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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
RESERVE JUDGEMENT - May 28th, 2005 / Calgary, Alberta,
Canada
On May 28th, 2005 Muay Thai returned to Calgary with a vengeance with
one of the most exciting events the city has seen in years.
The event was completely sold out with hundreds
of people showing up at the door wanting to buy tickets just for standing
room only.
The executive and the membership of the Calgary
Amateur Kickboxing & Muay Thai Association want to thank everyone
for their incredible support and also wants to assure the public that
the next event will be in a bigger venue.
The next event is in the planning stages and it
will be a knockout, to say the least!
THE CARD
The main event was for the vacant IKF World Lightheavyweight Muay
Thai Title. The two principals in the bout were Calgary, Canada's
Scott 'Pitbull' Clark and his opponent, Nenad Grujic from Switzerland.
The venue was filled with electricity as everyone
anticipated the main event and the final bout of the evening.
When it was time to fight, the Swiss athlete was
announced and he built the tension by taking his time to finally come
to the ring.
Clark was then announced and the audience went
crazy.
The Canadian came out behind his 7 title belts
that were paraded around the ring by his team mates behind the Canadian
flag.
It was a very impressive display.
Once both athletes were in the ring, the national
anthems were played.
After the tunes, the two athletes were again reintroduced
and it was time for the athletes Wai Kru's.
Both athletes performances were starkly different
but equally impressive as the audience watched spell bound.
Once this was over with, it was time for business
while the audience held its collective breath.
As soon as the bell went, the two athletes met
in the middle of the ring.
There was no feeling out process.
Grujic came out fast and strong catching Clark
with some very hard punches sending the Canadian backwards.
Grujic wanted to stop Clark and he was throwing
very heavy leather to do so.
At one point it looked like Clark's right eye was
starting to swell from some of the blows that were getting through.
During the first round when Clark would try and
clinch and knee, the Swiss athlete seemed to be able to keep the Canadian
off at will. But towards the end of the first round, Clark started
catching his foe with some strong clinch work and knees and the audience
went crazy.
In round two, Clark picked up the pace and started landing
some brutal body punches followed by strong cut kicks and/or knees
(very impressive combination work).
Grujic was still throwing heavy shots but the
frequency had dipped due to Clarks' pressure and work ethic.
Clark was true to his nickname 'Pitbull' as he
was tenacious and unforgiving.
Clark kept delivering some very strong hand combinations
followed by cut kicks.
When Grujic would move in close, Clark would deliver
good strong knees followed by a lot of uppercuts which connected.
Grujic was not able to keep Clark off of him anymore.
A blitz from Clark had the Swiss athlete stunned
and as a result, Grujic was given an eight count.
The fight continued and Clark swarmed Grujic with
punches, kicks, and knees finally dropping the Swiss athlete to the
canvas.
The 'Pitbull' now had the Swiss athlete at his
mercy.
Grujic did not make it up in time during the count
and Clark won the bout by 1:42 of the second round.
"I predicted a knockout and the two styles
of these athletes was not to prove me wrong.
Grujic came out heavy and hard in the first round,
almost throwing caution to the wind, while Clark waited for and seized
the opportunity when the Swiss athlete made a mistake", said
Clark's coach Mr. Mike Miles.
Clark add's the IKF World Lightheavyweight Muay Thai Title to his
resume (presented by Mr. Fossum) and has matured as a fighter ten
fold in the last year. He would definitely fit in with some of the
best professional athletes in the world now. Where to go from here?
Clark is looking at the 2005 IFMA World Championships
in Bangkok in August and hopefully he will be making his professional
debut in Calgary in autumn.
The semi main event was a 'Grudge' rematch between Calgary's Rayelene
'B.B.' Kellock and New York's Natalie Fuz.
The bout was battled under full Muay Thai rules.
These two had battled each other twenty months before with Kellock
winning a split decision.
The fight had Kellock landing consistent low kicks and many roundhouse
kicks to the body.
But the majority of Kellock's fight was her trying
to land her punch combinations.
Fuz would snap out of the way of the punches, and
then go to the clinch. Fuxz did not dominate the clinch as she did
in the two athlete's encounter but she still had a slightly higher
work rate.
This was enough for Fuz to walk away with the split
decision on this encounter.
This has now set the two athletes up for the rubber
match.
Where and when, who knows?
But these two will want to set the record straight.
"I felt Fuz won the first bout and Kellock
won this bout, regardless they should do it a third time", laughed,
Kellock's coach Mike Miles.
"I have had the encounters between these
two scored backwards."
The under card featured
seven exciting bouts.
