[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 594: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 650: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1110: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3903) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1110: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3903) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1110: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3903) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/feed.php on line 181: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3903) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/feed.php on line 182: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3903) PunchDrunkGamer.com - UFC, MMA, Kickboxing, Glory, Xbox One, Video Games, PS4, PC and Entertainment ForumsThe PunchDrunkGamer.com Forums are your source for UFC, UFC news, UFC event coverage, MMA, GLORY, Kickboxing, kickboxing news, Muay Thai, Videos and Xbox 360, PS3, Gamer Girls photos, Ring Girl photos, Video Game Trailers and game reviews.2013-03-20T17:07:54-07:00https://uwatch.tv/feed.php?f=6&t=98302013-03-20T17:07:54-07:002013-03-20T17:07:54-07:00https://uwatch.tv/viewtopic.php?t=9830&p=32231#p32231<![CDATA[Re: GLORY 5 London - Spong vs Bonjasky Fight Card Updates]]>Kraus: "I'm the best lightweight in the world"
In the world of lightweight kick boxers, Albert Kraus is royalty. A consistent figure in the top three at seventy kilograms since emerging onto the world scene a decade ago, Kraus has several times occupied the number one spot.
Currently the Armenia-Italian maestro Giorgio Petrosyan has tenure of that lofty position, but Kraus wants it back. He and Petrosyan were the top seeds in last year’s inaugural GLORY lightweight grand prix. Having made it to the Final 8 stage, Kraus
was forced to drop out when he came down with severe influenza days before the eight-tournament was to play out in Rome, Italy.
“The day I was supposed to fly to Rome I was so sick I couldn’t even get out of bed. I was so disappointed, really disappointed. I trained really hard and then I was so sick. The day I had to leave, this happened to me. I watched the fights and I
thought it was a good tournament - but of course one guy was missing!” he says.
Petrosyan eventually won it via a series of masterful performances, but Kraus isn’t convinced that things would have gone the same for the Italian had influenza not interfered with proceedings,
“I had been very well trained, it was the most important thing of the year for me and I had felt very confident about the tournament. Very confident. I had a really good feeling about it so, who knows? We see next time.”
Kraus has fought Petrosyan twice and lost by decision both times. The first he has no issues with but the second he thinks was a clear robbery. At the very least, he says, the judges should have exercised their option to have another round fought.
Instead they gave Petrosyan what Kraus feels was a gift decision.
“For sure I think I would beat him if he fight him again. For sure! I think if you see my last fight with him, I should have won this fight. For me, that fight, if they let me get an extra round then I would really have finished him,” Kraus fumes.
“But I think maybe K-1 helped him, they wanted to create some new stars maybe, and they did it behind my back.”
This weekend, Kraus will face Andy Ristie in a fight which will do much to determine what the upper end of the GLORY lightweight division looks like. Ristie, from the former Dutch colony of Suriname, has had some standout performances in the past
two years and is being talked up as a hot prospect.
“He is a strong fighter with a little bit of a strange style, I watched a few fights of his. He is not the same style as a lot of other guys, he does a lot of knees to the body, a lot of leaning back. But I am well-trained and I am feeling confident,“ Kraus
says. “I don’t have any particular tactic for him, I just do my usual thing, I don’t think I need to do anything special to deal with him.”
Kraus - 32 years old - is increasingly subject to speculation about his age. While he is the oldest of the top lightweights, he doesn’t feel he has taken much damage over the years and says that because he came through at a relatively late age, he is
the same as many of his younger peers in ‘fight years’. It is also worth noting that Ristie is himself 30 years old.
“People always talk. And a lot of these people, they talk sideways - they don’t tell you anything to your face. For me its no problem, I get more motivated from these people. But on the day that I am finished, that I am too old, then I quit, I will
know it in myself,” Kraus says. “But as long as I feel fit, as long as I feel that I am the best fighter in the world, I stay in the ring.”
