
In their first outing, Buntan’s lateral movement frustrated Sundell. The Boxing Works athlete used effective stalls in the clinch. This slowed down the Fairtex fighter.
But Smilla had a secret weapon – Mr. Wong. The founder of Fairtex worked on Smilla’s forward movement for a month. Every day she was put the paces. Smilla jabbed and moved forward.
“Power! Power,” Mr. Wong yelled as Smilla hit the pads.
In the fight Smilla kept on coming. In the third round, she started to crush through Buntan’s defenses.
By the last round Buntan’s face was battered purple and blue. The storm won.
Now the storm rains again.
Mr. Wong is back in action as well. Behind every round. He’s pushing Sundell.
“Power! Power!”
All Ears
(In this photo: HW2-Hand wraps Gray and Black)
Nakrob loves the sound of his name. It’s been called out three times at Lumpinee. He’s had a perfect run at ONE Lumpinee.
He knocked out Petchputhai Orborjor Nokonpanom and Chen Jia. He beat both Ploywittia Chor Wimnsip and Sherzod Venum Muay Thai on points.
ONE Lumpinee is calling his name again. The fight is announced soon. In the meantime, Nakrob, and his fans at the gym, are practicing hearing his name.
Kendu Massage
(In this photo: HW2 Hand wraps- Blue and Red)
“I like the soap massages,” Kendu Irving said.
The massage is a staple of recovery for Muay Thai fighters. Irving needs recovery as well. He’s been training very hard.
“Mr. Wong told me to do 7 rounds of pad work every session,” Irving said. “I try to wait until I cant punch or kick then I ask for a massage.”
The Thaiwasadu tournament winner is in the Road To ONE Season 2 tournament.
The Manhattan native takes on Pheuthai Phor Pha Nomphon on August 12th. He’ll be the main event in a stacked lineup.
“Pheuthai is a tall knee fighter,” Irving said. “It will be interesting. My last couple of fights have been against shorter fighters.”
Lessons from Tiu
(In photo: BS1713- Khaki Satin Short)
A former Muay Khao fighter, trainer Tiu racked up a lot of experience taking on different styles of fighters. One of them was heavy handed. He learned from taking and giving body shots.
In one of his latest sessions, Tiu instructed Elissa Keck.
“You can’t drop your hands,” Tiu yelled at Keck. “You’ll get knocked out like Seaukim.”
Seaukim is a former Lumpinee Stadium Champion. He fought at ONE Lumpinee against Kirill Khomutov. He dropped his hands and Seaukim was dropped.
Keck is on a streak of good form. She beat her last opponent and is moving her way up the rankings.
Bagwork is boring
(In this photo: HB7- Black Heavy Bag)
Celeste Hansen understands the training. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Some parts of training get dull.
Luckily for Hansen, she’s driven.
“I do 50 rounds as hard as I can,” she said.
The Australian athlete is a Road To ONE Tournament winner. Hansen along with the other Season One winners, Yodphupaa, and Deduanglek have smashed the opposition at ONE Lumpinee. She’s signed for the big fights.
Her next fight is announced soon. She’ll have to be doing 50 rounds on the bag as hard as she can to take the win.
Iony Gets The Bonus
(In this photo: TGO3 Gloves- Blue )
House of Pain alumni, Iony Lawrence is doing well. Her last fight was a ko win. It netted her a hefty 10,000 baht bonus. The cash came from Fairtex Equipment.
“I felt improved and strong,” Lawrence said. “My clinch has gotten better. I clinch so much. A lot with Smilla Sundell.”
Lawrence’s background is in kickboxing. Now she’s doing Muay Thai full time.
“Knees and punches are my favorite weapons,” Lawrence said. “I like the small gloves with punching and knees because I can do a lot of damage.”
More damage is coming from the UK talent.
Finlay talks trash
The Uk’s favorite Bad Company Bad Boy, Finlay Smith came to the Training Center.
Upon entering the brash boy laid down the smack talk.
“I want a rubbish fighter,” Smith said about his next fight. “I’ll probably end up with a next level beast.”
Smith is coming off a massive win at the WBC Amazing Muay Thai games in Italy. When he arrived in Thailand the ONE Championship team was there… not for him. But he pretended like they were.
As soon as he beats the “next level beast” in his next bout, Smith will be signed for sure.
Junior goes viral
Speaking English in interviews creates fame. Junior performed in her last fight at ONE Lumpinee. She took the win on points. After the bout, she was interviewed by Thai reporters. Then she was interviewed in English. Her comical and cute response went viral.
“Bouk, bouk, bouk,” she said about the pain caused by an elbow.
The English interview got more than 1.5 million views. It was on Channel 7’s news and Junior is a star at University now.
“I’m so shy,” Junior said. “We had to do an activity at school. Someone ran up to me and said ‘I like you. Bouk. Bouk. Bouk.’”
Junior’s fan base is growing quickly. She picked up an English tutor from her fame and more opportunities await.
Author: Matt Lucas
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