GLORY Signs Seven New Stars - Kevin Ross, Eddie Walker and Joseph Valtellini Amongst The Pack
GLORY announced today that it has signed seven new athletes from six different countries to its ever-growing powerhouse roster of elite stand-up fighters.
Four-time Muay Thai champion and flyweight (143 pounds/65 kilograms) sensation Kevin “El Presidente” Ross (36-9, 12 KOs) and rising middleweight (187 pounds/85 kilograms) star Eddie “Showtime” Walker (9-1, 7 KOs) of The United States, light-heavyweight KO artist Stephane Susperregui (32-4-1, 27 KOs) of France, surging welterweight “Bazooka” Joseph Valtellini (6-1, 6 KOs) of Canada, heavyweight Tae Kwon Do phenom Yong Soo Park (14-7, 8 KO’s) of South-Korea, lightweight champion (154 pounds/70 kilograms) Roman “Thunder” Mailov (23-3, 12 KOs) of The Ukraine and former two-time amateur boxing champion turned lightweight kickboxing champion Max Baumert (17-1, 10 KOs) of Germany have all joined the ranks of the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league.
“We are excited about bringing this outstanding collection of highly-accomplished world champions and emerging young stars from diverse martial arts backgrounds and nationalities into the GLORY fold and we are looking forward to seeing them compete on the big stage where they will have the opportunity to take their budding careers to all-new, unprecedented levels,” said GLORY CEO Marcus Luer.
The 32-year-old Ross, who fights out of Dublin, Calif. was named Muay Thai North American Fighter of the Year in 2010 and has since been recognized as the face of the sport in The United States. He holds notable victories over decorated Thai champions Malaipet “The Diamond” Sasiprapa and “Coke” Chunhawat as well as American stars Justin Greskiewicz and Chike Lindsay.
Despite an advanced skill set and a handful of highlight reel worthy performances in the ring, Walker of Atlanta, Ga., was relatively unknown amongst martial arts fight fans until Oct. 13 when the protégé of six-time world champion Manu N’toh staged an incredible comeback KO victory against hard-hitting fellow American Joe “Stitch ‘Em Up” Schilling in Las Vegas, Nev.
Walker survived a knockdown at the hands of Schilling in the first round and, another in the second stanza, but weathered the storm and suddenly unleashed a monstrous right hook in close quarters that dropped Schilling for the 10-count at the 2:13 mark of the second round.
Mailov is a ferocious 21-year-old battler who is in the midst of a 15-fight win streak after going unbeaten in both 2011 and 2012 while competing mostly in Russia and his native Ukraine. A five-time title holder, Mailov’s last win came on Nov. 8 when he scored a crushing fourth round KO on Armin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport of Thailand with a knee strike to the body during a matchup in Moscow.
Susperregui, a 26-year-old, four-time national champion in his native France, made a big mark in the sport in April, winning a one-night, four-man tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite his relatively young career, the heavy-handed Susperregui has had considerable exposure to the international fight scene, facing rivals Steve McKinnon in China and Nathan Corbett in Australia.
Universally regarded as the hottest prospect out of Canada, the hard-hitting 27-year-old Valtellini stormed onto the professional fight scene after amassing a perfect 11-0 record as an amateur and has since claimed all six of his wins on the professional circuit by way of KO. A high school teacher by day, Valtellini is a lifelong martial artist who began his training in Tae Kwon Do at age seven, eventually earning his second degree black belt in the discipline before transitioning to Muay Thai.
Just 20 years old, Baumert has already made a mark in the martial arts fight world. A veteran of 35 boxing bouts, Baumert has captured stand-up fighting championships on national and continental levels and has competed four times in the last four months, winning each of his bouts by way of unanimous decision.
Known for his dangerous, yet graceful kicking skills, the 31-year-old Soo Park is a veteran of the national Korean Tae Kwon Do team who has claimed the Korea National Invitation Tae Kwon Do Championship at heavyweight. Soo Park established his presence on the international fight scene in his professional debut, scoring a first round KO with a low kick on former Japanese sumo wrestler turned professional boxer, Rikijyo, and then taking out Japanese Karate fighter Daisuke Watanabe, also in the first round of their matchup, with a front kick to the face.
GLORY matchups for each of the newly-signed competitors will be announced soon. In the meantime, GLORY will hit Saitama Super Arena on Saturday, Dec. 31 with its highly-anticipated ‘GSI presents DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 Tokyo - New Year's Eve Special’ double-header event that will begin at 4 p.m. JST with a stacked DREAM Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card and continue with the GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam that will be headlined by a one-night, 16-man heavyweight tournament
The single-elimination tournament field is loaded with the world’s top heavyweight stand-up fighters, including world No. 1 ranked Semmy Schilt (39-6, 18 KO’s), Remy Bonjasky (77-14, 40 KO’s), Peter Aerts (104-30-1, 78 KO’s), Gokhan Saki (77-15, 53 KO’s), Daniel Ghita (44-7, 34 KO’s), Errol Zimmerman (76-16-1, 41 KO’s), Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (32-8-1, 22 KO’s) and Sergei Kharitonov (22-7, 12 KO’s). The winner of the tournament will take home a Grand Prize of $400,000, and a total of $600,000 in prize money will be awarded to tournament participants.
Visit www.gloryworldseries.com for more information.