- Jesse Miles (Canada) vs. Lucas McDevitt (USA)
Miles was originally set to battle a Swiss athlete. Unfortunately
Jason Cutbill's opponent could not make the event (to short of a time
to get a Visa) and finding a suitable replacement was the task at
hand. The very capable and experienced Lucas McDevitt was found. Unfortunately
he was too heavy for Cutbill (by two divisions). Miles volunteered
to move up one division and squared off with the American and Cutbill
moved up a division to tackle the Swiss athlete. The opening round
of this bout was incredible. McDevitt threw some very good combinations
but Miles looked very slick. Miles used positioning and kicks to avoid
McDevitt's strong blows. A few good right hands got through to Miles
who kept very composed and used positioning so McDevitt could not
capitalize. Towards the end of the first round, Miles landed a strong
frontal knee in the clinch that hurt the American but the bell sounded
ending the round. The second round had McDevitt pick up the pace and
rushing at Miles, forcing the two to the ropes. He swarmed Miles who
kept composed. In the middle of the round the two fell into a clinch
in the middle of the ring, and Miles suddenly spun and pitched the
American off balance. McDevitt regained his balance but while doing
so, Miles delivered a devastating right roundhouse which caught the
American on the right eye and dropped him to the canvas. "It
was so fast that I did not see it", said coach Mike Miles. "I
had to ask everyone what happened." McDevitt could not continue.
The kick had shut and injured his eye. The winner by KO in the second
round was Jesse Miles. These two athletes looked like professional
athletes. A great win for Miles but the bout was so enjoyable that
watching a few more rounds would have been awesome.
- Jason Cutbill (Canada) vs. Adrian Bachler (Switzerland)
This was a very good fight. Cutbill was facing an athlete as tall
as him (rare). Having moved up two division for this bout on very
short notice, Cutbill played the opening of the fight very warily.
Cutbill provided a good tight defense. Bachler seemed to control the
fight in the first round, but towards the end of the round Cutbill
landed a devastating right hand that had the Swiss athlete stumbling
around the ring while he took an eight count. The remainder of the
rounds were Bachler delivering and landing his low kick while also
teeping at Cutbill's lead leg. As each round progressed Cutbill turned
up the pressure while the Swiss athlete seemed to fade in the endurance
department. In the clinch Cutbill proved that his clinching skills
and his knees were slightly more effective than Bachler's. The result
of the bout was an unanimous decision for Cutbill. The Swiss athlete
provided strong opposition to Cutbill who now looks forward to his
next fight in the USA.
- Phil Leier (Canada) vs. Brian Robertson (USA)
Coming off of three straight losses, the pressure was on Leier to
turn things around. Robertson came and gave Leier a great fight. The
initial rounds seemed to go to Robertson but this was over the course
of the fight, to change. In his last few fights, Leier has seemed
to fade as each round has progressed. This was not the case during
this fight. Rounds four and five were won by Leier who pressed, out
clinched and out scored and outworked Robertson. Robertson came and
gave Leier everything he could handle. This was a very good fight
and though Leier won, it was very close. Robertson was very impressive
to say the least.
- Darren Snell (Canada) vs. Brandon Gay (USA)
This was a war from start to finish. Gay rushed forward and pressed
throughout the whole fight. Snell did not seem to be able to get into
the bout the way he wanted. Gay was a very busy athlete to say the
least. Snell would land a shot and not follow it up, and as a consequence,
Gay would recover and then press forward to the clinch. Snell won
the bout by split decision but the decision easily could have went
the other way. Do we hear rematch?
- Misty Sutherland (Canada) vs. Rima Sidhu (USA)
This was a exciting battle. Sutherland was by far the busier of the
two athletes but much of her arsenal was missing scoring cleanly.
In the second round, Sutherland took a kick to the throat and signalled
to the referee she needed a moment. As a consequence she was given
a standing eight count. Most feel that it was the standing eight which
gave the split decision to the American fighter Sidhu. Both athletes
gave it their all.
- Bryan Campbell (Canada) vs. Beau Corbbrey (USA)
The second bout of the evening had these two athletes throwing heavy
leather at each other. Campbell was to win the fight as he turned
the pressure up each round. Corbbrey fought back with desire, good
skills and determination. Campbell won the fight by unanimous decision.
- Nate Smandych (Calgary) vs. Fawz Amin (Vancouver)
This opening bout set the tone for the evening. What a great fight
it was between these two athletes. Smandych relied on his kicking
skills while Amin relied on his punching skills. During the infighting
it became obvious that Smandych was a Muay Thai fighter because everyone
could see the urge to knee (he did not). Amin came and displayed his
great stamina and move and hit tactics. Smandych won the bout by unanimous
decision. A great bout to start a great card!
CAKMA has big plans for its next event including the long awaited
return to Calgary by one of Canada's most respected athletes, Trevor
'T.N.T.' Smandych. An opponent from Thailand is in the mix for this
one. Also, the event tentatively includes professional athletes Jason
'Ironman' Fenton and Phil Petit. Possibly the professional debut of
Scott 'Pitbull' Clark and Rayelene 'B.B.' Kellock.
Keep watching for more...
