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Heavyweight Superstars Tyrone Spong and Remy Bonjasky Collide In GLORY 5 London Main Event, February 16, 2013‏


Heavyweight superstars Remy Bonjasky (77-14, 40 KO’s) and Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO’s) will collide in the main event of GLORY 5 London at the British capital’s Excel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013.

Also confirmed for the kickboxing mega-card are lightweight (70 kilograms/154 pounds) British standouts Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO's) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2, 38 KO’s). Both have tough tests ahead of them - Watson faces the hard-hitting ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Moxon of Australia (29-4-1, 16 KO’s) while Harrison faces the aggressive Moroccan lightweight Mosab ‘Jaguar’ Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KO’s).

Tickets for the event go on sale in December. Pricing and vendors will be announced in the coming weeks.

‘The Flying Gentleman’ Bonjasky is a household name among kickboxing fans and this will be the first time that British fight fans have the opportunity to see him fight live. One of the most athletic fighters ever to step into the ring, Bonjasky’s flying knees and kicks have provided some of the most thrilling images of the sport and helped propel him to victory in three Grand Prix tournaments in the old K-1 fight series.

An eye ailment forced a temporary retirement on him for nearly three years but, after undergoing surgery, the 1.93 meter (6-foot-4), 108 kilogram (240 pound) fighter was ready to putthe gloves back on.

At GLORY 2 Brussels on Oct. 6, he made a triumphant return with a decision win over No. 1 ranked Brazilian heavyweight Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva. Bonjasky demonstrated superior conditioning and reflexes in the fight, showing his rivals that all the old magic is still there.

Like Bonjasky, Amsterdam native Spong, who recently relocated to Boca Raton, Fla. to train with the famed ‘Blackzilians’ fight squad, is a world-class athlete. Standing 1.88 meters (6-foot-2) and weighing 103.5 kilograms (228 pounds), he started his career as a middleweight and has retained that speed and fluidity as he has moved up through the weight classes to heavyweight.

With explosive power in his hands, nearly two-thirds of Spong’s wins have been by stoppage, including his June KO of legend Peter Aerts. Spong was the last reigning 95 kilogram (210 pound) champion in world championship kickboxing league It’s Showtime which GLORY purchased in October.

“This is a dream fight that kickboxing fans around the world have been wanting to see for some time. Bonjasky is one of the sport’s all-time greats and anybody who watched him fight in Brussels could see immediately that he was as sharp as ever. He had the same dynamic fighting style that earned him tremendous success and acclaim in the sport before he went on hiatus three years ago,” said GLORY Managing Director Marcus Luer.

“As for Spong, his speed and technicality are just amazing. He is unbelievably agile for a heavyweight and he makes fighting look like ballet. He also has plenty of power and a real killer instinct, which we saw in his win over Peter Aerts earlier this year. Bonjasky and Spong are two of the most natural athletes the sport of kickboxing has ever seen. They are going to thrill the London fight fans in February.”

GLORY Chairman Pierre Andurand remarked, “I live in London and I am very proud to be bringing these two world-class fighters to the British capital. Bonjasky and Spong are at the top of their games right now and the winner will take a step closer to a shot at the GLORY heavyweight title.”

Both fighting out of the Bad Company gym in Leeds, England, Watson and Harrison have carved out solid reputations on the international Muay Thai circuit and have a legion of fans in their native northern city. Watson made his GLORY debut in November with a win over Mustapha Haida of Belgium.

Harrison is a four-time world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai. He has faced elite Thai champions such as Saenchai Sor Kingstar and Anuwat Kaewsamrit and has competed extensively in Thailand with some of the nation’s top fighters. Among the titles Harrison has held are the prestigious WAKO and WMC belts, the latter being arguably the top honor in the Muay Thai world.

Additional matchups for GLORY 5 London will be announced soon. Visit http://www.gloryworldseries.com for more information.

Put this on the record - Spong smashes Bonjasky!

GLORY: Remy Bonjasky vs.Tyrone Spong Moves To March 23 To Give Bonjasky Full Fight Camp Following New Year's Eve‏


The highly-anticipated showdown between Remy Bonjasky (76-14, 40 KO's) and Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO’s) will take place on Saturday, March 23 at the Excel Arena in London, England, it was announced today by Glory Sports International (GSI), parent company of the Glory World Series.

