Enjoying The Work
(In this Photo: Fairtex BPV2)
Coach Man Man loves the sport. The Filipino boxing coach puts in the hours every day. He’s been at Fairtex Training Center for five plus years now.
“I enjoy my work,” he said. “I like training the fighters.”
Fairtex employed other boxing coaches. First was an Eastern European coach. He taught a soviet style of boxing. In this, the jab is emphasized. Boxers were coached to maintain distance.
Filipino style comes from America. Initially, USA soldiers practiced the sport. The native Filipinos were influenced.
And the Filipinos became sluggers.
The tradition survives with coach Man Man, Rwin, and Robin teaching close in fighting.
Some athletes picked up more than others.
“Shir Cohen improved the most,” Man Man said. “I like her jab straight and combination work.”
Other athletes used boxing to accentuate their skills. Boxing and clinching fighter Smilla Sundell uses her skills to close the range.
“I like Smilla’s power and focus and she is good at clinching,” Man Man said.
There is always action at Fairtex, and it’s something to enjoy.
Rwin Makes Boxing Debut
(In this Photo: Fairtex HG13 Lace-Up-Red/Black, HW2-White )
The world of boxing differs dramatically from Muay Thai.
And Coach Rwin got a harsh taste of it.
Boxing promoters make their money off ticket sales and staging the fights. For aspiring fighters to get to the big paydays they must build their records.
So a fighter must be sponsored. The rising boxer is matched with someone they can beat. But the athlete must pay for his opponent’s purse. He is paying to train, fight, and get an opponent.
It takes time and money to build a fighter. They must pick the right opponents and get the right work in.
Rwin was brought in as an opponent to FCC in Pattaya Thailand. He fought a very tall Ali Khalid Bukhalaf. The two started even. But then Bukhalaf began to crowd Rwin. He hit him in the body and Rwin began to sink. A few more body shots and Rwin went to the depths in the 2nd round.
Rwin was paid roughly $400 for the fight. It was his professional debut.
Junior Teaches Thai
(In this Photo: Fairtex Fight Team T-shirt)
Young star Junior is skilled. She speaks both English and Thai. Recently she got a chance to do translation work for Liam Harrison.
The English fighter put together a website that teaches Muay Thai techniques.
Junior’s stablemates Ferrari and Saemapetch both did courses.
And they spoke in Thai. So Junior helped with the translation. The ONE Lumpinee veteran taught the following pieces of vocabulary.
หลบ – lob - dodge
โต้ได้ – dto dai -retaliate
หมัดโค้ง - Hmad kong – overhand punch
สลับเข่า – salab khao -switch knee
Petchwarin’s Game Plan
(In this Photo: Fairtex BGV14PT-White, HB6PY- Green Heavy Bag)
Game planning is an increasing part of the fight game. Fighters know more about each other. It’s easy to look up opponent’s on the internet and to see their fights.
Most fights aren’t worth game planning for.
But Petchwarin made a game plan. She fought Sarah Gohier before.
In the second fight, she wanted to change her game.
“I planned on not clinching,” Petchwarin said. “Just punch and kick into elbows.”
Petchwarin saw Sarah Gohier fight her stablemate Elisa Keck. Gohier was cut badly in the fight. The American fighter wanted to move into the clinch.
In their rematch, Petchwarin was able to execute her game plan and win the fight. The homegrown athlete is slowly moving up.
Quinty Goes To The Netherlands
(In this Photo: BGV1-Red Gloves)
Dutch athlete Quinty Klein Gotink came to Fairtex to make a run for it. She did well. She fought at the WBC Amazing Muay Thai Festival and Lumpinee.
“I lived myself,” Quinty said.
The Dutch athlete is only 18 years old. She came for an extended period by herself.
“The trainers and everything is great,” she said. “I miss my family.”
Quinty returned home recently. It can be hard for young athletes to be away from their parents. There are cultural differences between athletes. This is especially true between foreign and Thai athletes.
Even between the foreign boxers, there are differences. There are few Europeans. And for Quinty, she was the only athlete from the Netherlands.
She plans on returning to Fairtex in the future.
Smilla Punches Her Way Across Borders
(In this Photo: Fairtex BGV14PT-White, Fairtex BPV2, Fairtex FMV9-Black/Red)
The Hurricane is storming her way through North America.
She’s stopped at 11 gyms in America. Her journey began in Canada. She went down through Portland, San Francisco and into Las Vegas.
Her family met her in San Francisco.
“I liked going into the mall with my sister,” Sundell said. “I tried ice cream in Vancouver. Target is always fun.”
For athletes like Sundell, Muay Thai tours are an opportunity to see the world. Many fighters stay at the camp for the duration of their careers.
Traveling to fights is an experience for them. But after the fights, there is an almost immediate return to the camp. Most fighters get a downtown of 10 days before going back to the camp.
Author: Matt Lucas
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