Jabba coming back into our room was an awkward one. I think some guys thought he lost too and he knew that he had a really messy fight. He was really upset about it and he was pretty quiet for awhile. I remember him saying to me. "This is a good wake up,now I start training harder!" He had taken it easy sleeping in during the mornings. And he knew that he was huffing and puffing in the 3rd already.
At the beach where the challenge was,I think when Zidov became captain lady luck really shone on him. Firstly breaking the losing streak the Wild Boars had been on. I sat out this challenge coz I knew if we won Id have picked Zidov...and if we lost he'd pick me. The challenge was a really tiring one,I remember watching Yukay stagger out of the water and he was almost blue!! Funniest thing about that challenge had to be SEAN!!!! If you watch it again he was doing BREAST STROKE!!....hahah he came out and he said,"It's freezing in Scotland so I never swim!!!" hahah
Their reward.....was well..hahah OK in my opinion. haha I mean we got $500USD and we got another shopping spree at Courts!!! I remember JWP jokingly said to the boys,"when I wake up in 5 months time and I look at my iTouch I'll remember where I got it from. But you guys will have shit your reward out by tomorrow morning!!!" hahah So that made us feel better about losing!! haha
So we made our own reward!!!Pitu made an AWESOME meal,that guy can seriously cook!! So we thought we should dress up in our suits and shirts just for the heck of it. I think the viewers finally got to see the fashionable side of us!!Usually it's the muay thai shorts,tshirts,sweat jacket.....or just a towel!Yodasaenklai was the "Mafia from Thailand",Soren looked like a Doctor,JWP was the Real Estate Agent,Jabba was the Oil Prince of Dubai,Pitu was the Colombian Drug lord and I was I think the Banker?? hahah We were reaaaaaaaaaaaaaallly bored!! haahah. I think when we all of us made that speech we knew we were all gonna be really good friends or should I say BROTHERS. The Wild Boars came back and were totally surprised to see us all dressed. So we all took pics and it looks like something out of K-1 when the fighters are at the Press Conference. Well as I said Delibration was no surprise and Zidov picked me. We have both been waiting awhile for this to happen.
So night before the fight I took the Tiger Kings to Newton Circus for some local delicacies!! Chilli Crab,Kailan,Stingray,Murtabak,Satay,Chicken Wings and Tiger Prawns!!! We ate soooo much!!! Actually Yodsaenklai ate so much!! haha He even took home the left overs!!! Was funny when I made that dumb joke,"Im gonna Sting like a Stingray!!".....and JWP goes,"Crikey!! thats a bad joke!!" hahahah He's the worst at telling jokes..it's so weird that it's painfully funny in a way!!
On fight day the guys all got haircuts at Toni & Guy....The funniest thing for me was when Zidov said,"So we went to the BARBER!!!" He had just called one of the most expensive hairdressers in Singapore a BARBER!!! hahaha Got a text from my sponsor after 2 mins of him saying that!! hahah They all got reallly cool haircuts done....Zidov,Jabba and Soren had reallly cool ones!! I actually didn't go coz it was the day of the Fight. And plus Pitu was cooking Paella(Spanish Rice dish)!! hahha!!
A few moments before the fight,in the dressing room. I was just discussing with JWP and my thai trainer about what to do. And as we talked over dinner the night before they just said,"Move around for the first 2 rounds,keep your distance and kick hard." I remember Stephan Fox coming in and saying to me,"Zach we've gone to many places together for fights,Ive seen you fight since you were 18. I don't have to tell you what to do now.You know what to do tonight."
It was SHOWTIME. I saw Zidov walk out from the dressing room he gave me a high five and he walked into the Arena. I heard the crowd cheer and I was thinking...."Wonder what it's gonna be like for me???" So this was one of the coolest moments for me,walking out with JWP a LEGEND in this sport. Having him lead me out....having him done my wraps ...I felt GOOD!!! The crowds cheer was AMAZING!! No doubt the best venue I've ever fought at!!! Was totally ready to get it on!!
So we finished our "Wai Kru" and it was time!! Straight into the game plan. Just let him come forward,jabbed,push kicked kept my distance and then smash a kick into him. I remember landing the Jabs straight into him. I remember landing a good left hook as I side stepped him. I remember landing a massive leg kick that threw him of balance. And I definetly remeber clinching with him and throwing him off balance into the ropes and landing a sweet left kick! It was all going GREAT!! Perfect like what the guys said to me in the corner. I remember Soren saying to me,"Double up on your leg kick when he is off balance". I acknowledged.
