2008 in one blogpost!!

Only a day more til 2009!! I can't belive I've been blogging for a whole year!!!!!! What is even more bizzare is I can't believe people actually read my blog after a whole year?!?!?!? haha

So I happened to open up and read my DJ buddy,Keishi's blog the other day and I was thinking to myself..."Damn this guy has had one hell of a year!!!!!" You gotta read it!!

http://djkeishi.blogspot.com/2008/12/counting-my-blessings-for-2008.html

So I was wondering if my 2008 was anywhere close to being as good as his????? Here's a quick and fairly detailed recap of my 2008!!

Jan 16th - Press Conference,Party and Debut of The Contender Asia on AXN!! Met loads of press and media...did interviews and then had a quick preview of Episode 1 where I got to see me FALLING at the challenge...D'OH!!!!!! Disastrous start to my TV debut!!! But this night was still definitely gonna change my life!!!

The man behind so many hit Reality TV shows.....Mark Burnett

March 3rd - My first time in Rawai Muay Thai and training with my favourite and long time trainer Bangman!! My first comeback fight after having had surgery on both my shoulders in Oct & Nov 2007. Won with a first round Techincal Knockout. Was a weird fight....but happy that my shoulders felt alright as I knew I had a more important score to settle.

April 12th- I had flown in my long time trainer from Thailand to live with me for 2 weeks and he trained me hard for my Rematch against Zidov at the Indoor Stadium. It worked a treat!! I fought one of my best fights and won with a 5th Round TKO. Was AWESOME to be fighting and winning the rematch infront of a home crowd of 6000 over people!!! Unbelieveable feeling when the crowd roared!! Will never forget that experience!!!

One of my favourite shot of the stadium that night and a picture of me Jabbing Zidov after I elbowed his nose!!!ooowwww!!

May - I was Mens Health Cover!! Cmon I gotta be proud of that!!!! Now just gotta get on the cover or Forbes 50 Richest People!!!

Gone are those abs....I know I shouldn't have had that last piece of Turkey!!!!

May 16th til June 10th - My trip back to London,Stockholm and Amsterdam!!!!! Seriously awesome times!! London for Becky's brothers wedding and also getting to see one of the guys who has taught me alot in life and made me who I am today,Darren Wardle. Sweden was a place I've always wanted to vist for some reason??? I really love Stockholm!! Was there for K-1 Scandinavia and met loads of famous fighters,Ray Sefo,Jurgen Kruts,Jordan Tai,Marco Pique, but most importantly I was there to help corner for Jabba. Most of the time was spent hanging out with Yukay and his family,I really hope to make it soon!! Then it was off to Holland to see my family....it's was 7 years ago that I was last in Europe...hopefully wont take me another 7 years to get there again!!! Got to hang out with my buddy and K-1 European Champ 2007 Paul Slowinski!

London,Stockholm and Amsterdam!!!

July 5th - International Super Fights K.L....What a nightmareeeeeeeeee this proved to be!!!! Had slighlty more than 3 weeks to prepare for my fight after a long break in Europe. 1st week I was still abit jetlagged....2nd week I was really ill....3rd week I got a decent week of training....and off it was to the fights. I got cut in the 1st Round with an Elbow....!!! Then in Round 2,decided to throw a hook (stupidest idea ever!!!) and my shoulder popped out.......Was in shock as I stood in the ring....I tried to shrug it off....and I take a punch on the inside of my arm and it throws my shoulder out again...!!! Freak accident!! The fight was called off. I was reaaaaaaaaaaally upset......and I remember sitting at the hospital in tears and not knowing what to do,and thinking why the injury reoccured......I guess it was coz I was so busy working on my stamina and also busy trying to get in as many personal trainings and get as much padwork/bagwork in as often as I could that I neglected my shoulder conditining excersices? All I know was that I felt rubbish as I sat in that hospital waiting to get stitched up. To make things worse,I had to get 14 fucking stitches for the cut!!! PAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Learnt a VALUBLE lesson that night....Never forget/neglect to do my shoulder conditioning excersices before a fight!!! Surgery doesn't mean Im 100% safe!!

A constant reminder that I shouldn't take my shoulder surgery and injury for granted.