The bout had previously been set for February 16 but with Bonjasky being set to participate in the GLORY 4 - TOKYO: GRAND SLAM 16-man mega-tournament on New Year’s Eve, it was decided that February would potentially be too soon for him to get back in the ring. He will now have several more weeks to recover from his tournament bouts and get in peak condition for his first-time meeting with Spong.

“Remy was more than happy to take part in the tournament and then fight again in February,” explains GLORY Chairman Pierre Andurand. “But this is the first time that he and Spong will have fought and there was such huge interest in the match when we announced it that we decided to move the date and give him some time to rest up. It means that he and Spong will be in peak condition when they face each other.”

Marcus Luer, Managing Director of GLORY, added, “The worldwide interest in Spong vs. Bonjasky has been absolutely huge. Within literally minutes of it being announced we were inundated with requests for tickets and broadcast details.

“With this fight being of such magnitude to fans worldwide, we want both fighters to be at their absolute best for this historic first meeting. They now have a few extra weeks to sharpen their weapons for what is expected to be a truly classic encounter.”

'The Flying Gentleman' Bonjasky is a household name among kickboxing fans and this will be the first time that British fight fans have the opportunity to see him fight live. One of the most athletic fighters ever to step into the ring, Bonjasky's flying knees and kicks have provided some of the most thrilling images of the sport and helped propel him to victory in three Grand Prix tournaments in the old K-1 fight series.

An eye ailment forced a temporary retirement on him for nearly three years but, after undergoing surgery, the 1.93 meter (6-foot-4), 108 kilogram (240 pound) fighter was ready to put the gloves back on. Last month he made a triumphant return with a decision win over Brazil’s top heavyweight, Anderson 'Braddock' Silva.

Amsterdam native Spong, who recently relocated to Boca Raton, Fla. to train with the famed 'Blackzilians' fight squad, is a world-class athlete. Standing 1.88 meters (6-foot-2) and weighing 103.5 kilograms (228 pounds), he started his career as a middleweight and has retained that speed and fluidity as he has moved up through the weight classes to heavyweight. With explosive power in his hands, nearly two-thirds of Spong's wins have been by stoppage, including his June KO of legend Peter Aerts.

Tickets for the March 23 event will go on sale soon and the full card will be announced in the near future. The headliners are supported by a stellar card which includes two of the UK’s top talents taking on strong international opposition.

Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO's) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2, 38 KO's), of the Bad Company team in Leeds, have carved their reputations in the fighting rings of Thailand and around the world. In March, Watson will face the Australian knockout machine ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Moxon (29-4-1, 16 KO's) while his team mate Harrison faces the Dutch-Moroccan technician Mosab ‘Jaguar’ Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KO's).

The 11-Fight Glory 5 Fight Card will also include Andy Ristie, Albert Kraus, Danyo Ilunga, Warren Stevelmans, Johann Fauveau, Reece McCallister, Tim Thomas, Steven Wakeling, Danyo Ilunga, Stephane Susperregui and more.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR GLORY 5 LONDON: SPONG VS. BONJASKY



Highly-anticipated first meeting of heavyweight icons headlines GLORY’s star-studded, 11-bout UK debut with UK’s best Kickboxers on hand

Plus:

Jordan Watson vs. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Moxon
Liam Harrison vs. Mosab Amrani
Albert Kraus vs. Andy Ristie



Tickets, priced from £45, for the highly-anticipated GLORY 5 London: Spong vs. Bonjasky star-studded kickboxing event, taking place at Excel Arena on Saturday, March 23, are on sale and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by telephone at 0844 847 2543.

Headlined by a heavyweight showdown between superstars Remy Bonjasky (77-15, 40 KO’s) and Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO’s), the first-ever GLORY show in the UK brings together a host of additional icons for the most stacked kickboxing card ever to grace a British venue.

“When GLORY decided to stage a show in London, we knew we would have to put together a special card for the British capital. Fans have wanted to see a fight between Remy Bonjasky and Tyrone Spong for some time, but the two have never met in the ring - until now,” says Marcus Luer, GLORY CEO.

“Bonjasky is an idol to fight fans around the world and Spong has been on a steady rise to the top - he’s a fighter that everybody is talking about right now. They are both incredible athletes with explosive power. Bonjasky’s flying knees and Spong’s hands are capable of stopping a fight in an instant. Don’t blink.”

Known as ‘The Flying Gentleman’, the 1.93 meter/6-foot-3, 108 kilogram/238 pound Bonjasky is a household name among kickboxing fans. His illustrious career has seen him win numerous top honors, including three K-1 Grand Prix championships, but this will be the first time that British fans have the opportunity to see him fight live.

