The Power of Scotland 2 !

The Power of Scotland 2 !

Once again a top-class event put on by the STBA, promoter Gary O Brien putting on a thrilling show which included an “8-to-1 “tournament at 67 kgs sanctioned by the WMC. 

The capacity crowd was lined-up along the street before the doors even opened – ready for the show which went for 8 action-packed hours in total!

There was a solid undercard with fighters from all over the UK but the main event was the Super-8 with the following boxers:Denis Varaxa, Belarus, Tim Thomas , England, Michael Dicks, England ,. Craig Jose, England, ThongChaiLek, Thailand, Steven Meikle, Scotland, Lloyd Cochran, Scotland and Rudof Durcia , Slovakia. The initial rounds were 3 x3 minutes, modified Thai rules — no elbows with the final 3x 3 Full Thai Rules.

As well as the fine line-up of male fights, the fans were also treated to an international women’s bout between Hilary Mack (UK) and Jennifer Martinez (France) at 53 kgs over 5 rounds.

Round one saw Martinez came out with a unique footwork movement which she kept up throughout the fight. Mack had a longer reach and utilized this with a nice kick to the head and several strong push kicks. Second round saw Mack send Martinez to the canvass with a well-timed body kick, but Martinez was straight back to her feet. Martinez’s only retaliation in the clinch were several body shots. Round three saw Martinez try to step up her work rate with combinations. Mack remained calm and again worked on the outside with push-kicks and body-kicks.

Round four saw Martinez using lots of combination and again favouring body shots. Mack replied with solid, accurate knees, a push kick to Martinez’s face and again managed to put Martinez to the canvass. The final round saw Martinez landing a few good clean shots and working in lower leg kicks but once again Mack dominated the round and clearly owned the clinch
Result a well deserved points win for Mack.

The Super-8 was the main draw of the night with much speculation as to the final winner !

First up was Rudolf Durica (Slovakia) against Tim Thomas (England).The first round was won convincingly by Thomas with his devastating lower leg kicks sweeping Durica off his feet twice in the round – Thomas taking full advantage of his significant height advantage. In the second Durica seemed to wake up and there was a lot of clinching with good knee exchanges from both — Durica managing to put Thomas on the floor, however Thomas was too strong for Durica to dominate or put pressure on. The third round again was mainly clinching and lots of knee exchanges — once again Thomas dominated the round resulting in a points win for Thomas.

Next up was an all-England affair between Michael Dicks and Craig Jose.Jose came out strong in the 1st round with lots of nice upper cut and knee combinations. The second saw a lot more punching from both fighters — Dicks came stronger then the 1st but Jose reciprocated with accurate upper cuts and continued to look the sharper fighter. Round three was a battle of wills to the end again a round with fast and furious combinations from both boxers. Jose’s stamina carried him though and he took a points win.

Another international bout followed this with ThongChailek (Thailand) taking on Lloyd Cochran (Scotland). Again there was a noticeable height difference between these two boxers. Round 1 saw Cochran come out and power in big punches from an almost unassailable reach difference. In the second, Thongchailek turned this back on him in the clinch and racking up the more points by using the knee, he also managed to turn and drop Cochran to the floor. Cochran continued on with his attack of punches. Round three again saw Thongchailek working the clinch and using a greater variety of techniques to continue scoring with several knees to the back which Cochran had no answer for — a points win to Thongchailek much to the disappointment of the crowd.

The final first round saw Steve Meikle (Scotland) stepping in against Dennis Varsaxa (Belarus /Ukraine) Round 1 saw Dennis Varsaxa come out with a barrage of accurate shots — in true Belarus style! Meikle seemed strong in the clinch but Varsaxa was too confident for him with his high leg kicks and spinning back fists – takeing a KO victory after a mere 2minutes and 55 seconds! An exciting example of Muay Thai techniques at their best!

After a rest to recover and put themselves together again , Tim Thomas v Craig Jose took to the ring. Jose started out strong with leg-kicks, seeming to give Thomas some problems with his right leg early in the round. By the second round, Jose was really going in front – giving Thomas a count and following with strong kicks and knees to the head. He kept the pressure on in the 3rd — grabbing Thomas’ leg and sweeping him to the floor . Thomas’ defense left in his down in this round and he couldn’t complain when Jose took a clear points victory.

The next semi was an action-packed thriller with Thongchailek and Dennis Varsaxa really putting on a show for the fans ! Round one saw Varsaxa working his height advantage, sending in push-kicks to the face, head-kicks and several long knees.

Thongchailek responed with a beautiful managed a flying knee , almost sending the Belarus boxer out of ring ! Working on the inside, Thongchailek sent Varsaxa to th canvas but over all Varsaxa still dominated the round. Round two saw Thongchailek working on his opponent’s legs, powerful pushes and low-kicks starting to rack up the points for him . But then Varsaxa delivered a beautifully accurate spinning-fist which knocked Thongchailek out and gave him a path to the finals.

So an international final,England against Belarus for the WMC /SMTA 8-to-1 !

Craig Jose v Dennis Varsaxa

Both fighters were tired but came out all cynliders firing , knowing this would not be an easy one. Round one saw Varsaxa pulling out all the stops technique wise working body hooks, jumping elbows, spinning punches, strong punches and leg kicks. Jose remained composed and strong, solid counter-attacks and sending in a good knee to Varsaxa’s head in the clinch.
Round two saw Jose coming forward — strong and sure techniques working his leg kicks, body shots. Varsaxa caught Jose’s leg, sweeping him onto the canvass and attempted his spinning punch again but unable to land it accurately.

Jose began to wear Varsaxa down landing devastating elbows to the back of Varsaxa’s head and shoulders. Round 3 saw Varsaxa come out seeming less confident and tired. He attempted a spinning elbow but missed leaving the way open for Jose. Jose really came into his own in the later half of the round landing accurate elbows to Varsaxa’s head and driving in long knees to his solar plexus. Towards the end of the round Varsaxa seemed to run out of steam and had no reply to the barrage of elbows and punches coming from Jose.

A well deserved winner after 9 full rounds for Newcastle boxer Craig Jose!

Among the other highlights was yet another international bout between Richard Cadden, UK and Rung, Thailand. The Thai fighter started well sending in what looked to be a fight-ender of a body-kick and following with powerful shots but Cadden weathered the assault and then , to the disappointment of the crowd ! finished the fight with an accurate elbow and took the win!

A long night but filled with enough action to the keep the fans in their seats and at their tables! Congratulations to the promoter Gary O Brien, his team at the SMTA — the WMC representative doing great work to promote the sport of MuayThai and bring it to a greater audience in Scotland and the UK.

We will certainly look forward to the next event in October!

Report by Cath Bennett