The International Muaythai Superfights in Malaysia a Knock Out

Many VIPs were among the spectators at the first International Muaythai Superfights.

The stadium Malawati in Shah Alam Malaysia was on fire for the first ever International Muaythai Superfights and the Malaysian Contender Qualifier. A crowd of over 4,000 spectators packed the stadium in which fighters from South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania fought for fame and glory. The opening fight was between Zidov Akuma of the Contender Asia season 1 and Abbas Ahmadi from Iran. It was the perfect opening fight as the two warriors went toe to toe for 5 rounds. In the end the decision went to the Iranian boxer.

An exciting 2nd fight of the night from the females.	Tiana gets a few words of wisdom from fellow Aussie, Soren of The Contender Asia season 1.

A fist full of fury...	Tiana proudly sporting the WMC Female Intercontinental Title Belt.

The second fight of the evening was the WMC Female Intercontinental Title fight between Tiana “The Tiger” Caverley from Australia and Olivia Jackson from South Africa. If anyone had any doubts as to the entertainment value of female fights, this fight definitely showed that female fights are just as exciting or even more so than male fights. Both girls displayed their Muaythai arsenal to perfection, and it was Tiana that got in the better shots to claim the WMC Intercontinental Title. It is with this caliber of performance that will see her be a major contender for the WMC World Title.

Khoo Meng Yang makes his entrance	Bernard Radin masks his face from his opponent

Next up was the Malaysian Super 4 Contender Qualifier. The crowd went absolutely bananas when these boys made their entrance. The first fight was between Bernard Radin and Tengku Sharizal. The fight really could only be described as a war. The judges could not separate the fighters and it had to go to an extra round, the round of death in which Tengku won by the narrowest of decisions.

Next up was the 2nd Contender Qualifier Super 4 fight between Hashim Ramli and Khoo Meng Yang. Another war in which the judges again had to call for and extra round. Hashim took the win by the closest margin.

Tengku and Bernard battle it out for the chance to advance to the Super 4 finals.	Tengku Ramli secures his victory for the chance to participate in Contender Asia season 2.

Following that was a bout between Leonardo Monteiro form Brazil VS Zach from Singapore, also a Contender Season 1 veteran. These two boys also went hard from the opening bell. Zach suffered a cut over his eye in the second round and once again his shoulder caused him grief. The referee had to stop the fight, and so the decision went to Brazil.

Leonardo Monteiro claims the Muaythai Against Drugs title beating out Zach from Singapore.

The WMC International Challenge saw a slog out between Sean Wright and Singha Siri from Thailand. This was a fight Malaysia will be remembering for a long time to come. The Thai dominated the first 3 rounds with textbook Muaythai. In the 4th round, Sean changed his tactics and opened up a cut on the Thai. In round five, Sean knew he was behind on points and it was one of the hardest punch and elbow exchanges seen in a long time. The Thai bleeding heavily at only one minute to go wanted to fight on but the referee stopped the fight and both fighters received a standing ovation. A re-match is a must!

Contender Champ Yodsaenklai	Yodsaenklai says a few words to the crowd who went wild for their beloved champion

The action didn’t stop there, the Final of the Super 4 brought the house down, and the winner, Tengku from the Malaysian Police force, went home with a belt proudly strapped around his waist. There were so many VIPs and sports personalities in the crowd, far too many to mention, but Yodsaenklai the Contender champion made an emotional speech in the ring and his fame was apparent when he entered the stadium to a roaring crowd. Charissa Chan, an associate producer from the Contender Asia was an impressive female emcee for the night. She was accompanied by Viknesh form Mandate International.

Contender Host and WMC Vice President Stephan Fox

Contender host and WMC Vice President also brought the house down when he announced the WMC Grand Prix in Malaysia in December. Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan, president of IFMA was on hand to give out plaques of appreciation to representatives of the Malaysian Government, the General Secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia and many other VIPs in attendance. A special thank you must go out to Mr. Alan Cheng and his team from Mandate International for putting on an unforgettable night. The event will be aired on Astro, Fox Sport and TGN in 170 countries around the world.

*Photographs contributed by Vincent Lee & Nadya Shahabuddin

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