]]>2013-03-20T17:07:04-07:002013-03-20T17:07:04-07:00https://uwatch.tv/viewtopic.php?t=9830&p=32230#p32230<![CDATA[Re: GLORY 5 London - Spong vs Bonjasky Fight Card Updates]]>"Eddie Walker not on my level," says England's Steve Wakeling
Stephen Wakeling is a big name in the European kickboxing world but he has been pretty inactive in the last few years. This isn’t by choice - if Wakeling had his way he would be fighting every other weekend and taking on the best of the best.
Instead, Wakeling says he has found himself either not being able to get opponents, or being offered sub-par opposition or purses which are below the level of remuneration he feels is acceptable for a fighter of his standing and reputation.
Because make no mistake, Wakeling’s standing and reputation are second to none in the fighting world. Having won seven fights where there has been a world title on the line - including the prestigious WMC belt - Wakeling has earned not just success but a reputation for ferocity and the ability to do serious damage. Perhaps it is no surprise that he feels people are avoiding him.
“Its true, its been a struggle to get fights really. And its not for lack of trying. But it has been a challenge to get people to sign on the dotted line. Either that, or there have been offers where the purses just haven’t been right. I don’t mean to sound big-headed or arrogant but I know what I am worth and I won’t fight for peanuts,” he explains.
“I was very happy when GLORY came along because they are a great organization. The shows are really nice, they have signed all the best fighters, they pay well and they are really looking to push the sport forward and take it to new heights.”
At GLORY 5 LONDON, Wakeling will face Eddie ‘Showtime’ Walker, a US middleweight who has been making a name for himself with a string of knockout wins and upset victories. In 2012 he stopped the top American name Joe Schilling and last month he came second in the middleweight Road To Glory tournament, stopping two opponents and then being stopped by Mike Lemaire in the final.
“I’ve seen some of his fights. He’s aggressive, he has a crowd-pleasing style,” says Wakeling, noting Walker’s propensity for knocking out opponents. But Wakeling also thinks that Walker hasn’t faced too many fighters with tight technicality, and that he will be in for a surprise on Saturday night.
“I’m not one for talking before fights but I do think that he is not ready for this level, certainly not for a fighter like me. He was stopped with leg kicks in the tournament last month, for example. Its a fight and anything can happen but I’m feeling confident and I don’t expect ring-rust to be a factor.”
]]>2013-03-19T21:09:43-07:002013-03-19T21:09:43-07:00https://uwatch.tv/viewtopic.php?t=9830&p=32212#p32212<![CDATA[Re: GLORY 5 London - Spong vs Bonjasky Fight Card Updates]]>
Main Card:
HW: Remy Bonjasky vs. Tyrone Spong 70kg: Jordan Watson vs. Steve Moxon 70kg: Albert Kraus vs. Andy Ristie 85kg: Eddie Walker vs. Steve Wakeling 95kg: Stephane Susperregui vs. Danyo Ilunga 95kg: Michael Duut vs. Dustin Jacoby 65kg: Mosab Amrani vs. Liam Harrison HW: Singh Jaideep vs. Daniel Sam 70kg: Warren Stevelmans vs. Johann Fauveau 67kg: Reece McAllister vs. Tim Thomas 77kg: Maxim Vorovski vs. Nicola Gallo
Preliminary Card:
Chad Sugden vs. Sam Wilson Marlon Hunt vs. Adam Hadfield Sam Omomogbe vs. Kerrith Bhella Fraser Weightman vs. Boris Uhlik
]]>2013-02-26T14:07:07-07:002013-02-26T14:07:07-07:00https://uwatch.tv/viewtopic.php?t=9830&p=32023#p32023<![CDATA[Re: GLORY 5 London - Spong vs Bonjasky Fight Card Updates]]>FOUR-TIME WORLD CHAMP STEPHEN WAKELING TO BATTLE KO ARTIST EDDIE ‘SHOWTIME’ WALKER AT STAR-STUDDED GLORY 5 LONDON KICKBOXING EVENT MARCH 23
Four-time world champion Stephen Wakeling (36-4, 14 KO’s) of Kent, England will square off with fast-rising KO artist Eddie ‘Showtime’ Walker (11-2-1, 9 KOs) of Atlanta, Ga. in a middleweight (85 kilograms/187 pounds) contest at the star-studded GLORY 5London kickboxing event at ExCel Arena in London, England on Saturday, March 23, Glory Sports International announced today.