One of the most athletic fighters ever to step into the ring, Bonjasky has provided some of the most enduring images of the sport with his flying knee attacks and wide range of dynamic kicks. Among his career achievements are wins over superstar rivals Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, Alistair Overeem and Jerome LeBanner.

Like Bonjasky, Spong, a native of Amsterdam who recently relocated to Boca Raton, Fla. to train with the famed ‘Blackzilians’ fight squad, is a stellar athlete. The 1.88 meter/6-foot-2, 103.5 kilogram/228 pound Spong started his career as a middleweight and has retained his speed and fluidity while gradually moving up to heavyweight.

With explosive power in his hands, nearly two-thirds of Spong’s wins have been by stoppage, including his June KO of the legendary Aerts, also a three-time winner of the old K-1 ! Grand Prix tournament series. Prior to moving up to heavyweight, Spong held the light-heavyweight (95 kilograms/210 pounds) title in top European organization It’s Showtime, which GLORY purchased in October 2012.

Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO's) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2, 38 KO’s), two of the best kickboxers the UK has ever produced, will both see action on the card. Hailing from the Bad Company gym in Leeds, England, they have fought all over the world and have been among the few foreigners to find success in the fighting rings of Thailand.

Harrison faces Mosab ‘Jaguar’ Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KO’s), a Dutch-Moroccan fighter who combines ferocity with exceptional technicality, in a featherweight bout (65 kilograms/143 pounds). Amrani’s skills will provide the toughest test of Harrison’s career to date. Watson f! aces an equally tough test in the shape of Australia’s ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Moxon (29-4-1, 16 KO's), a KO machine with a sky-high finishing ratio, in a lightweight contest

In other action on the star-studded, 11-bout GLORY 5 London kickboxing card, all-time great Albert Kraus (66-16-3, 39 KO’s), winner of the first ever K-1 MAX tournament, will face the sensational Andy Ristie (43-2, 16 KO’s) in a bout that will help determine a top lightweight (70 kilograms/154 pounds) contender.

Light-heavyweight (95 kilograms/209 pounds) Bonjasky protégé Danyo Ilunga (41-4, 34 KOs) will make his UK debut against top French talent and fellow power striker Stephane Susperregui (32-4-1, 27 KOs) in a fight that is very unlikely to go the distance.



All GLORY 5 London bouts are comprised of three, three-minute rounds. The complete fight card is as follows:


Heavyweight

Tyrone Spong (Suriname) 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. Mosab Armani (Morocco)



Lightweight

Jordan Watson (UK) vs. Steve Moxon (Australia)



Light-Heavyweight

Raymond Daniels (USA) vs. TBC



Heavyweight

Singh Jaideep (UK/India) vs. Yong Soo Park (South Korea)



Middleweight

Steve Wakeling (UK) vs. Simon Marcus (Canada)



Welterweight

Maxim Vyrovski (Russia) vs. Duoli Chen (China)



Lightweight

Johann Fauveau (France) vs. Warren Stevelmans (South Africa)



Catchweight

Reece McAllister (UK) vs. Tim Thomas (UK)

Bonjasky: "Spong wants tough tests? Well now he has one."

http://gloryworldseries.com/en/news/137

With flying knees as his trademark attack it is no surprise that Remy Bonjasky (77-15, 40 KO's) was labeled ‘The Flying Dutchman’ when he broke out onto the world scene.

But the Suriname-born heavyweight soon amended his nickname, declaring himself to be ‘The Flying Gentleman’ because of his fashionable sense of style and his almost old-school manners.

Inside the ring and out, Bonjasky is sleek. There is a symmetry between the precision of his fighting style and the way he is always so carefully groomed and well-presented outside the ring. He is unusually polished and polite for a professional fighter.

Even his voice is smooth as, showered and changed after a hard training session, he leans back in his leather chair to talk about his Saturday March 23 showdown with young contender Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO's). The fight will headline GLORY 5 at the ExCel Arena, London.

“When it was first offered I immediately said yes; why not? He is a strong, young guy who wants to get to the top and test himself against the best. And now he has the chance.” Bonjasky smiles, like a businessman discussing a particularly pleasing transaction.

“I think a few years ago when he was at 80 kilograms (176 pounds), he was the best in the world at that weight class. He was very fast and very fluid, but now he is 20 kilos (220 pounds) heavier and he has lost a lot of that.

