UNLEASHED 2 Kickboxing Show Review

UNLEASHED – The Fight Show was a huge success for Genesis Martial Arts earlier in the year, attracting both local amateurs into their first contest in ‘the ring’, as well as drawing national level talent in the form of title bouts to headline the show. It was a sellout event within 7 days, and showed great promise for how Genesis could take their fight shows forward.

 After the successful first show, UNLEASHED 2 promised more of the same, but with a bigger and better venue, more seats, a vastly improved audio system, a food pre order service, and much more. With a wealth of local amateur fighters on the bill, along with 2 bona fide world champions fighting it out in the main event, it was a guaranteed sell out.  A professional film crew added to the professionalism, and come Sunday 30^th October the stage was set. For anyone living in the local area with an interest in Martial Arts, they must simply have been crazy to miss this!

The Fights:

1.      Naqash Iqbal Vs. Tom Stone (W)

Naqash and Tom had the unenviable task of opening the show. This was Naqash’s first appearance in a kickboxing show. Tom also took part in UNLEASHED 1, taking a close win over Beaconsfield kick boxer Peji Kanani. From the off both fighters started very fast, using a great range of punching and kicking techniques. Both were showing great control, as this was a light contact bout, meaning knockouts and power shots would be penalized. Naqash showed some great kicking techniques, however it was Tom who was racing ahead on the score cards, with a more diverse range of punches and movement. Into the second round Tom moved ahead more, placing more pressure on Naqash and showing a great range of technical ability. A brave performance from Naqash in his first show. Tom moves to 2-0.

Result: Unanimous decision, Tom Stone.

2.      Craig Johnson (W) Vs. Stewart Nicholson

This proved to be the closed fight of the day! Both Craig and Stewart train together on a weekly basis, so they were both very aware of each other’s abilities. Craig is a regular at the Unleashed Squad trainings, and competes around the country on a regular basis. Stewart also took part in UNLEASHED 1, taking a convincing win over Slough kick boxer Andrew Hill.

The fight didn’t disappoint, going back and forth, with convincing punching and kicking combinations from both fighters. Craig seemed to be taking the upper hand with his attacking, however Stewart is a great counter fighter and was working his defensive punching very well. After two hard fought rounds there wasn’t much in it.

Result: Split decision, Craig Johnson

3.      Waleed Bin Akram (W) Vs. Zain Iqbal

Next up it was time for the kids to show that although smaller in size, they can produce the same level (if not better) of skill, technique, power and fitness. This fight was a rematch from UNLEASHED 1, where Zain took the win by a narrow 1 point margin. Given their ages this fight was under semi contact, Pointsfighting rules. Zain started fast out of the gates, with excellent blitzing that surprised Waleed. After a few fast points Waleed began to find his timing however, producing some excellent counter punches and kicks to Zain’s attacks. This took Waleed into the lead on points. This continued into the second round, Zain had little choice but to chase for points, and despite the speed of his blitzing this allowed Waleed to keep working his defensive techniques, taking the fight at the end by a 3 point lead.

Result: Waleed Bin Akram wins by 3 points.

4.      Hubert Clarke (W) Vs. Ego Adoh

Fight number 4 now and it was time for the heavyweights! Local Fitness Instructor Hubert Clarke was up against Ego Adoh from Reading Nemesis club. Straight from the word go this was to be a crowd pleaser, with both guys showing superb levels of fitness and ability. Ego surprised everyone around (not least Hubert) with great leg flexibility, allowing him to produce fast, high and powerful kicks from almost any angle. Hubert kept his cool however, and piled on the pressure, showing great close range work and a high work rate. This continued into round 2, with Hubert continuing to pile ever increasing pressure, despite the great kicking ability from Ego. A great performance from both.

Result: Unanimous decision, Hubert Clarke.

After 4 great fights it was time for a brief intermission, with local musician Peter Hill providing the entertainment.

5.      Kyle Theobalds Vs. Kav Jones (W)

Back to the fighting, and it was time for the teenagers. Like some of the earlier bouts, Kyle and Kav have both trained together on numerous, and each was aware of the others abilities. Kyle started off quickly, using lots of energy with a full range of techniques. Kav took a more conservative approach, keeping his cool and therefore energy up. After a close first round however it was evident that Kyle was starting to tire. Into the second round and an energized Kav took his performance up a level, showing a great range of technical ability and control.