Round two.....I started off with a left kick. Then moved around and I think I threw a jab and POP my shoulder was out. And my LEFT?!!??! I remember standing there and the pain was just UNREAL!!! (After the fight my doctor said,"If you weren't high on adreneline,the dislocation you had was so bad that a normalperson would be screaming on the floor") I remember forcing it and wriggling it back in. The doctor checked and he said,"You ok?" I said,"Im ok lets go!"........After this all I remember saying to myself was..."FUCK I GOTTA KNOCK HIM OUT!!"....I dont remember ANYTHING about the fight after.....watching it was just weird....??? I was in soo much pain I couldn't remember anything but thinking to myself,"I gotta knock him out!!"but as I tried to keep my distance and trying to punch for some dumb reason......my shoulder came out another two more times!!!! The ref finally had to stop...My heart sank to the bottom of the floor....I don't blame him for stopping it...it is the right thing to do,I was just damaging myself over and over and over.
I wish the bell had went and I had a minute just to breathe....to calm down.....to just remember not to punch at all!!...And just kick!!!.....but lady luck just wasn't on my side. She was definetly on Zidov's!!!! I learnt the hard way that,If it's not meant to be your night....it's not meant to be your night!!! I remember making a speech and I sorta remember it....but I remember the cheer the crowd gave. Was even louder than when I walked into The Arena! I remembered walking out of the ring and Jabba pulled me and said,"Zach everything happens for a reasons,Allah has better plans for you! Trust me!" I hugged him saying thanks and even tho finding it hard to believe what he said at that time. But he was right!!!
I have had shoulder operations on both shoulders!! And they were all covered by the Contender insurance company. As both dislocations happened on the show. DAY 1's challenge and Soren fell on top of me. That dislocated my right shoulder and Im totally surprosed that it was not at all mentioned in the show?!?!!? I never had a problem with my right for 4 years til that ridiculous challenge. I never had a problem with my left shoulder til that night fighting Zidov.
The nicest looking sad picture!!! (weird)
Sitting in the room I remember thinking to myself,"This might be it...I can fight without punching on my right,but I can't not punch with BOTH!!...I might just have to quit......" And thats when I started crying.........It really felt like that might have been the end for The Contender Asia and my fighting career when it's at it's highest!!......
Walking out I remember saying bye to the producers and staff. I only got to say bye to Jabba in the ring...and JWP as he came to help me out at the end. It was just crap...knowing that I was doing so well dispite all the setbacks I've had with the fall and with so little experience compared to the others. I hope that I showed everyone that even though it was only for that little time,that I wasnt just a push over out of the 16th Fighters and that I could have given any of them a decent fight.Thank you everyone who has contacted me,posted comments and wrote in the chat box with kind words and such supportive feedback. It really means alot to me knowing that I have support from soooooo many people from all over the world and not just from my fellow Singaporeans!!
Thank you so sooooo much everyone!!
Anyways,I'll be writing about the surgery....rehab.....and all that in the next blog. And I still will blog about the show as I got to see everyone after they lost their fights so keep checking back on my blog.
LaterZ
11 comments:
When I saw the pictures at Zidov's profile, immediately I had the instinct that something was off.
For myself, I've been waiting to see you in the ring, going up against the other guys since day 1 of The Contender Asia.
Jabba was right with his personal remark to you.
As such, hopefully, you'd take it the way Jabba did - to treat the defeat as a wake up call and to train much harder and with a renewed spirit from here onwards.
Everything happens for a reason.
I believe that you still have a long way to go, notwithstanding your injuries and loss.
Good luck.
hullo zach
another excellent write-up. I wanted to ask ... cos now that everyone knows you have this shoulder(s) problem, how does that affect your fight career from now on? with future opponents, cos is it a sort of achilles heel this shoulder popping business. Can surgery "fix" this? I sure hope so.
concerning the show, it was weird they never mentioned dislocation from the 1st challenge. just looked like a graze/sprain. no wonder soren felt so bad about it. but its good the show footed the bill for both shoulders. finally, kudos on your fighting spirit and best of luck with the rehab! :-)
hey zach i m a singaporean in UK, and fresh to muay thai. i have been following contender asia closely..u are definitely a force to be reckon with..have confidence in urself and dun mind ur lack of experience! u did great and did singaporeans proud. i was interested in seeing u fight cos u were the only singaporean, the only 3 asian in the whole show! show them u can be as good as the thais..
