A prize purse of €1,000 has been put up for Ireland’s first ever four-man Muay Thai tournament but to take the cash, the winner will have to fight and win twice in one night.
While four-man Muay Thai tournaments have been held abroad before, the upcoming show will be the first time the competition format has been seen in Irish Thaiboxing.
“I think it will be good to sell tickets,” explains Jono Bracken, one of the fighters set to take part. “It’s something people haven’t seen here before.”
Bracken, who currently holds two Irish titles, is set to make his return after a year-long layoff from the sport. “I was fighting in Thailand for a year, and when I got back to training here I had some bad luck with getting matched. Four guys pulled out on me in a row.”
“It’s a pain when that happens because each week in training, in the run-up to a fight, you kick it up a notch and then all of a sudden, bang – you’ve no fight. All the training doesn’t exactly go to waste, but you want to have a fight at the end of it.”
This time around, however, Bracken is unlikely to face any last-minute cancelations as a number of fighters have been placed on stand-by should any of the main four entrants withdraw.
The competition, set to take place in the Ringside Club next to the National Boxing Stadium in Dublin, will begin with the four fighters being called into the ring. Next, their names will be drawn out of a hat to determine who will face who in the semi-final bouts.
The semi-finals will be held shortly afterwards, followed by a string of separate C and B Class Muay Thai bouts, before the finalists again take to the ring for what will be their second fight of the night.
“I think this type of tournament requires a different approach,” says Bracken of his training ahead of the gruelling contest. “My trainer doesn’t want me to give the other fighters inch of space or a second to catch their breath, so training has been more intense in that sense.”
Bracken fought one of the other fighters, Karl Joyce, back in February 2010 for the IMC Irish title. “He’s a tough guy,” recalled the Ballybrack native. “I dropped him in the first round and to be honest I thought it was over. I don’t know how he did it, but he made the count and got back into the fight. It wasn’t an easy night by any means.”
Bracken could also be facing Sean Long or Gary Ormond.
“I’m confident and I think my time in Thailand will stand to me, but I’m definitely not underestimating them,” Bracken continued. “They are all tough and none of them are the type of fighter you would take lightly. I’m not ruling them out. I’m going to be in for a rough night no matter who I get.”
The winner of the tournament will walk away with a €1,000 purse. “It’s a bit of an extra incentive to win it,” added Bracken.
Some 13 fights will take place on the night in the Ringside Club, among which is Stephen Meleady’s clash against a Polish fighter for a European title. Meanwhile, James O’Connell will take on Carl Hodgers for a 55 kilo Irish title decider.
Show starts at 7pm on Saturday 24 September and a full bar will be open. Tickets are priced at €25 and are available through Mullin’s sports in Capel Street Dublin, through Bridgestone Gym or through any of the fighters.
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