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Clash of the Titans

by Rew MitchellPosted on
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Clash of the Titans was a mixed Muay Thai event hosted by Touchgloves Gym in Penzance, UK on 4th November 2012. They had set the venue up in a very atmospheric and fitting way. The arena was dark and misted by a smoke machine and was reminiscent of the kind of Muay Thai event you might see in Thai movies. There were twenty-three fights in total, seven of which were female. We all know that we're not here to talk about the male fights, so we'll crack on with the female bouts.

Bethany Bodilly

The night opened with a cute junior fight between five years olds Milly Wood and Bethany Bodilly, as with all junior bouts there was no head contact. The fight was stopped by corner stoppage at the end of the third round after Milly expressed wishes not to continue. Hats off to these girls for getting in there! The win went to Bethany.

Sammy Luxton vs. Amber Kitchen, Junior 51kg British title

The second female fight was the Junior 51kg British Title between Sammy Luxton, 15 (Chaos) and Amber Kitchen, 14 (Touchgloves). This was a much-anticipated bout as both girls can be considered among the best in the world in their age group. Both fighters showed a high level of skill and technique and were equally fearless. Even without the head contact, this was a real fight. Ultimately it was an extremely close fight, most people we spoke to considered it to be three rounds to Amber, and two to Sammy. The decision itself went to Sammy, and the crowd was seemingly shocked. Unfortunately, this is where a storm of controversy marred the fight, which is extremely unfair on both girls who had fought so valiantly. During the fight, and being ringside we had witnessed one of the Chaos coaches obscuring the line of sight of one of the judges (throughout the fight). It is more than likely that it was unintentional, but we feel the judge should have spoken out and addressed the issue. The judge in question later admitted on social media that he was unable to see the full fight and made a judgment based on what parts he had seen. This judge's scorecard was completely different from the other two judges. After long and heated exchanges from both camps over social media, the fight was reversed to a no-contest. Most expected there to be a rematch scheduled but unfortunately, Chaos gym refused. We're extremely disappointed that poor commitment from judges (probably due to it being a Junior bout) led to a prolonged and upsetting time for both girls who had given the crowd a high-level fight. We feel the fight was a draw if anything. This judge should feel ashamed of his incompetence. We hope to see these girls fight again, and I'm sure we will.

Rosie Davis vs. Megan Lloyd

The third female fight was another Junior bout between Rosie Davis and Megan Lloyd. Rosie set a blistering pace and ultimately won by corner stoppage in the first round as Megan was badly winded.

Ashleigh Johnson vs. Claire Walkey

Next up was a 54kg C-Class bout between Ashleigh Johnson (WPT) and Claire Walkey (Touchgloves). If you see either of these girls on a fight card you are in for a treat. Both young fighters show a lot of grit and they put on a nonstop battle landing many clean strikes. Ashleigh showed great movement but was ultimately fighting on the back foot for most of the fight. After five rounds, Claire won by unanimous decision. Both girls showed a lot of class after the fight.

Kirsty Cordice vs. Anika Keary

The final female fight before the break was Kirsty Cordice (Chaos) vs. Anika Keary (Touchgloves) in a 3 x 1.5, 55kg Lowkick bout. Anika started strong with a huge clean jab right of the bat followed by a nice body shot. The fight pretty soon turned into an exciting shot-for-shot match. During the second round, Kirsty started to utilize her reach advantage more effectively and Anika began to tire, blood was shed on both fighters, however. Kirsty won by unanimous decision.

Lauren "The Hatchet" Huxley vs. Toni Hollow

 

After the break, there were two more female fights, and the first was a 66kg bout between Lauren "The Hatchet" Huxley (WPT) and Toni Hollow (Touchgloves). Toni, a woman with children vs a youthful 15-year-old girl from the valleys. Toni was fearless in every sense and her aggression was entertaining. Lauren was almost the polar opposite, showing composure, timing and technique. In one corner we have a woman who is trained by Julie & Nathan Kitchen and in the other a youngster who models herself on Julie's style. Toni won by unanimous decision, by which we and the majority of the crowd were a little shocked. We're not taking anything away from Toni as the fight was a corker, but we honestly feel we witnessed the birth of a potentially long and fruitful career in Lauren "The Hatchet" Huxley, she is one to watch!

Rachel Stephens vs. Vicky Church

Finally, the last female bout was between Rachel Stephens (WAKT) and Vicky Church (Touchgloves), in a 60kg K1 rules area title. We had been told that Vicky was an exciting fighter so we had been looking forward to this fight. We were previously aware of Rachel (who is no pushover) so we knew we were in for a treat. The opening bell rang out and Rachel moved in and landed the first few shots. This was pretty much the last time Rachel connected with anything effective, Vicky shut each attempt down with a barrage of punches and effortless kicks. Vicky won by TKO halfway through the first round with a knee to the solar plexus.

Clash of the Titans photo gallery

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