Hey Zach, Shit like this happens, injury is every fighters curse. And that day just wasn't yours. I know you are a good fighter, so keep training and fighting for Singapore. We're all behind you!
Justin
wow... i never thought i will encounter someone like you. I wasn't involved in muay thai but i learn free sparring during my poly times, during my NS I was involved in boxing too. So I just hope to be friends with you...
But for right now, I didn't trained anymore cos' you know when you start working, not every employers will support such sports. I in fact got a chance to trained in Farrer Park as a SABA boxer but I turned in down.
That was tremendous heart you showed in the ring by hurting your shoulder three times and still pressing on. Keep your head up, you didn't give up and that's all anyone can ask of themselves in the ring when things look grim.
As JWP said in the locker room, your technique is textbook, especially for someone who has "little experience." You could have taken him if it weren't for the shoulder, and I'd like to keep up on your progress once you get back in the ring. Hence why I just bookmarked your blog.
Hey Zach,
Be strong yeah? It ain't over, I really wish to see more of you. You have already proven yourself in the first round and you have made the local muay thai community proud! I'm new to muay thai, and all I can say is, you really really inspire me. Despite that dislocated shoulder, you're still up there giving it your best! But for now, just rest and recuperate. Take care ya? I know you'll be back! =)
Zach, you showed a lot of heart in the fight against Zidov. I'm impressed with your skills, you caught him with some lovely jobs and kicks and things were definitely going your way. Zidov looked frustrated and was trying to get in close with some power punches. Zidov looks more like a brawler, he wants to close the distance and use punches, I don't recal seeing that many kicks thrown by Zidov, but I might have missed some action due to editing. I'm sure that the fight would have been very entertaining if it went the full distance. I think many people thought you were the underdog since you don't have many fights but your fight with Zidov proved many of them wrong. I wish you all the best with the surgery and I wish you a successful and healthy recovery. In life we often learn more from our failures than our victories. Your character is determined by the way you handle those failures - come back stronger, you have a fan for life!
Choke dee!
You fought bravely and skillfully. You stuck to your guns - both in the face of a wildly aggressive opponent, as well as your own misfortune and pain.
Winning is irrelevant - you are a warrior, your time is always now.
*Wai*
Hi Zac!
When aunt Ende told me about you involving yourself into Muay Thai, I was sceptical about your ability to fight, due to your warm nature and friendly atitude towards others. She told me that you are a good fighter. I told myself I have to watch you fighting in the ring.
I watched the contender and in this episod, little Zaki was sitting beside me watching the match too. He was sobbing when you were stopped to continue fighting.
Indeed our aunty had made a correct statement about you. You are not only a good fighter but a brilliant one too! The fight in the first round was splendid. You fought well! You were very quick and tactful, kicking your opponent, cleverly. From his face expression, I could see that he was struggling,thinking hard to nail you.
I really enjoyed the opening of the fight. Indeed you have charima and very natural. Truely you are a professional Mui Thai Fighter.
The shoulder injury should not be a barrier to your career in Mui Thai Boxing. May the operation be of a great help, encouraging you to continue fighting, building up your career in this field. From the bottom of my heart, Best Wishes to you always....
Endah
hello Zach. Beeing a member of k-1 fans I had the oportunity to watch the contender episodes and discover a new breed of nakmuay. I felt terribly sorry for your injury and especially disapointed that the production did not even bother to mention the true reason of this injury: I think u hurt your shoulder in that fall with Soren... It's a damn shame and even if I rooted for Zidov (k-1 fans brotherhood above all ) I think that u could give him a real battle if your body was 100% sane. anyway I'd like to wish you Chok Dee for your future in the deadly arts of the 8 limbs since you prooved to be naturally gifted and warrior-hearted, I am sure that it is just the beginning of something big. don't let bitterness take you down and be sure that I'll keep an eye on your werabouts in the future.
With much respect, excuse my poor english...
Aris a.k.a kafrilla
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