Rumble at the Reebok

Another brilliant event was successfully organized this weekend, in the United Kingdom, under WMC and UKMF sanctioning.

The Bolton Rebook Stadium saw on Saturday one of the biggest muaythai events ever put on in England, the Rumble 4, with 15 fights running from 4.30pm to 11.00pm, and great names showing their best skills.

The 4 main fights, that came at the end of the evening, saw firstly Ivan Daminov (Firewalker) facing Andy Thrasher (GFC). Once into the 3^rd round, with elbows flying left and right, Daminov stumbles and is given an 8 count. Thrasher pushes forward until the referee is obliged to stop the contest. The seventh fight of the night finishes therefore with Andy having the best over Ivan, with a fantastic KO 2 minutes into the 3^rd round.

The second fight lined up in the main session of the evening brought Willie Dempster (Dragons Dumfries) to compete against Mark Skeer (Salford). Both fighters come out right at the first round ready for a fight and the action began immediately. The second round seemed to be dominated by Skeer, with some good boxing combinations, while the third puts the two fighters back to a tie, as Dempster elbows Skeer as soon as the bell marks the beginning of the round. It isn’t until the end of fifth round that the fight is decided, with an unanimous points decision in favor of Mark Skeer.

A B Class female fight was next on the schedule: Mandy Stainthorpe (Silipa Muay Thai) vs. Cassie Robinson (Salford). The battle remained really close up until the third round, when Stainthorpe managed to get through Robinsons’ kicks and really began putting some pressure on Robinson, who slowly started to tire and weaken. Mandy Stainthorpe won by unanimous points decision.

The WMC “Muaythai against Drugs” title was then fought between Craig Jose (The Faktory) and Kevin Harper (Majestic). An exciting fight was foreseen from the first round. Both fighters pressured one another straight away releasing some single and powerful shots, testing the strength and composure of their opponent. While Harper continued to focus on scoring shots round after round, Jose’s pressure seems to have the best when at the end of the third round Harper was given an 8 count. With barely 30 seconds into the fourth round Craig Jose closes the fight with a KO and is successful in defending his title.

Chris Shaw (Douglas Muay Thai) and Michael Wakeling (Scorpions) took over everyone’s attention being the last on the ring. The much waited fight of the evening, the WMC Intercontinental Title. Wakeling, the current champion has to fight five long rounds before he is declared the winner by points and successfully defends his title.

* photos by Adam Crowther www.fightshop.com