Ali Jacko Show... A clash of cultures

What has happened to the brotherhood of warriors? I was deeply disappointed last Sunday night at the Stratford Rex to experience for the 1st time, the bitter rivalry that seems to exist between Thai boxing and Kickboxing camps. I thought being a fighter regardless of the rules you fight under was something to be proud of.

I have always taught my students to respect all the fighting disciplines and appreciate the work and commitment that goes into preparation. Yet some people seem to be more interested in making reference to the rules i.e “my sport is harder than yours because…”, than appreciating the quality of the actual fighter. Is Roy Jones Junior and bad fighter because he does not kick, sweep, knee or elbow?

I was particularly disturbed when I heard the booing of a full-contact fighter (Stuart Lawson) after an extremely tough fight with an up and coming Thai Boxer (Michael Dicks) who gallantly took the fight at 1 hours notice but had a considerable weight advantage (10kg?). I don’t think there are many fighters in the World who could have given so much weight to such a strong and talented fighter and still found a way to land more blows and outscore their opponent. Yet some of the crowd after the fight including the matchmaker (Ralph ….) kept making remarks,“If you limit a Thai boxer to Four Weapons…” That’s like Royce Gracie agreeing to fight Ernesto Hoost in Thai Boxing and afterward complaining that he was not allowed to grapple.

The fact that Stuart had five different opponents pull out in the space of 48 hours should also be recognised. In fact Ralph actually offered Stuart a lad from the Thai camp who was willing to give away 6+ kilos, have another fight first (he got KO’d in the 4 th by the way) and then step in with Stuart with the promise of not causing him any problems! Does this sound familiar to anybody out there? As Stuart’s trainer I would never allow our integrity and honour be devalued in this way ,“We’re here to fight not join a circus” and with only one other option had to take the fight with Michael who I was assured by both Ralph and Michaels trainer was weighing 65kg. Michaels actual weight was much closer to 75kg and for any of you who have not seen him fight before, check out his fight with Rob Storey on Bill Judd’s last show.

Don’t get me wrong, we trained hard and were ready to fight hard with anybody whiling. When I saw Michael for the 1st time step into the ring carrying so much extra weight I knew exactly what we were up against. If you put Ricky Hatton in with a classy middle weight boxer he’s gonna run into problems. Over all Stuart handled all the problems Michael had to offer including the power difference that comes with the extra weight. All I expect after a hard fight is a little recognition…

I just hope that the shameful decision after the Riyadh Azzawi v John Shields fight which I was unfortunately involved with as a trainer did not make people bias in the other kickboxing fight and try to discredit Stuart Lawson

I know there are a lot of genuine people out there in the fight game, all fighting under different rules and some in various disciplines who all respect each other. Lets just hope our students are all taught to share the same values.

Please don’t think I am putting mt down because I am a great fan and I know there are people in kickboxing that try to devalue mt. I am not one of those and whether you are a great fighter or just an average one I will always respect you for what you do co’s I’ve been there myself.

Respect and love

Jonathan Lawson