Soukhamthath Out to Silence Tugman at CES MMA: New Blood

[keithlewis]

Soukhamthath Out to Silence Tugman at CES MMA: New Blood


Andre Soukhamthath is about to swim into uncharted waters Friday night at Twin River Casino in an attempt to prove, despite what his opponent says, he's not just some "big fish in a small pond."

Dubbed "The Asian Sensation," Soukhamthath (4-1, 3 KOs) will face his toughest test to date on June 7th when he battles Branford, Conn., bantamweight Blair Tugman (5-4), who made it clear he isn't impressed with Soukhamthath's recent success.

"I have a lot of respect for him," Tugman said, "but in looking at who he's fought and where he's fought, he hasn't fought the guys I've fought in the venues I've fought in.

"He's a big fish in a small pond until he beats someone with a little more experience. Then he'll deserve a little more respect. He's been beating guys who don't have the experience of the guys I've fought."

Since losing his professional debut, Soukhamthath, a Woonsocket, R.I., native, has won his last four fights - all at Twin River - beating Gilvan Santos, Vinnie Tisconie, Rob Costa and Kurt Chase-Patrick, the latter coming via second-round knockout in April in Soukhamthath's most complete performance.

"I'm not sure if he's trying to hype himself up, or whatever. Good for him," Soukhamthath said of Tugman. "Saying I'm a big fish in a small pond is basically saying I'm overrated. At the end of the day, it doesn't really bother me.

"I always come to fight no matter what. If he can hang with me, then good for him."

Friday's Soukhamthath-Tugman showdown is part of the undercard of Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports' "New Blood" mixed martial arts event at Twin River. Tugman has experience on his side, but he's also been out of the cage for more than two years. In the interim, he earned a job as an assistant wrestling coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown and also opened his own private wrestling academy for youths and high-school students in Branford, so while he didn't have the time to actively pursue a fight, he spent most of the past two years maintaining his wrestling and his conditioning.

Will rust be a factor Friday?

"I doubt it," Tugman said. "I feel pretty good. I've been training pretty hard these past three months helping other fighters prepare for fights, and I've been doing a lot more sparring and adding some workouts you normally wouldn't do unless you were preparing for a fight. I still practiced my wrestling, Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing during my layoff. It's not like I sat on the couch for two years."

While Soukhamthath acknowledges this will probably be his toughest fight as a pro, he's also noticed many changes within himself both in and outside of the cage. He's now working with regional boxing David Keefe to sharpen his stand-up game - "he's been the missing piece to the puzzle," Soukhamthath said - and he's improved drastically with each fight, culminating in an all-around solid effort in his win over Chase-Patrick in April.

"When I was an amateur, and even all the way up until my first pro fight, I didn't know how to finish. Now that's all I want to do. I'm hungry for it," he said. "I've shown I'm an all-around fighter; I can submit guys, beat them on the ground, or knock them out.

"Some people still think otherwise, and that's fine with me," he continued. "That's why people still want to fight me. They think my ground game is weak, but once they get a hold of me they see how strong I am and how hard it is to hold me down and keep me down. That's why mentality today is different than the Andre from two years ago."

Though Tugman has the edge in wrestling experience, he's aware of Soukhamthath's recent improvement and is preparing for the unexpected Friday.

"He's good on his feet and pretty good on the ground," Tugman said. "I have to be ready for everything."

Tickets for "New Blood" are $36.00, $56.00, $101.00 and $126.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.shop.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.

The undercard includes several regional matchups and intra-state showdowns, including the return of Providence light heavyweight Greg "Ribz" Rebello (15-4, 8 KOs) and Bridgewater, Mass., welterweight and former The Ultimate Fighter reality television series standout Chuck "Cold Steel" O'Neil (10-5, 2 KOs). After knocking out hometown favorite Jesse Peterson in Maine in February, Rebello will face Williamsport, Pa., veteran Lewis Rumsey (8-8, 4 KOs) next Friday while O'Neil will look to build off his win over Rhode Island's Keith Jeffrey in December when he faces Andrew Osborn (6-5, 1 KO) of Fayetteville, N.C.

One of the best intra-state showdowns will take place between East Providence, R.I., lightweight Nate "The Snake" Andrews (4-0, 2 KOs) and Lincoln veteran Jeff "Candyman" Anderson (11-7, 2 KOs). Andrews has risen considerably in the past year with wins in each of his first four fights, but has yet to face anyone as experienced and as tough as Anderson; known for fighting the best opposition in the northeast, Anderson has wins over Damien Trites, John Ortolani and Pete Jeffrey on his resume, but has lost three consecutive bouts, albeit against Mike Campbell, Matt Bessette and Saul Almeida, who have combined for 36 wins.

In the bantamweight division, highly-touted amateur Sophanarith Am will make his professional debut Carlos Hernandez of Lynn, Mass., and Providence veteran Joe Reverdes (1-2) - fighting for the first time since August - will fight Williamsport's Joshua Aarons (1-6). In what could be one of the best fights on the undercard, veterans Pedro Gonzalez (7-5) of Rockport, Mass., and Sidemar Honario (8-3, 2 KOs) will square off in a three-round bantamweight bout.

Providence welterweight Ruben Ortiz will make his highly-anticipated debut against fellow newcomer Brian Sparrow of Sandwich, Mass., and Eric Spicely (1-0) of Providence will take on newcomer Tundee Oduyingho of Johnston, R.I., in a welterweight bout. Coventry, R.I., featherweight Shaun Marmas (5-4) will also be featured in a separate bout. All fights and fighters are subject to change.