You Must Suffer To Win
(In this photo: Fairtex SP5)
Fight camps are grueling. The pad rounds are long and hard.
River Daz and the other elite fighters at Fairtex know it. Mr. Wong, the camp founder, puts them through the paces.
“This is what I want, I want you to suffer,” Mr. Wong said.
The hardship builds the fighters. If they can perform during training, they can make it work during the fight.
“You fall down, you get up, this is part of the training,” he said.
Every successful fighter must get up over and over again.
Pok signed to Fairtex
Pok Bill is officially signed to Fairtex. The athlete recently finished his contract with his original gym.
“I like it so much here,” he said. “There are so many trainers and three boxing coaches.”
Pok fought and won at Superchamp. He’s rumored to go to the big stage soon but nothing is announced.
Pok won the reality TV show “The Challenger” and also won the Road To ONE tournament. He’s taken on top talent from around the world. He recently fought and won on the King’s Birthday show in Bangkok.
Ellis Barboza with a massive win
Prada was recently signed to Fairtex and ONE Championship. The organization gave him Thongpoon PK Saenchai to fight. Thongpoon is a rising star with a Thai Cholo look.
The two faced off with intensity. Thongpoon pushed Barboza, but Barboza didn’t back down.
In the fight, Barboza started fast. He chipped away at Thongpoon’s legs.
“Round two the commentators said Thongpoon was landing the better shots,” Barboza said later.
The PK Saenchai athlete was slinging the leather.
“He was very wild. He’s not measured,” Barboza said.
At the end of the second Barboza dropped Thongpoon.
“I was buzzing at the end of the round. I got a knockdown so I basically won the fight,” he said.
He sealed the victory with a TKO win in the third round.
The fantastic start has ONE lining him up for another fight soon.
Kongdech takes the Superchamp belt
Lumpinee World Championship, held on Saturdays at the mecca of Muay Thai hosted the Ngern Chai Yo Tournament.
The series was 8 athletes that fought over a few months. Kongdech won the finals and the Global House belt.
Kongdech was active on Fairtex Fight. Then he participated in the Road To ONE tournament. He suffered a few knockout losses and was sidelined for several months.
He started to fight at the smaller stadiums in Pattaya. He appeared regularly at Max Muay Thai. Kongdech continued to stay in the game and held pads for fighters and students.
Then his chance came again. Fairtex took over the matchmaking of Lumpinee World Championship. He was put into the series and took home the win. As a bonus, he received 60,000 baht.
Neck Strength
Douglas Malagon is working on his neck. The fitness trainer is developing his muscles the old fashion way, by putting weight on his neck and pulling it.
Neck strength is very important for fighters. It stabilizes the neck so when punches come the head doesn’t rock back. In addition, clinching requires neck strength. If the neck is strong it won’t be pulled down. The athlete can maintain their posture.
Being bent over in the clinch is a great way to be kneed in the head.
Malagon doesn’t want that. So he works his neck.
Girls do MMA
(In this photo: Fairtex Stamp Black T-Shirt)
The female fighters are shifting into MMA. Several Muay Thai athletes like Iony Lawrence and Smilla Sundell are dabbling in the multi faceted sport.
Stamp Fairtex’s influence is undeniable. But more importantly, and immediately is the presence of Liisi Vaht. She’s a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt from Estonia. Vaht and her husband head up the BJJ and MMA department.
Vaht was tasked with helping Stamp upgrade her ground game. With a female coach leading the way, more of the other female athletes are participating.
It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll
Aaron Born was on a streak. He fought at Fairtex Fight and won. He fought at Lumpinee World Championship. He won.
Then he went on to the finals of the Global House Tournament. He faced Detchrit Kraisirapop Boxing Gym at 154lbs.
Born moved back from one of the early punches from Detchrit, but the Thai caught him. He lost the fight but still received a considerable bonus.
Stars in the sport know that it’s a long way to the top, just like the Australian hard rock band AC/DC said.
The band released it's a Long Way to the Top in their second album back in 1975. The song chronicles a band being beaten, stabbed, and robbed in pursuit of the rock and roll dream.
Author: Matt Lucas
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