Aug 28th til Sept 2nd - Holiday in Bali!!! For Becky's birthday and also just coz everyone was bored of Singapore.....We all chipped in to rent out the amazing Villa Raja in Bali!! I have to say that this trip to Bali was probably THE MOST relaxing holiday I've ever had!!...Although I had to still do big runs everyday....as I had a fight coming up. Just lazing around the villa and going down the water slide!! The helpers were soooooo nice too and they cooked up a feast on Becky's birthday!! Took us 3 days to finish it!!! Can't wait to get back there again!!! Also thanks to Jaymee Ong, I discovered "DIGESTIVE ENZYMES" For when you're feeling ridiculously full and bloated!!! hahaha

Villa Raja. The name says it all Villa for a King!!

Sept 15th - I found out that I was in the running for WMC Asian Title and had to win this fight to get a shot at the belt. I spent two weeks at with my trainer Bangman at Rawai Muay Thai trainng hard for my fight against Takeshi an old friend and a Japanese champ. It was an important fight for me,but unfortunately...I only managed a DRAW....and in all honesty I thought I lost that fight. I remember being in the room before my fight telling my trainer to massage my legs harder and stretch them more as they just felt sooo heavy and sooo tired....on top of that the constant fear about dislocating my shoulder was lingering and it affected my fight................definetly wasn't how I wanted it to go......I was fed up and felt so demoralized....one loss in KL and one draw in Singapore.......I was not happy with my performance and myself!!

Sept 25th,26th & 27th - Singapore made history by holding the 1st ever night race. It was a really fun weekend as I got to train F-1 driver Mark Webber and I also got to actually go into the Pit area where they prepare for the race. I met the legendary Maxi Preist from the dance group Faithless. I also got to meet and party backstage with the band that pretty much got me hooked on dance music,Chicane!!! It was one hell of a weekend!!

After training Mark Webber,Meeting Maxi from Faithless,In the Pit area of the Redbull Racing Team and later backstage with Chicane!!!!

November 6th - Trained hard at the new Baan Nak Muay Gym at Havelock Road with Thai trainer Ton, who is Matsuer's brother. Matsuer is the S-1 Champion for 2007. I fought Dutch Champion,Roel Rink in HongKong on the "Hong Kong Contender" Event. It was almost 10 years ago that I was last in HongKong....barely remembered anything about the place!! Having Lost in July and only managing a Draw in Sept...I was really annoyed with myself and trained hard for this fight. I listened to some good advice from close friends,fighters and trainers. I reminded myself in the ring what they had said to me and in between rounds Petch who was in my corner did a great job keeping my spirits up. I won the fight on points and I was happy to be back in the winners circle!! While I was there I also managed to squeeze in abit of DJing at the famous club Volar!!!

Kicking it with Roel Rink. Then some good old DJing at Volar!!!!

My last look out Derrick and Sarah's apartment before I rushed out the door after my DJ set to catch my flight!!!

Dec 6th - It has always been my dream to fight in Australia...I think that Australia is probably the 2nd best country in Muay Thai around the world. I remember always reading up on fights from the Evolution series as they probably have the best line up and usually one of the best event worldwide!! So it was a real honour to have been invited to fight there.....However,my fight on Evolution 15 with Soren was probably the most awkward fight I've ever had to take. As much as we say "Business Is Business".....when you and your best friend go in the ring it's just awkward!!! As I mentioned if anyone who saw the fight and think that is how I normally fight....you are gonna be in for a treat!!! Hopefully I'll get another chance to fight out there. So after the fight it was Rest & Relax!! Spent the rest of my time in Brisbane hanging out with Soren meeting some of his cool friends and his lovely mom and sis. Then it was off to the very beautiful Goldcoast to hangout with JWP and family!!

Me and my brother from another mother,Soren Eminent Air NTG!

The beautiful Surfers Paradise in Goldcoast!!

After being back from Australia...the days have just sped past me...the very fun night with friends at ZoukOut on the 13th,then Xmas day with Becky,Jaymee Ong and family eating a giant 11kg Turkey then playing board games and later getting on the Wii and realizing that I am a NATURAL at Guitar Hero!!

2008 is coming to an end and I can say that I've definetly done alot of cool things this year!!
Im really looking forward to 2009 and hopefully it'll be alot more interesting!!!!

Wanna say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has made 2008 so special for me. And also to all my awesome sponsors Tuffboxing,BXGFitness,Baan Nak Muay (BNM),Skyfitness,VandaBoxing,O.P.R.C,Toni & Guy and the lovely people at Nikon!!! You guys have really helped me out alot. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!

