On the 11 th and 12 th of August , some of the worlds best boxers - male and female gathered to celebrate Her Majesty's birthday. The 2 day Festival was a joint promotion between the WMC/ IFMA and One Songchai Promotions – joining together to bring the best of the best from around the world to match with the Thai athletes.

his was the second year of the S1 Women's championships and what an exciting event it was! Not only the S1 but many other thrilling women's fights as well as a male WMC Intercontinental Title and a WMC MuayThai Against Drugs title.

Women's fights.

The 8-woman S1 (118 lb) tournament took place on Friday the 11 th . The boxers were;

Lucia Corrigan ( UK ) vs Pavla Stankeova ( Czech Republic )

Noriko Tsunoda ( Japan ) vs Melisa Ray ( UK )

Petchprewpraw Kasa Gym ( Thailand ) vs Maria Henija ( Finland )

Nongnan Dejratana ( Thailand ) vs Jomyuthying Kiat Nor Vor ( Thailand )

The tournament took place in the middle of the afternoon, the temperature soaring to 33 degrees which made it even tougher for the fighters as they faced off. There were 3 rounds – initial, semi and the final.

First into the ring were Mellisa Ray (UK) and Jomyuthying Kiat Nor Vor ( Thailand ). This was an exciting although brief fight which the Thai fighter took on a TKO when she opened a cut just above Melissa's eye. Melissa was doing well in the clinch, landing some accurate knees but took 2 blows to the temple and was unable to continue. Great timing and beautiful footwork here from Jomyuthying – the MuayThai International 2005 Champion.

Next up was Pavla Stankeova ( Czech Republic ) against Lucia Corrigan (UK ). Lucia (IFMA 2006 Bronze medalist) took this one against the 2004 Queen's Cup champion in spite of tough opposition. Lucia worked well on the inside and stopped her with a powerful knee.

In the other group, the first fight was between Maria Henija , Finland and Nongnan Dejratana , Thailand . Maria (IFMA 2006 World Champion) had a great fight here, showing solid skills and throwing some great punch combinations which closed Nongnan down so she was unable to work as well as usual in the grapple – she holds the Rachburi and Theppasit Stadium titles.

The final fight in this initial round was between Noriko Tsunoda from Japan and Petchprewpraw Kasa Gym from Thailand . With 70 fights between them, this was an exciting battle. Noriko walked forward for the whole fight , landing some solid leg-kicks but was not able to disturb the Thai fighter who took the fight on points.

    

As the winners recovered and prepared for the semi-finals, there was a demonstration fight with two famous Thai movie stars promoting Amateur Muaythai and wearing the protection used in the IFMA World Championships – showing that the level of skill and techniques used for both are similar. This had the crowd on their feet !

Then, we had an exciting Junior bout between Joshua Hinton, Australia and Paren Luangpun from Thailand . Both boys were 9 years old and weighed in at 28 kgs. This was a great bout, both boys giving it their all and was called a draw by the 3 judges. Another fantastic promotion for Junior Muaythai - what an honor for the boys to fight in such an amazing atmosphere .

The first semi-final in the S1- women's tournament was between Lucia and Jomyuthing. Jomyuthing took the fight to her right from the start, moving in and determined not to hang about in the ring – her grappling skills were just incredible to watch, she threw Lucia to the canvas 3 times and as Lucia battled back with powerful punches, landed an elbow to the temple and stopped the fight.

This was followed by Maria and Petchprepraw, another great fight with Maria really showing her full power and taking the win.

So, the stage was set for Finland vs Thailand . This was a great fight with both coming forward and really putting themselves on the line. It's really great to see women fighters of this quality and realize how far the standards have risen in the last few years. Jomyuthing really shone here, using all 8 weapons in perfect combinations and solid power behind every shot. Also what was amazing was the fact that we had two IFMA World finalists meeting here. This was a thrilling match with the Thai girl taking the fight and proudly lifting the trophy donated by Her Royal Highness the Queen . Thailand was proud as the trophy will stay at least for another year in Thailand .

After this excitement, the other women's fight continued throughout the day and well into the night.

Among the fights were 2 WMC special bouts involving foreign fighters - Carly Kelly of Australia against Natalie Fuz of France , followed by Natalie Zoukdas , Sweden against Leane Donaldson from England . Both of these fights went the distance and were again of a high standard.

Carly had a tough fight against the French fighter , she took some punishment in the opening round from strong punches but then found her rhythm and landed some great leg kicks , working away on Natalie's front leg and working round the ring with some powerful combinations. A lot of grappling in this fight, with Natalie seeking to use her height advantage and control the fight – some good footwork was needed by Carly to keep herself in the fight. A win on points for Australia .

Leane took the lead from the beginning of the 2 nd fight, walking forward in an aggressive manner and really taking the fight to her opponent. Natalie fought a defensive battle, landing some good body-kicks but having real problems in countering Leane's forward blows and seemed content to wait and allow Leane to dictate the fight. A good showing from both girls, neither very experienced yet so we are sure to see great improvements from both the next time they enter the ring. A points victory for Leane.

