Saturday, July 17, 2010

Liveblog: Take On Muay Thai Part 4

Time for another non-tournament bout, and it's Marcus Fisher of Pittsburgh Muay Thai taking on Sitan's King Opaku. (Yes, he is actually a king, and his servants carry him in on his throne.) Round 1 has Opaku scoring a knockdown and Fisher trying to find an opening. That opening comes in Round 2, although it ends up being a knee right into 0paku's junk. They resume after the Sitan fighter takes some much-needed time to recover. The king is still very much in the fight, however, and towards the end of Round 3, when the two clinch, he lands a short hook to completely stuns and disorients Fisher and puts him on the canvas. Round 4 is pure slugfest, and in the final round Fisher just comes out and bangs Opaku up. Is it enough to convince the judges? Well, it's enough to convince the judges the bout is a draw. A semifinal bout is on deck, and it's Ahmed against Gulati. Based on their earlier performances, I'd have to give the edge to Ahmed - he's a slightly more concise striker, and seems just as dynamic as Gulati. The opening round is all about Ahmed stalking Gulati like a predator and the Sitan rep scoring in the exchanges, while in Round 2 Ahmed punishes the hell out of Gulati's lead leg and sweeps him repeatedly. Round 3 is more of the same, and when the ten-second clapper sounds, they don't even bother continuing, as Gulati's knows who the better fighter is. Instead, Gulati bows, and Ahmed takes the unanimous decision. Semifinal #2 is Hasanov vs. Hill, and I give the edge in speed and hands to the Bellmore Kickboxing rep. True to form, Hill comes out and overwhelms Hasanov with a flurry in the corner. Hasanov recovers after a standing-eight count, but he gets dropped again in similar fashion in Round 2. Hasanov just cannot match Hill's speed and accuracy, and after he gets dropped yet again in the third, it's clear who's meeting Ahmed in the finals. Hill takes the unanimous decision.

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