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| Liberian kickboxer Hotchilli Mitchell Nagbe |
Australia’s Victor Nagbe was the first combatant to
reach the final 16 when he overcame two opponents to move into the next
stage of the tourney.
In
his semifinal bout he faced off with Spanish fighter Elam ‘Black
Panther’ Chavez. The bout was a showcase of Nagbe’s cool, calm and
collected approach to the fight game. He fought a very smart fight from
the opening bell to the climax of the third and final round, taking
a unanimous points victory.
In
his final bout he squared off with Chinese fighter Hu Yafei, who had
earlier beaten Japanese boxer Shintaro Matsukura in his semifinal to
progress into the final against Nagbe — Nagbe set the tone for the
bout, coming straight out of the blocks with effective aggression and
precise shots landing at will.
He
ended the hopes and dreams of Hu in the third round of the bout with
some ruthless leg kicks pulverizing Hu’s already heavily damaged right
leg, forcing the referee to call a halt to the action.
Next up it was formidable Frenchman Yohann Drai’s turn
to battle his way into the final 16 of the coveted Kunlun 70kg
tournament.
He did it the
hard way: his semifinal bout with Serbian fighter Nikola Cimesa was a
pulsating hard fought encounter from start to finish!
Cimesa
seemed to set the pace in the early exchanges of the bout and grew in
stature throughout the entire bout — Drai for his part was always in the
bout with his at times
pin-perfect accuracy.
The
bout needed after three rounds, the judges scorecards read: 29-30,
30-30, 30-30, 29-30 and 30-30.....we were going to extension round after
the majority draw decision was read aloud.
The
extension round didn’t disappoint the fans in attendance as both
fighters left everything (bar the kitchen sink) in the ring. Again we
went to the judges scorecards: 10-9, 10-9, 10-9, 9-10 and 9-10. Three of
the judges went in favor of the Frenchman and he moved on to the final.
His
opponent in the final was Chinese boxer Feng Xingli, who had earlier
beaten Czech fighter Michael Krcmar to book his place in the final to
face off against Drai.
The
final came, Drai saw and Drai conquered his Chinese opponent with some
crisp, beautiful knees in a dominating second round, a round which saw
the Fairtex fighter solidify his prowess in the bout.
After
three exciting rounds of action we again went to the judges scorecards:
29-29, 29-29, 30-28, 30-28 and 29-28. Drai did it, he overcame the
formidable challenge of his Chinese rival to seal his spot in the final
16 of one of kickboxing’s biggest tournaments.
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