A group of up and coming Thai women fighters filled out the card :

Superking Sithbuathong 102 lbs was beaten by Petchudon Sor Arisa; Pornpetch Paradon Gym 112 lbs lost on points to Rakangmai Sor Arisa; Bovi Suwit Gym won at 115 lbs over Jomhod Looknongree;

Kingpailek Sor WatcharaGym lost out at 100 lbs to Toto Kor Virash and in an exciting KO , Thepsatree Naratreekul 105 lbs won against Petchmongkut Wimonshool.

Two other foreign women fighters took part in the show - Iman (Bartlow) Jittygym at 105 lbs won in a 4 th round KO against Playsuay Sakrungrueng , Thailand . This was a great fight with both fighters showing great levels of skill and Iman looking very composed and professional throughout – a very tight guard and powerful kicks; another super star in the making.

his was followed by Jubjaeng Sor Pornsanae of Thailand against Veronica Chalongchai Muaythai, Norway . Another evenly matched fight with both fighters very strong in the grapple , Veronica taking it on points.

Men's fights.

And, as well as the women's fights, we also some thrilling battles from the men over the 2 day Festival which took place in Sanam Luang in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

The highlights were an epic battle between Corey Gwaliasi ( New Zealand ) and Rafel Simonides ( Poland ) for the Muaythai against Drug belt, followed by the WMC Intercontinental Title between Bruce ‘The Preacher' MacFie and Farokh Jarrabashi from Iran .

First up was Mark Scariano against Rolex of Thailand. Mark put up a good effort, landing some great left hooks but eventually losing out on points to the more experienced Thai fighter.

Then we saw Simon Hughes of Australia taking on Paolo Keawsamrit from Italy . This was an exciting fight, the boys were well-matched - the crowd really got behind this one. Simon got off some really powerful body-kicks and followed with solid punch combinations. He took the fight on points.

We moved up a weight division then to 88kgs which saw Carlo LaTorre of Belgium taking on Andrei Sevirilov of Germany . This was a good fight with Carlo using leg-kicks to great effect; Andrei fought a defensive fight but in the end, just couldn't counter the power from the Belgian fighter who won on points.

In another international bout, Amir Hossein from Iran faced off against Ronnie Negarard from Denmark . Two very different styles here with Amir going in low to counter the height difference but in the end, Ronnie used this to his advantage and closed Amir down in the grapple to take the fight on points.

         

New Zealand and Poland was an incredible fight – full respect to both fighters for putting on an amazing display of MuayThai. They started at a blistering pace – firing off strong kick/punch combinations . Corey very aggressive from the start, walking forward and being met blow for blow by the Polish boxer. The crowd wondered if they could keep this up but 5 stunning rounds later, we knew they could. Rafel had said before the fight that he is partial to elbows – certainly a technician, slicing down again and again seeking to end the fight. Corey took most of them on his gloves but did end up with 20 stitches on 4 different cuts. Both moved at great speed, mixing up body and leg kicks with solid punching. Rafel slowed a little in the last 2 rounds, feeling the effects of those powerful body kicks but certainly never stopped working. Corey walking forward through everything that came at him, working around the elbows and landing some great kicks – reminiscent for the crowd of Bovy Sor Udomsuk , Thailand .

A truly exciting fight - Corey took the result on points and received the MuayThai Against Drugs title belt.

This was followed by the WMC Intercontinental fight. This was an interesting fight with the Preacher starting well but in the 2 nd Farokh put on the pressure and rocked Bruce with a massive right hand - the tempo stepped up then with both boxers moving in with leg-kicks and punches in preference to body-kicks. Both came out strong for the 3 rd rounds, the Iranian boy looking comfortable - moving back out of the clinch but then being caught by some powerful-looking long knees from Bruce which threw him against the ropes. Just before the end of the round, the Preacher opened up with a great punch combination, backed him again against the ropes and dropped Farokh to the canvas. The new WMC Intercontinental Middleweight Champion, Bruce MacFie from Australia . This moves MacFie right up the rankings and puts him in a position to challenge for the WMC World Title very soon.

All in all, a great weekend's boxing! The crowd of just under half-million were treated to an exciting display of MuayThai, a true celebration of this great sport in honour of Her Majesty's Birthday. A great show of co-operation too from the WMC / IFMA and One Songchai Promotions which brought home to everyone how international MuayThai has become with fighters from 21 countries travelling to compete in Bangkok for Her Majesty's birthday celebrations.

Special congratulation must go Ms Pariyakorn Ratanansuban ( daughter of Promoter Songchai) for organizing the famous tournament which was of an outstanding standard - clearly demonstrating that female Muaythai is as exciting as its male counterpart.

The world is looking forward for the Kings Birthday tournament in which the WMC and One Songchai promotion will once again work together on a very special event.