MTGP Results
Leon Samuels vs Yiannis Kaltanopoulos
This was Leon’s 3rd B class ProAm fight and another solid win on points. Yiannis was a strong opponent but Leon’s skilful footwork and excellent striking won him the unanimous decision. Well done and we look forward to his next contest.
James Ogden vs Joakim Haag ISKA World Title.
What can I say😞 ……. an excellent performance by James who was winning the fight convincingly until Joakim tagged him with a solid elbow early in the 3rd round. Having not fully recovered he courageously got up to continue but got caught again with another elbow and again got up to try and see the round out but with one minute left it was too long to stay out of trouble and Joakim was relentless. After the 3rd knockdown the referee stopped the contest. A well deserved win to Joakim and his team, really nice people.
James said to me immediately after “I am done”. A sad realisation that he needed to find out himself.
James won his world title fight last year and deliberated then whether to retire but was offered the fight in Australia which sadly fell apart after contracting a virus in Thailand and being really ill. That probably would have been his last fight. Again he thought about retiring but he had this fight booked with MTGP and was offered the great opportunity to fight Petchkantat on the Legacy show in September.
James has had a wonderful fight career spanning nearly 20 years. His journey has been a rollercoaster of wins, losses and setbacks but he has always been 100% committed to his training and his dream of becoming World Champion which I am proud to say he achieved.
A champion Muay Thai fighter and a champion of a man. He can now retire with honour and concentrate on family (he is soon to be a dad), relax with friends and use his vast knowledge and experience to help others at WickerCamp to achieve their goal, we are so proud and lucky to have him. Good luck James on your next chapter in life. 🥰
Trix March (Aunty/Coach). 😊