The 29-year-old Wakeling, renowned for his excellent conditioning and tendency to inflict heavy punishment on opponents, has faced and defeated a host of top-ranked riva! l superstars, including Thailand’s famed world champion Jaowchalam Chatjanokgym and Australian powerhouse ‘John’ Wayne Parr. On July 7, 2012, Wakeling fought pound-for-pound sensation Artem Levin to a draw in a spectacular, five-round bout in England.
Wakeling comes from a high pedigree of fighting stock. His father Mark was a successful fighter in his own right and had a career which culminated with a fight in Thailand’s prestigious annual King’s Cup tournament in 1998. Wakeling’s brother, Mike, is a European champion.
Walker, experienced a career breakthrough last year when he scored a shocking, upset KO of WBC interim Muay Thai champion Joe ‘Stitch ‘Em Up’ Schilling after Schilling had put Walker down twice early in the fight in Las Vegas, Nev.
The come-from-behind victor! y earned Walker a spot in the ROAD TO GLORY USA inaugural, middleweight development series tournament in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 9. There, Walker finished as runner-up after scoring a second round (1:26) KO on Edgar Del Fierro and a second round (2:13) TKO on Van Wyk Povey in the quarterfinal and semifinal stages of the tournament, respectively.
Walker is known for possessing frightening power in both hands and, with 9 of his 11 professional wins by way of stoppage inside the distance, he has an incredible 81 percent finish rate. Walker trains under Manu N’toh, a renowned instructor who also counts UFC middleweight Brian Stann among his students, and posted a 7-0 amateur record before turning professional in 2010.
In the highly-anticipated heavyweight main event, decorated,! all-time great Remy Bonjasky (77-15, 40 KO’s) of The Netherlands will take on ferocious, surging superstar Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO’s) of Boca Raton, Fla. via The Netherlands.
All GLORY 5 London bouts are comprised of three, three-minute rounds. The complete fight card is as follows:
Heavyweight Main Event Tyrone Spong (Netherlands) vs. Remy Bonjasky (Netherlands)
Lightweight Andy Ristie (Suriname) vs. Albert Kraus (Netherlands)
Light-Heavyweight Stephane Susperregui (France) vs. Danyo Ilunga (Congo)
Featherweight Liam Harrison (UK) vs. Mo! sab Armani (Morocco)
Lightweight Jordan Watson (UK) vs. Steve Moxon (Australia)
Light-Heavyweight Raymond Daniels (USA) vs. TBA
Heavyweight Jaideep Singh (UK/India) vs. Daniel Sam (UK)
Middleweight Stephen Wakeling (UK) vs. Eddie Walker (USA)
Welterweight Maxim Vorovski (Russia) vs. Duoli Chen (China)
Lightweight Johann Fauveau (France) vs. Warren Stevelmans (South Africa)
Catchweight Reece McAllister (UK) vs. Tim Thomas (UK)
]]>2013-02-15T23:30:20-07:002013-02-15T23:30:20-07:00https://uwatch.tv/viewtopic.php?t=9830&p=31930#p31930<![CDATA[Re: GLORY 5 London - Spong vs Bonjasky Fight Card Updates]]>Spong responds to Bonjasky: "Worry about yourself"
It is early morning in Boca Raton, Florida and ‘The King of the Ring’ Tyrone Spong has just been out for a run, hitting the pavement early in the day to avoid the sweltering heat of the afternoon. The run concluded, he returns to the Imperial Athletics training center, home of The Blackzilians fight team, for another day of embracing the grind that all fighters must go through if they want to become a champion.
Spong has won belts and titles aplenty over the years but now, aged 27, he has established himself as a heavyweight contender. Having recently signed to GLORY, the world’s new premier kickboxing league, he wants to earn himself a title shot as soon as possible. But it will be a hard road, and the journey will begin on March 23 in London, England when he faces the three-time K-1 Grand Prix winner Remy Bonjasky.