Result: Unanimous decision, Kav Jones.

6.      Charlie McDermott (W) Vs. Carl Right

Back to the adults now, with local High Wycombe kick boxer Carl Right up against Oxford’s Charlie McDermott. This was Carl’s first fight show, whereas Charlie had appeared in UNLEASHED 1, taking a clean win over Slough kick boxer / singer(!) Peter Hill. Straight into the fight and Carl was keen to show he was here to win, with powerful punching techniques. Charlie clearly had less power, and was working hard on defensive movement and clean scoring shots. A close first round. Into the second round and Carl still showing no letting up in his power, though Charlie could now see them coming a little earlier, and showed slightly more technical work with his movement and clean scoring. One of the closet fights of the day.

Result: Split Decision, Charlie McDermott.

7.      Adam Spittles (W) Vs. Peter Hill

This was a contentious one! Peter Hill was out to prove his dexterity by not only singing well but fighting well too, whereas Adam Spittles from Stockenchurch was determined to show him otherwise! A fast start from both resulted in a nose bleed for Adam and medical attention. After the medic approving, the fight continued, Adam was piling the pressure on, however Peter was showing slightly more skill by picking his shots well. Adam again was forced to stop through a continuing nose bleed. After a third stoppage the medics had to call an end to the fight. Under light contact rules, this meant we went to the scorecards to gain our result.

Result: After only one round of scoring, a narrow win for Adam Spittles. We may need a rematch on this one!

8.      Andrew Hill Vs. Antonio Quintal (W)

It was now turn for Peter’s brother Andrew to make his mark, against young Antonio Quintal. Peter had previously taken part in UNLEASHED 1, whereas this was Antonio’s first show. Both were keen to put the pressure on straight away, with powerful boxing techniques and kicking by both. A few more powerful shots from Antonio resulted in an official warning – punching too hard. Again this is a light contact fight. Into the second round and it was still close. A bloody nose for Andrew meant a medical check, and a subsequent stoppage. Off to the score cards again! A powerful showing of boxing technique by both fighters.

Result: Unanimous decision, Antonio Quintal.

9.      Jake McCarthy (W) Vs. Kieron Ayres

Back to the teenagers again, and it was Watford’s’ Jake McCarthy up against London Warrior’s Kieron Ayres. Both fighters started well, showing huge technical ability, with great movement, kicks, combinations and work rate. With Jake moving ahead slightly on clean shots, a severe nose bleed for Kieron meant a stoppage by the medic. A disappointing end to a fight which could have provided some great entertainment. The judges went to the score cards..

Result: After one round of scoring, a unanimous decision for Jake McCarthy.

After 5 entertaining fights it was time for an intermission, followed by a superb demonstration of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) from Mr. Richard Salter. Richard brought along two of his students, Phil and Chris, who provided a very entertaining and great technical demonstration of the world’s fastest growing sport.

10.  Josh Etherington (W) Vs. Hakeem Ali

After the break it was back to the kids again now with a Pointfighting matchup between Josh from Stokenchurch, and Hakeem from High Wycombe. Despite Hakeem having the size advantage it was Josh who started fast out of the gates, with plenty of fast blitzing to take Hakeem by surprise. Hakeem soon found his footing however, and started to claw back his 5 point deficit. Into the second round and Hakeem had brought the scores even, with only a few seconds to go it was anyone’s fight, and the crowd were right behind both of these young guys. A ring of the bell and a look towards to scores, showed Josh to have taken the win by 1 point!

Result: Josh Etherington wins by 1 point.

