Grimsby Martial Arts
Fight Night 8 The Real Contenders
Beachcomber Holiday Park
November 14th 2010
Grimsby Evening Telegraph
Clubs Taking Part
Grimsby Martial Arts Academy Grimsby
GFKC Grimsby
Woodsy Gym Grimsby
Primal Gym Grimsby
Independent Grimsby
RAW Combat London
Mussashi Northampton
Kickboxing Sanctioned by W.A.K.O, (Kickboxing governing body)
The first fight of the night started at 7pm in front of a packed house in the BeachComber Starlight rooms, Cleethorpes. The kickboxing part of the show was being sanctioned by WAKO who are the main world governing body for Kickboxing and the first time they had sanctioned an event in the area.
The opening fight was a great warm up with both fighters going for it, though towards the later stages of the rounds Kevin Benson showed he was a stronger fighter against G Matera from London, eventually winning it on points. The next fight Dan Thickett from GFKC took on the heavier Gaz West from Primal, who had excellent kicking technique. In the end it appeared that the weight and the kicks had taken their toll with Gaz West winning on points.
The next fight was the first time a K1 (elbows, knees and low kicks) event was staged on a real contenders show. It was also a full international affair with Latvian Edgars Dreikalis (Mussashi) taking on Italian Lorenzo Miglietta (RAW Combat). Both fighters showed their skill and brutal shots with Edgars proving the stronger in the finish winning on points. Next up was Grimsby Martial Arts very own Ben Horsewood, taking on the Latvian Alex Grigorjev (Musasshi). Ben started strong and place some good shots on his opponent, especially in the third round, pushing his opponent into the ropes with a volly of shots, eventually winning in points. After a short break WAKO put on an excellent K1 demo featuring 2 lads that had gone over to Holland (home of K1) coming back with a win and a draw. This saw the ckose of the Kickboxing part of the show sanctioned by WAKO and the start of the White Collar Boxing show. The fights are open to anyone who is not affiliated to a boxing governing body . First up was 2 young lads from GMAA. Scott Spowage and Bailey Bulpin. Both youngsters gave an excellent display and showed the audience how good kids of their age could be with a little dedication from coaches and club.
The next bout was between Cory Isherwood (GMAA) and Jake Sowter (Primal). After a tentative start, where both boxers where testing the water, Cory showed some excellent boxing skills and pushed through his advantage in the second round when the fight was stopped. Next up was a match up between Hubert Stanecki (GMAA) and Piotr Biniek(Mussashi). With this being a cruiserweight bout both men through some heavy shots but toward the end of the third round Hubert was well on top eventually winning the bout on points. Next up was Stuart Nixon(GMAA) against Taz (Primal Gym). The fight started quite even though as it progressed Taz pushed through his advantage winning a unanimous points decision. Next up was Jack Butler (GMAA) against Thomo (Independent). This fight started very even with both fighters throwing some great shots . Though through the second and third rounds Thomo pushed through his advantage, not before Jack had received a broken nose, even so he fought on. The fight ended with Thomo winning the bout on points. After another short break where the crowd got their breath back, the last 2 fights of the night took place. The first was between Matt Merreck (Woodys Gym) last minute replacement for the ill Nick Bass against Steve White (Woodys Gym). Both fighters again showed very good technical skill with the fight going from one person to the other. This was going to be a hard one to call as it looked fairly even and that’s how it eventually was given a draw. This brought us to the last fight of the night, a 5 round thriller between Michelle Barnes(Woodys Gym) against Heidi De Gruuchy (Independent). The fight started at a frantic rate with both fighters giving it all they had. Into the second round Michelle started to push forward and started to get on top though through all the rounds neither fighter gave up each determined not to go down or be beaten though towards the 5th round it was clear that Heidi needed a knock out to win which unfortunate for her did not come with Michelle winning the fight on points.
This was one of the biggest fight nights in the area and by the reaction of the audience at the end everyone had enjoyed the 3.5 hours of non stop action. Many thanks to WAKO, all the fighters, coaches and gyms that took part along with all the people who helped out. The next fight night is planned to take place next year at the same location. Anyone interested in fighting on the show please contact the Grimsby Martial Arts Academy, www.gmaa.co.uk or come down and start training for it at our own gym down Kent Street Grimsby.