So to all my readers have an amazing New Years Eve party and I'll see you in 2009!!!!

LaterZ

JWP,Boonchu Gym & The Goldcoast!! Aussie Aussie Aussie!! Pt 2!

The eating has begun!! This whole week has just been catching up with friends in town,lunches,dinners,coffees and going out with friends!! The bank account is getting smaller but the tummy is getting bigger!!

Anyways part 2 of my Aussie trip coming up.

Soren,Dane and Ray decide to take a road trip and drive me down to the beautiful Goldcoast!! Was prolly bout a 40 - 50 min drive down from Brisbane. On the way you could see like all the theme parks and famous attractions of the Goldcoast!

Upon arrival we were greeted by the Muaythai Superstar of Australia himself,Mr JWP!! =) Seriously you can't walk down the street for 10mins without someone going,"Hey it's JWP!!"..."Hey it's that guy from The Contender Asia!"....Sheesh!!!!

We had a meal at the yummy Thai Restaurant,Boonchu!! Boonchu is also the name of JWP's gym in the Goldcoast. The owner of the restaurant has helped JWP alot throughout his career and also is a huge fan of MuayThai. In the restaurant you'll find pictures of muaythai fights in Australia...you'll find memorabilias autographed by JWP and other famous fighters!! But seriously Boonchu Thai Restaurant is a MUST VISIT if you're a muaythai fan....and if you love thai food!! =)

JWP posters and pictures everywhere in the restaurant!!

Went back to JWP's place and it was nice to see Angie Parr again and also Jasmine (Jazzy)!! I also finally got to meet their new family member Jesse James Parr!! I dropped my bags off and we were off to the other Boonchu for some muaythai!!!

Angie taking one of her students on the pads at Boonchu Gym!

Boonchu is one of the nicest gyms I've seen...it's in a warehouse and it's big...bright....spacious and has a high ceiling!! It's great coz that way it doesn't get too stuffy when there are too many people in the class! And boy does it get busy at the gym!!...I know coz I had to teach a class of 30 over while JWP and Angie were busy!!

So I watched the training and saw how the gym was run and how there were different sort of "Gradings" done by JWP and Angie. It is a cool system!! And JWP is pretty TOUGH on his grading!! As most of us who already train in Muay Thai,we know that there isn't really a "GRADING" system....??? You know how good you are when you get in the ring to fight I guess!? (And to me that means more than the colour of belt I got in trainnig!!!!) But not everyone wants to test themselves by fighting!?!..

JWP has different kinds of BELT to show which level he's in!!

So there isn't really a way of identifying what level a person is in MuayThai....Unlike in Karate or Tae Kwon Do....where you've got the white belt...blue belt..black belts. Having a grading system is a good way of making students work HARD to improve....coz you can't go up to the next grade if you don't pass! And that way the trainees will work harder if that is what they want...to be good at the sport or to become a fighter?

Jesse James Parr learning the ropes at an early age at Boonchu!!

Some of the boys were preparing for a fight over the weekend and...All I can say is....The boys at Boonchu train HARD!! And having a head trainer like JWP,lwith his vast knowledge and experience in the ring running things in the gym....You can only get better and better!!! the padholders there were really good too,very thaistyle!! Allowing the fighter to freestyle on the pads alot of the time. Meaning the pad holder wont say or shout any commands and just catch whatever the fighter decides to throw. Prety impressive!! You only usually see it in Thailand......but it seems like some of the aussie gyms I've been to have some really good padholders who know how to do it too.

So the next day,the Parrs decided to take me to Surfers Paradise!! Seriously beaches in Australia are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Beautiful. When you look out its just endless water!!! The horizon is clear and looks just amazing!!! Made me reallly hate going back the next day when I thought of the beaches that we have here in Singapore......... boooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooo!! =.(

The beautiful Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast!!

Jazzy having a blast in the cold water!!

So the next day bright and early i said my farewells to the Parrs and I was back off to Brisbane to catch my flight to Singapore!! I had an AWESOME time in Brisbane and in Goldcoast. JWP and Angie thank you so much for having me over!! Hope the kids are well!! Miss the little munchkins!!