“He has lost a lot of speed and his combinations are not as sharp. I think he lost a lot of his kickboxing, if you know what I mean? He has gained power and weight but I think that has been at the expense of his art a little bit.”

Kickboxing critics suggest that one of Bonjasky’s main advantages over his opponents has been his speed and his catlike reflexes. But these are also key advantages that Spong has over many of his own opponents. With Spong being the younger man - Remy is 37, Spong is 27 - does that mean Bonjasky’s assets have been negated?

“He is younger than me and maybe quicker, yes. But I have a lot of experience so the longer the fight goes the better it is for me. He will get slower. I am a natural heavyweight - I was 105 kilos in 2009, I am 105 kilos today,” Bonjasky reasons.

“So I am used to carrying this weight, I don’t think Spong is. Not long ago he was 80 kilograms and then he went into some, er, special diet, to get bigger for the heavyweight fights.”

Spong is on an upward curve right now and is gathering a lot of attention, particularly in the US market thanks to his association with the ‘Blackzilians’ MMA team in Florida. But Spong saw his Blackzilian team mate Alistair Overeem knocked out at UFC 156 this past weekend. Will that have done anything to knock his own confidence? Bonjasky is undecided.

“I didn’t watch it yet but I heard about the result. It was a crack in the teeth for Alistair eh? I think if you have guys from the same team fighting on the same card and your team mate loses, it can either motivate you or it can crush you. It goes either way,” Bonjasky shrugs.

Unlike his younger adversary, Bonjasky is a three-time winner of the K-1 Grand Prix and as such has achieved more than most kickboxers can even dream of. But he still feels like he has much to prove, particularly in light of his performance in the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Slam which took place on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo, Japan.

The groundbreaking 16-man tournament had a special format, with two-minute rounds in the early stages and a ‘Best of Three’ rule which allowed fighters who won the first two rounds of the right to be declared the winner without the need to fight the third round.

Bonjasky won his first fight but was then eliminated in the quarter-finals by Jamal Ben Saddik. Looking back, he is not at all happy about his performance that night.

“That was one of the worst days of my career. I think maybe the worst of my career. If you look at my career and all my tournament fights, it was terrible in comparison. Everything went well in the preparation, I was in good condition and I was being grumpy at home, which is usually a sign things are going well and I am in fight mode,” he says.

“Even the day before the event I was fine, I felt really good. Then when I was in the venue warming up, I started to feel bad. I felt like I was losing power and during the first fight I could just feel that it wasn’t going to be my night.

“I think its a good format for the knockout fighters. They go out there and they try to finish the guy in the first round or the second round with some big punch,” he adds.

“But for the technical fighters, we don’t try to finish the guy until later in the fight usually. We break you down hit by hit and then we look to make the opening for a head kick or something in round three. But, yeah I would do it again, one hundred percent.”

At the end of the night, one man was left standing amidst the carnage - giant karate stylist Semmy Schilt. He beat four consecutive opponents, including a head kick KO of highly-favored Daniel Ghita, to take the the $400,000 grand prize.

“Its to be expected. Semmy has the height, the weight, the reach,” Bonjasky sighs.

“But its not just size, he also has the skills with it. If you look at someone like Hong Man Choi, the Korean, he is a similar size to Semmy but he doesn’t have the same skill so he isn’t a threat. Or Bob Sapp, he had the weight and the power but not the skill.

“But with Semmy, he has the size advantage and the skills. Its unfair really. I don’t think his results would be the same without the size and distance.”

After the tournament, Schilt said that he would be restricting himself to single fights from now on and would not be partaking in any more one-night tournaments. That news has been well received by his fellow fighters. They feel it opens the field up a bit.

However, Schilt retains the GLORY Heavyweight Championship. In April, Gokhan Saki and Daniel Ghita will headline GLORY 6 in Istanbul, Turkey with the winner getting a shot at the belt. Its a fight that Bonjasky is looking forward to almost as much as his own clash with Spong.

“Its a fantastic piece of matchmaking. Actually I am going to that event, I am going to be there just as a fan. There’s a heavyweight title shot on the line for the winner and these two guys are so good, they are at that contender level where they are top fighters but they didn’t win a major world belt yet,” he says.

“So I think the fight is going to be amazing. Semmy said that the Grand Slam was his last tournament so if that’s the case, I think 2013 is going to be a big year for Saki and Ghita.”

Spong responds to Bonjasky: "Worry about yourself"

http://gloryworldseries.com/en/news/140

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!”