Andy Thrasher:"UK Muay Thai fans are in for a real treat!"

Andy Thrasher’s inclusion in the line-up for Grandmaster Sken’s “MSA Muay Thai Premier League” show on Saturday 7th November 2009 is a continuation of a relationship that goes back to 1998 and Andy’s introduction to the art of Muay Thai. A keen footballer at the time, Andy originally went to the GFC club, then Heywood Sitnarong under (then) Master Sken, simply to help heal a collarbone injury but fell in love with the art of Muay Thai and the rest, as they say, is history.

It was the beginning of a career that has been defined by Andy’s all-action style and a high knockout ratio that has seen him hugely popular with fans, fellow fighters and promoters alike. Master Sken puts Andy’s popularity in perspective when he states-“I have organized many Muay Thai shows and Andy Thrasher has participated in these shows. I found that he is an exceptional fighter. He has fought many high quality opponents. On Sunday 31st May he won the WKA World championship and proved himself one of Britain best fighters.”

Whilst he admits that sometimes the only way to win a fight is to dig deep and have an old-fashioned tear-up, Andy is no one trick pony and has always sought to develop and mature as a fighter with improved technique and tactics. To this end he believes that all Thai fighters must eventually train in Thailand. Although he has trained with some top Thai trainers and fighters Andy hasn’t trained in Thailand yet but will rectify that by travelling to the Jitti gym in July, and hopefully once or twice more later in the year. “I really think it will make me a more rounded fighter, and help me step up a level”, he says.

Andy has already reached a commendable level in the sport, having fought numerous top names such as Craig Jose (twice), Tim Thomas and World, Commonwealth, European, Spanish and French Champions. The highlight for Andy so far has been his most recent fight against Javier (Kuki) Rodriguez, the Spanish Champion, whom he stopped on his home turf by way of a third round KO. The win shows that Andy is in fine winning form at the moment but his hardest fight was actually a loss to Michael Dicks. Andy took the fight at short notice and was carrying an injury but just wanted the opportunity to fight Dicks. “Michael is a machine and never stops coming forward, and despite losing the fight, I felt I came away having learned some very valuable lessons.”

Andy proved he had learned those lessons by beating Dave Newbrook for the WKA World title in May, a fantastic achievement that he is obviously delighted with. “This world title was a dream come true, the venue and show were superb, with 13 full Thai rules A class fights. It was a long day, but I remained focused and stuck to the game plan. Fortunately it paid off. I just listened to my corner and let my reactions take over, it was fantastic to win.”

When it comes to his peers, Andy states that he admires anyone that really commits to the sport as the purse money for Thai fighters is not yet on a par with its major fightsport counterparts, so to pay the bills whilst training to fight at the top level takes a lot of determination and focus. As a result, he name checks Craig Jose, Michael Dicks, Damien Trainor, Andy Howson, James France, Richard Cadden and Jordan Watson but reserves special praise for Steven Wakeling and Liam Harrison. “They have given so much to the sport and it shows with the success and quality opponents that they have fought and beaten in the last couple of years.”

Thai Boxers may not yet reap the rewards seen by Professional Boxers but Andy truly believes that Muay Thai can rival any televised fightsport, noting that the huge success of MMA is based in no small measure on the dynamic stand-up which is heavily Muay Thai influenced. Add to this the growing success of the ‘Contender Asia’ series and Andy believes that it is only a matter of time before the sport gets the coverage he feels it really deserves. For his part, Andy is staying busy, fighting Dave Newbrook for his WKA World title on 31st May, on The Rumble at the Reebok show and then again on Master Ronnie Green’s Tribute show at Old Trafford on the 4th of July, with the possibility of a rematch with Redwan Ameur, the French and European WMC Champ.

Then of course there’s November 1st and Grandmaster Sken’s star-studded show, which Andy is obviously very excited about being a part of this. As he states “Master Sken always promotes exciting shows, with good quality matchmaking. If the names I have heard mentioned for this show are anything to go by then UK Muay Thai fans are in for a real treat! And if that’s not a good enough reason, then people should come along to buy me a drink after my fight as it is my birthday that day.”