Right so thats it! My time in Australia!!! Really hope to make it back there soon again. Australia is a beautiful country and just has soooo much about it that makes you wanna keep going back!!


Alright people have a good Xmas and I'll update the blog again before the end of the year!

LaterZ

Evolution 15,Brisbane!!! Aussie Aussie Aussie! Pt 1

So after writing in to the New Paper....and having the article published....what good has that done for me....??....Absolutely FUCK ALL!!!! Gotta love it here in Singapore sometimes.......................

As always I've been pretty busy with work,training and travelling. Finally back in Singapore and settled down abit. Recovering from my massive weekend at Zoukout!!! God what a night!! =) Wish there more parties like Zoukout to keep life interesting in SingaBore!!!!

So yeah last fight of the year is over and Im not just enjoying my hoiday and rest til 2009 and hopefully all my injuries will have healed up by then!! Not much of 2008 left but Im definetly gonna make the most of the year off!!

Most of you prolly know I was up in Brisbane for Evolution 15 to take on my best friend Soren!!! I left Singapore on the 4th of Dec at about 9pm and arrived at like 630am in Brisbane Airport. Was a horrrrrible flight. Some kid infront of me constantly crying and the mom kept turning on the lights to attend to her child.....Ohh Goddddd!!! But yeah....what can you do.
I been to Brisbane before but maybe....3 years ago?? Brisbane was pretty cool. It's not toooooooooo busy and not too hectic and prolly one of the more quiet cities in Australia.

Before I left for Brisbane,I contacted Nikon and swapped in my old Nikon S700 for the super slick White,Nikon S60 which is a touch screen camera!! It's just sooooo cool!!! So just wanna say a thank you to Nikon quickly!! Check out the Nikon S60!!

Upon arrival we were greeted at the airport by the promoter,Nugget and his assistant,Chicko. They took us to our hotel/motel to quickly get freshened up and then went down to the famous Nuggets Gym before lunch to check our weight to see if we could eat,or if we had to starve til after the weigh in!! Soren was there waiting for us at the gym and we all had a good time catching up. We all quickly checked our weight and most of us were pretty much spot on or slightly off so we went down to,The Valley,which is sorta like the Chinatown of Brisbane for a tiny bit of Thai Food. After lunch it was about 1pm and we were all sooo tired from the flight,we decided to go back to the hotel to rest. We were told that we had to be at Nuggets Gym at 6pm for a weigh-in and press conference.

The famous Nuggets Gym in Brisbane.

We got to the weigh in slightly early so that we could do a small run just to sweat off the last kilo or so. The gym got more and more busy with fighters,managers,officials,tv crews and all sorts?!?! Was good to catch up with some of my aussie friends that I've met over the years from staying in boxing camps and also from just training/fighting at different gyms/events. Was good to meet one of Australia's most famous fighter,Nathan "Carnage" Corbett!!

Here are the pics of the weigh in at Nuggets Gyms. Pictures taken by Scottya.

Benny Ritter vs Daddy Cool, Zach vs Soren, Preacher vs Jabba

Eli Madigan,Warren "Wazza" Elson,Greg Foley & Jasonc Scerri, Sean vs JWP

Evolution 15 had a seriously AWESOME lineup!!! 6 Contender Asia Fighters...ALLL of Australia's top fighters all in one event! Crazzzzzzyyyy!!!

So on fight night Benny Ritter was p first against Daddy Cool. Daddy Cool has the coolest entrance EVER!!! Those who are familiar with the Evolution series will know what Im talking about. The fight was a real good one....as both fighters have won 1 fight each and this was the decider. Daddy Cool won with a 2nd Round KO.

After Benny's fight the 4 Man Qualifier was up...Eli Madigan beat Jason Scerri with a KO in rd 2 and Warren Elson beat Greg Foley on points to secure themselves a spot in the the final for the 4Man Contender Qualifier. So the there you go the final was between Eli Madigan and Warren Elson!