11.  John Woodley Vs. Soroush Mahdavi (W)

Back up a few weight categories and it was time for the light heavy weight (85-90kg) adult men. This was John’s first fight show, up against Soroush, a regular from the Unleashed Squad trainings, and winner in the closest bout this year in UNLEASHED 1 against Beaconsfield’s Kurt Hicks. This was a case of higher grade but less fight experience, vs. lower grade with higher fight experience. On paper it was anyone’s guess. Soroush started the fight in his typical way, piling on the pressure and keeping in close range. John doing what he could to keep Soroush away with long range techniques. After round 1 it was Soroush who was well ahead on points, with John seemingly unsure about how to deal with what was in front of him. A nose bleed for John meant a timeout for medical attention. After being unable to stop the nosebleed the medics called an end to the bout. Soroush now moves to 2-0, and has mentioned the possibility of looking towards a title bout in the near future!

Result: Unanimous decision, Soroush Mahdavi.

12.  Kurt Hicks Vs. Tom Ramsall

Unfortunately this fight abandoned pre show due to injury.

13.  Daniel Savage (W) Vs. Phil Collins

Two fights remaining, and the anticipation was high! Now we had the black belts. First up was popular and well supported local Dan Savage up against Slough’s Phil Collins, who had earlier shown his range of Martial Arts abilities with his MMA demo. A typical and fast start for Dan, piling on tons of pressure with his unstoppable fitness and fast techniques throughout all of round one. Into round 2 however, and Phil started to find the holes within Dan’s constant offence, landing more and more clean punches as the round continued. Great entertainment from both fighters!

Result: Split decision, Dan Savage.

14.  Jacey ‘2 Fast 4 U’ Cashman (W) Vs. Chris Djaelani

To say the anticipation was high for the main bout would be an understatement. This was to be possibly fight of the year for our sport, let alone being lucky enough to have it on our fight show, in our town, on an average Sunday afternoon. Facebook was rife with comments and suggestions of who would take this, with comments from across the country. Here we had two fully fledged, bona fide world champions fighting it out for the Genesis Title Belt. The challenger was first to the ring, current WAKO Pro World Champion, Jacey ‘2fast4u’ Cashman. After a crowd pleasing arrival to the Star Wars theme, it was the turn of the Champion, current WKA World Champion Chris Djaelani to enter.

Both started fast, keen to make their mark and let the other know who was boss. Jacey is a primarily a pointsfigher who rarely competes at continuous, and this was showing, with two distinct strategies emerging. Jacey was keen to keen up movement, and pick up points using clean, single shots, only moving to combinations when forced to. Chris, a current World Continuous Champion who rarely competes at pointsfighting, was working the opposite strategy, pile the pressure on, keeping combinations flowing, and not allowing Jacey to move or score single shots.

 After 3 rounds there was next to nothing in it. Both fighters showing supreme fitness, never tiring, and both sticking to their strategies. An illegal (though accidental) sweep from Chris meant a slight time out to check over Jacey’s knee, before resuming action. Great jumping spin kicks from Jacey entertained the crowd, however they rarely scored, often landing on Chris’s arms.

 The fourth and fifth rounds quickly came, and from my eyes I could just about see Jacey edging ahead, with his clean single shots scoring well on paper. Chris continued with his plan, producing superb combinations and techniques. With distance between them it was Jacey who had the upper hand, up close and personal it was Chris.

 After 5 rounds I can easily say this one of the most entertaining kickboxing bouts I have witnessed in a good while, and definitely my fight of the year so far. Both are truly world class Martial Artists, and are some of the nicest guys you will ever meet in the sport. Congratulations to both! The only loser was anyone who missed this.

Result: Split decision, Jacey ‘2fast4u’ Cashman!

A brief word from Jacey to the audience brought an end to UNLEASHED 2. We are taking names from those interested in UNLEASHED 3. We are after all levels and abilities. Men, women, girls, boys, points fighting or light contact. Once again we will bring you an awesome fight card complete with some of the best fighters you will see in the title bouts. If you are interested in appearing in the next show, please register your interest with any Genesis instructor. Keep your eyes peeled for further news for UNLEASHED 3, coming your way in 2012.

Many, many thanks to all our instructors and volunteers who made this show possible, along with our sponsors. Without their support this show would not have happened.

Sponsors:

UK Laptops, Revive Car Care, Hartgraph Print Solutions, Eden Springs Water, SAP Sportswear, Steve Lodge Physiotherapy, Trevor John, Mark Nichols Plumbing and Heating, Cressex Embroidery.

By Paul Busby