I judged all the second half of the show last night which I think was a great show with some excellent fights. I wanted all the English fighters to win last night as I like and respect all of them as people and fighters. Any person who disagreed with any of the Thailand V England decisions can choose to read this with an open mind or with their own pre-conceived ideas on the reasons for the decisions made. I am not writing this not to start an argument or upset anyone, but because if it is not said I believe British MuayThai will be held back on an international level.

I watched last night with pride as our fighters fought bravely and skilfully against some very big names in the sport; some in fact who genuinely deserve the title legends of the sport. What I also saw the UK has a real chance now to rise even higher on the world scene. There were some excellent performances last night from a range of different gyms. Brave and skilled performances from with our lads who nobody could deny were really trying to win with everything they had. The difference in some of those fights was that some of the fighters knew what they had to do to win and others didn’t.

Bill, I know I might not be very popular with you or Dave at the moment and I do understand why. I know you both thought Dave won the fight and I also understand why you both thought that. Whatever your feelings are towards me I really do like and respect you both and I was impressed with Dave’s performance particularly in round two. However, you are wrong to say Craig O’Flynn (the judge you were sitting next to) vision was clouded by the reputation of Samkor or the respect he might have for him as a fighter. On every single fight Craig and me scored the fights exactly the same round for round. This was not because we colluded nor did either of us have any political interest in particular fighters winning (something I heard mentioned at ringside). We judge the fights the same because, independently, we have gained knowledge on scoring in MuayThai from Thailand over many years and the system is so consistent it produces that type of consistency in scoring.


The scoring for the fight was as follows (from memory which could be a little flawed). The first round Dave edged but not enough to win by a clear point. He was busy but although he through lots of techniques didn’t score with that many of them. His leg kicks didn’t score much at all in the fight as any Samkor took he stayed solid and his balance was never disturbed. Equally although some punches connected cleanly many were taken on the cross arm block of Samkor and had little effect. In round two Dave actual began to improve his scoring with a body kick or two and held strong in the clinch. Then he almost won the fight hitting Samkor with a beautiful elbow, which I am sure shocked and surprised him. It was a big cut but not in a dangerous place or running in the eye and the doctor let the fight continue. Samkor stormed back at Dave but had no time to equal the scoring in that round so Dave was a clear point ahead going into the third. Samkor knew if he didn’t turn the fight around in the third he would probably lose the fight; he knew he was behind at that point and that Dave was physically very strong and unlikely to get tired quickly. Samkor had a big third round scoring well with body kicks. Some observers may say that some of the kicks landed on Dave’s upper arm and not cleanly on the body. This is true, but they score if the arm is pushed onto the body. In fact if they also cause the fighter to move they score just as well as a kick landing cleanly on the body. Dave regrouped himself in the fourth and matched Samkor getting a draw. So going into the last Samkor was slightly ahead with his big third round, but Dave could have certainly still won the fight. Samkor knew he was a head and played a waiting game and countered Dave with kicks as he tried to attack increasing his lead; just as he has no doubt done many times before and many other boxers do in Thailand every night in Bangkok’s stadiums. So Samkor won by a couple of rounds against a brave, strong and skilful Dave Pacquette. The difference in this fight wasn’t necessarily skill of strength it was an understanding how to win in the game of MuayThai; something Samkor did very well and Dave didn’t. So Dave and Bill you can continue to believe you won the fight and change nothing or you can try to understand why you didn’t win under MuayThai scoring criteria and progress internationally, possibly even to the greatest heights.

In a similar way Kieran didn’t win the fight, he got a draw. He was losing going into to the last. He was behind going into the fourth and need to win both rounds 4 and 5 to ensure victory. He drew the fourth so still could have won with a very big last round. He won the last round but not by a big enough margin to win the fight. Had he managed to throw his opponent down or kick him off his feet, or unleashed continuous unanswered body kicks he would have won. However, it was a draw and not a win. Again I really like Kieran and would love him to have won but he didn’t he got a draw.

For me Damien is a vastly improved fighter. I have watched him fight since he was a boy and always liked him (although I am not sure he knew that because I have spoken out against some decisions he has been awarded in the past) I just like his style even more now. Damien understands MuayThai very well indeed, has great skills and was very sharp for this fight. However, his opponent was very strong and skilful indeed. I think formally ranked very highly at Lumpinee and hit Damien with knees that would have made most fighters not want to come out to fight another round. Damien fought bravely and skilfully but he knew he was losing the fight and had to do something to get back into the fight. He did come back well, but not enough to overtake his Thai opponent and unfortunately by round five both the Thai and Damien knew the result. If Damien couldn’t get a knock out or eight count both boxers knew Damien would lose. Damien did shake his opponent with his trademark very hard and sharp punches knocking his opponent’s head back, but the Thai knew he only had to protect his points.

Steve fought brilliantly. He dropped Jomod with beautiful elbow and was two points ahead going into the second. Jomod came back in the second to win that round (if I remember correctly, he certainly won one round very clearly early on kicking Steve off his feet a couple of time and drew another). Steve (and his corner) did an excellent job of monitoring scoring and maintaining his lead in the later rounds; blocking the vast majority of Jomod’s potentially high scoring body kicks and matching all Jomod’s scoring techniques. Steve was always dangerous with elbows and matched Jomod knee for knee in the clinch. At one point he was a couple of knee’s behind in one round but wasted no time in equalising with a body kick and straight knee. I have never really had a conversation with Steve but watching him I believe he understands the Muaythai game very, very well. He was two points ahead going into the last and could have backed to the ropes and teeped his way to victory. He didn’t, instead trying to win by elbow KO. He did win the round clearly with some nice body kicks.

A great show…I hope all British fighters can take heart from their performances and learn from them. Every fighter has the chance to use this as a stepping stone into a bright future; I hope they all take that chance.