After the 1st round of Qualifiers was over...it was time for me and Soren to get it on!! As much as we both been saying,"yeah it's cool we'll be alright fighting each other and it's just business".....It really was HARD. It was gonna be a hard fight wether I was friends with him or not...dont get me wrong!! Sometimes we fight friends in this sport....but we're not CLOSE friends....with me and Soren it's totally different. We've been really good friends for a long time now and it really got the better of both of us. I remember Rd 1 being a very good round for both of us. Very technical and I landed lots of leg kicks on Soren. Round 2 Soren stepped it up and came in with some punches. I ate a couple of stupid uppercuts and it gave me a bloody nose...!! haha Didnt hurt as much but yeah...just looked bad!! Rd 3 Soren rocked me with some pretty good body shots and I went down close to the end of the Rd. It was a totaaallly awkward fight...We both barely threw any knees and elbows?!?! It just wasn't our usual selves fighting. People who think that my fight against Soren is how I usually fight and Im an easy target...they better think twice!!

Next up another fight that was talked about by everyone!! Preacher vs Jabba!! After both of their recent fights it was hard to say who was gonna win....Preacher knocking out Daniel Dawson.....and Jabba having some good fights in Sweden and HongKong. I rushed out from the changing room after my fight to help Jabba remove his Arab headdress. It started off well with Preacher coming in and landing a couple of good leg kicks and punches and moving around the ring. Jabba however stood his ground in the centre of the ring and came back strong with some good leg kicks followed up by some BIG hooks. A couple of his hooks landed and you could kinda see Preacher's reaction changed. And before you know it....Jabba landed the same over hand right that took out Soren!!!! Preacher tried to get up but his body just wasn't responding!!...The ref could have counted to 30 and he'd still be there.... Jabba once again shows his awesome power in his hands with a Rd 1 KO!! Damn that crazy ruski!!!!

Carnage was up next against I think his names Tony....He's from New Zealand. Sorry my memory is CRAPPP!!! Carnage as always does what he does best....comes in a fight and smashes everyone. Carnage won with a 2nd Round KO. Landed a hook on the guys nose and I think he broke it!? Think fight fans are all wondering who is gonna step up to take on Carnage...??!?

2nd Last fight of the night was the 4 Man Qualifier between Eli and Wazza. Two very different styles!!! Eli who is a in and out sorta fighter...hitting and moving around the ring....and Wazza who is a grappler and like staying in close. And just as most people expected.....Wazza spent the fight chasing Eli around the ring trying to get his hold on him. To be fair he was strong in the grapple and Eli did really well push kicking....and then countering with hard punches and kicks. But Wazza just pressed on!!!!! The fight goes the distance and the winner was declared Eli Madigan! Congratulations to Eli and all the best in the Contender Asia Season 2.

Last fight of the night....JWP vs Sean Wright..what was meant to be a war....was over in the 2nd or 3rd. Not due to a KO....but due to illness. Sean Wright who had spent 3 days trying to get to Brisbane.....coz of all the airport trouble...flying from Chiang Mai to Samui....Samui to Singapore...and then Singapore to Brisbane. Sean Wright stepped into fight not to dissapoint all his fans. JWP landed some good bodyshots on Sean and everytime we saw it on the screen we were like...."Ohhhhhh....Ahhhh...Owww" Jabba said to me he's never been punched harder by anyone in all his years of fighting!! A pity the fight of the night didn't go the way we all wanted....but Ive heard there's a talk of a rematch. Hopefully Sean will be ready for war then!

So what a night of fights. Sucks that it all ended so FAST!! I really enjoyed the Evolution experience. I never ever thought I'd be invited to fight on Evolution. Evolution has got to be one of the best series INTERNATIONALLY! Sucks that I had to fight my best friend and couldn't put on a good performance!!....But Im still happy and I know I'll do better for my next fight.

To be honest,I never ever thought that I'd ever fight Soren!!!! (Or be on Contender Asia!!) I remember meeting Soren in 2004 when I lived in Thailand and it was at the start of my career.... we hung out and trained together.....and I remember thinking,"Damn,when will I ever get this good!?!!?" The fights over and we're still best of friends!! We hung out heaps after the fight as I stayed a couple of days in Brisbane hanging out with Soren,met some of his crazy friends and even got to meet his lovely mom and sister!

Me and Soren goofing around at the after fight party!

Brisbane was great fun....Met soo many cool people there and had some awesome parties and some crazy nights out!!! Thanks to everyone who took such awesome care of me while I was there!! Dane,Ray,Nugget,Chicko,Daniel and Jules and whoever I've left out!! Right guys,I hope to be back soon! If not for a fight....for a night out!!

Next blog entry will be about my time in Goldcoast with Mr.JWP and family!!!

Until next time everyone!

LaterZ