“I think its a really big fight. Its going to be a great fight. The fans have been really enthusiastic about it and they are really looking forward to it. I am trying to build my own legacy and I see it as a great challenge. I am not much of a talker, I let my actions speak for themselves. He is a big name in the sport, I like the challenge, lets see what happens,” Spong says as he sits down to talk about his GLORY debut.
“Styles make fights and we will only see when we are in the ring exactly how we match up. But I think that I have a pretty all-round style - I can punch, I can kick, I can use my knees, everything. Flying knees too, if I want. With Remy its mostly kicks, people say that his boxing isn’t that great. But still, he knocked down a lot of great opponents, a lot of big champions, so its going to be interesting.”
Bonjasky’s trademark attack is the flying knee; does Spong have one of those in his repertoire as well? “Sure. I like training everything and I am blessed that I can do most of the techniques. Most things I train, I can master. Including the flying knee,” he smiles.
He declares himself to be “not much of a talker” and so Spong rarely gets into the kind of trash-talk exchanges which other fighters seem to relish in. But today he has been reading comments Bonjasky made in a recent interview and he has some responses he wants to make.
Bonjasky has declared Spong to be “not a natural heavyweight” and is of the opinion that he has lost speed and skill on his way up the weight categories. Bonjasky has also speculated about the possible impact on Spong of seeing his Blackzilians team mates Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans lose their fights at the UFC 156 event earlier this month.
“He is a big champion, [surely] he can’t talk that stupid? Come on man. I am not Alistair, I am Tyrone Spong. It didn’t do anything except motivate me more. So he shouldn’t worry about me, he should just worry about himself,” Spong snaps, a rare break in his usually placid demeanor.
“On March 23 we will get in there and we will see who is fast and who is not. We will see who lost skill and who did not. I don’t like to talk too much, but we will see on the night who is better.”
In April, top-ranked heavyweights Daniel Ghita and Gokhan Saki will clash in Istanbul, the cultural capital of Saki’s Turkish spiritual home. The winner of that fight is likely to get a title shot against GLORY’s heavyweight world champion, Semmy Schilt. That might seem like a dubious prize to some, but Spong also wants to place himself in the queue to fight Schilt.
“I am looking to make a big upset. I am actually looking forward to fighting Semmy. I like challenges. I’m a crazy guy. He is big and everything but I like to test myself. Most people want to avoid him but I am different, I’m just different. I need challenges to motivate myself,” he explains.
However, it is possible that the title could be in different hands by the time Spong earns a shot at the belt. it depends on whether the winner of Saki vs. Ghita is able to take the belt from the giant karate fighter currently holding it. This contender elimination fight has excited the fanbase worldwide and Spong is one of them.
“Its going to be a brutal fight and a knockout. Daniel Ghita made a lot of progression in the last year and a half but Saki also is very skilled. Its going to be a very tough fight and its a 50-50 fight but if I had to pick one of them, I would say Saki,” he says.
This is the year the Amsterdam native wants to make an eternal mark on the fight game. At the same time as he is planning to take a run at the GLORY heavyweight championship, the most prestigious title in kickboxing, he is also venturing into mixed martial arts. Spong recently debuted for the World Series of Fighting mixed martial arts organization. Ironically, WSOF is owned by kickboxing legend Ray Sefo; he and Spong fought in 2010.
“Honestly it doesn’t matter to me, a fight is a fight. I enjoy both sets of rules. I enjoy the adrenaline rush, waiting out to the ring and getting it over with, making a war. I train in jiu jitsu, with a gi and without a gi, but I don’t like being on my back,” he says.
“World Series Of Fighting just signed a deal with NBC and they are looking forward to putting me on most of the shows. So I am looking forward to that and its going to be a big year in MMA and in kickboxing. I am looking forward to the opportunities that are coming up.
“Its going to be my year, 2013. You hear that number, thirteen? Its a bad number. So that means its a good year for the bad guy!”
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