***This press release
is brought to you by the executive and membership of the Calgary Amateur
Kickboxing and MuayThai Association (CAKMA) a registered not
for profit association***
For further information regarding this release
or sponsorship opportunities please contact Robin Finley Media
Relations, Phone: (403) 816-7022, Email: robintf@telus.net
The following information is also located at http://www.ikfkickboxing.com/news-current.htm
This is only a small portion of the article, please
go to this website to see the full article...
SUNDAY, May 29th, 2005, AT 2:10 AM, PT
This Pitbull Bites With Knees!
Scott Clark Captures
IKF Amateur World Title In Canada!
The Canadian flag flew high and proud in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
last night as 2004 IKF Amateur Muay Thai North American Champion Scott
"Pitbull" Clark added yet another piece of IKF Gold to his
trophy case. A Trophy case filled with plenty of Gold already mind
you. Clark used a barrage of knees in an explosive knee attack to
drop his opponent, Nenad Grujic of Switzerland to the ground at 1:32
of round 2 of the scheduled 5 round bout. It would be there that Grujic
would stay until referee Tim Yorke finished the full 10 count making
the official win time at 1:42 of round 2. The win earned Clark the
IKF Amateur Light Heavyweight World MuayThai Title and his 22nd win
along with his 15th win by KO/TKO. The loss was only the second of
Grujic's career.
Clark controlled the first round which say far
less action between the two. Grujic caught Clark with a pretty solid
uppercut but Clark answered back with punches of his own as well as
his powerful knees. In the clinch Clark was simply too strong for
Grujic who simply could not escape. This was the proving fact in the
end when Clark took hold of Grujic and just exploded his body with
knees. Congratulations to Scott on his win and becoming the newest
IKF Amateur World Champion!
As for the event? Well, when some talk about sellout
crowds and standing room only, many question if it's true. However
if you were in the house last night you would have no problem confirming
the fact that this was a "Standing room only sellout!" It
was estimated at between 800 and 1,000 which did not include the many
who had to be turned away due to the venue capacity. This event ran
flawless and each of the scheduled 9 bouts were exciting from bell
to bell. Although the other 8 bouts were not sanctioned by the IKF,
these other 18 fighters are more than deserving of attaining some
press here.
CAKMA would like to thank
all of the following:
- The Coaches: All of these individuals were extremely professional,
enthusiastic, and a pleasure to work with. Mr. Daniel Born (Switzerland),
Mr. Simon Burgess (USA), Mr. Ricky Anderson (USA), Mr. Muhsin Corrbrey
(USA), Mr. Scott Hicks (USA), Mr. Nelson Burtnick (Canada), Mr. Trevor
Smandych (Canada) and Mr. Mike Miles (Canada).
- The Officials: Dr. Andy Anton, Calgary EMS, Mr. Tim Yorke, Mr. Brett
Herman, Mr. Tony Hobbs, Mr. Jean Doyon, Mr. Mike Zientek, Mr. Greg
Twentymen, and Mr. Steve Fossum (IKF World President).
- The Sponsors: The Calgary SUN, The Sandman Hotel, Allan, Screamin
Demon Motorcycles, Inland Audio Visual, Mike Miles Muay Thai and Kickboxing,
United Graphics, Bushido Tattoo, Calgary Sports Therapy - Dr. Jason
Dyck, Dr. Brian Ruddy, J.F. Mackie & Company, Zeiler Enterprises,
Marmot Concrete, Sprung Instant Structures, Coyotes Night Club, Mike
Miles National Kickboxing (NW), Prestige Landscape Maintenance Ltd.,
Kane's Harley Davidson Motor Cycles, Dominion Automatic Transmission,
Classic Truck Repair, Clean Brite Canada, Cannex Contracting 2000
Inc., Bluebird Excavating & Demolition Ltd., Martha's Master Cleaners,
Dr. John and Mary Cutbill, Destiny Resources, Ace Explosives, Great
Slave Helicopters, GreenGate Garden Centres Ltd., Mr. Terry Svarich,
Chianti's Cafe and Restaurant, Little Caesar's, Security Life and
Investments, Milestone Asset Management Ltd., Lakeview Mobile Home
and RV Park, The Money Stop (Grand Prairie), Scenic Acres Husky, PS
Graphics, Amre Supply, Azzlo Industries Ltd., IPS, Storcare, Tesla
Exploration, Dr. Helen Kolozetti, Professional Diesel Repair, Stromboli's,
Mr. Shaun Byrne, Ms. Heather Kuma,Wire It Electrical Services, Trane,
Mr. Pat Fagan (Lawyer) and L.A. Trucking.
- Finally a big 'thank you' to all the volunteers, the public and
the incredible support the event received from the media in Calgary.
Of course, a huge thank you to the athletes for putting on such a
great show!
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For further information regarding this release, ticket information,
press access or sponsorship opportunities please contact Robin Finley
Media Relations, Phone: (403) 816-7022 or email:
robintf@telus.net
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