Mari's Minute

 WCK: Full Rules Muaythai Recap

January 12, 2008

Las Vegas Hilton

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas…Sin City…The City that never sleeps…lights…action…sevens…come on seven…mama needs

some money to spend at the porn convention next door…

Damn…craps...oh well, maybe next time…

What’s the slogan…what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…they are right…my money stayed and I went

home…but I had fun losing...and if you happened to be in Vegas over the weekend, you definitely were a

winner if you attended Dennis Warner’s WCK: Full Rules Muay Thai event at the Las Vegas Hilton on

Saturday night. The sold-out venue played host to eight great fights – four of which were title bouts which

included the prestigious WBC Muay Thai Heavyweight Title.

Here is how it all went down:

Yamato Miura (in white trunks) was first to come to the ring - followed by the fan favorite Freddie Medrano and the third man in the ring, Steve Mazzagatti (the ref). Medrano was first to connect to the body with a right kick and followed it with a double left jab. Miura was able to counter well in the first couple of rounds but Medrano was a little faster and had more power behind his strikes. Medrano had control and was

able to connect with a beautiful uppercut and hooks to the face and ended the fourth round with consecutive

knees to the mid section - hurting Miura. Round five was all Medrano. Miura was hurt as he started the round

but showed a tremendous heart and didn’t give up. Medrano’s power punches to the face and body wore

Miura down throughout the fight giving Medrano the unanimous decision win and the IAMTF (Amateur) United

States Welterweight Title. 

Then came the Super Heavyweights - Wrath White (right) vs. Ethan Cox. This one was off to a slow start - highlight of round one was White connecting with thigh kicks. The fans started booing in the second. White finally stepped it up late in the third and was able to connect with combo punches and an elbow that cut Cox’s forehead at the end of the round. Cox began to say “Come on” after receiving a couple of powerful thigh kicks in the fourth and  final round. Cox kept the mean look throughout the fight but not much action

behind the look as he was clearly dominated. White took the obvious unanimous decision win with judges

scores of  40-36, 39-37 and 39-37. 

Dave Smith (left) was next to take on another crowd favorite Joe Sarkissian. Sarkissian came out strong, dominating most of round one - pressing and connecting but Smith was able to finish the round with a flurry of punches to Sarkissian’s face. Sarkissian tired out after the second round and then it was all Smith. Smith got momentum and connected well with a beautiful kick combo - low right kick followed up

with a left high kick - and later with a spinning back elbow and hooks to the body that just hurt Sarkissian.

Sarkissian got an eight count in round four due to the body shots but was able to continue…but not for long

as Smith came in strong on a still hurt Sarkissian and started punching away until finally the referee stepped

in to stop the bout. Smith took the TKO win at 2:22 of round four. 

Kongnapa was next to defend the IKKC Muay Thai International Welterweight Title against Kang En from China. Kongnapa started out as confident as always but it didn’t take but a couple of rounds to realize that he was in trouble. Kongnapa appeared to have taken the first two rounds but it all changed in round three. After a little taunting from both, En began to connect and counter a little more. The later the

fight went on, the more tired Kongnapa looked. Kongnapa seemed to be grabbing defeat out of the jaws of

victory. En was able to counter with great powerful shots to the body and that slowed Kongnapa down. En’s

straight elbows connected well to the face, cutting Kongnapa around both eyes. En used that as a target

and connected with more strikes to the face. Kongnapa began to bleed from several cuts and just couldn’t

seem to be able to come back. En dominated the final rounds - connecting with combo punches to the face

and body. A bloody Kongnapa held on and took the punches as they came - gutsy performance. Then the

referee stepped in to have the Doctor look at Kongnapa’s cuts and it was determined that Kongnapa was

unable to continue due to the cuts. En gets the well-deserved win.

Jared Lara (left) took the IKKC Muay Thai Western Super Middleweight Title over Val Leedy. Lara’s powerful thigh kicks just dominated the “Dog Face” Leedy. In round two, Lara received an accidental low blow from Leedy and that just got Lara angry as he came out stronger, wanting to finish Leedy off. Lara continued with the powerful low kicks and dropped Leedy for the first eight count. Leedy struggled to get back up on to his feet but

he continued although hurt. Lara then finished him off - working the legs again and it was just too

much for Leedy as he went down again in great pain. The referee came in to stop the fight at :40 of round

three giving Lara the win. 

Then the women’s bout, Sema Yerlice (left) took on the "Princess of Pain" Sachiyo Shibata. Yerlice started off well in round one, but Shibata came out strong in round two and was able to connect with a clean shot to the body that hurt Yerlice.  Although Yerlice came back with a couple a good shots of her own, it was not enough to keep Shibata away. Shibata again connected to the body and Yerlice went down to one

knee for an eight count. She continued but Yerlice got dropped a second time due to more strikes to the

face and body and the referee stepped in to stop the fight giving Shibata the TKO win at 2:38 of round two.

Once again, Malaipet Team Diamond (light blue trunks) dominated his opponent - this time it was the taller Xu Yan who was finished with a flying knee to the chest. Yan was hurt and the referee stopped the fight at 2:43 of round one. Yan appeared to have hurt his right elbow - probably from trying to block the powerful knee to the chest.

And as for the fight of the night, Shane Del Rosario came up short in his defense of the WBC Muay Thai heavyweight title against Ginty Vrede. The fan favorite Del Rosario started off strong - a great battle from beginning to end as Del Rosario appeared to have hurt Vrede early in the round but Vrede came back strong and connected with a hook to the face that just rocked Rosario hard for an eight count.

A hurt yet resilient Del Rosario continued…but once again, Vrede pressed and connected with a high kick

to the face that finished Del Rosario. It was over. Del Rosario was unable to stay on his feet - the referee

made a good call and stopped the fight at 2:24 of round one giving Vrede the win and the respect of the

crowd. The underdog winner dropped to the floor taking in the unbelievable moment.

In closing, I want to give a special thanks to Captain Richard Daniels for all his hospitality.

Until next time,

Mari

** It is with great sadness that we report that Mr. Vrede has passed away. Out thoughts and prayers are with

   his family and friends. We conducted an interview with Mr. Vrede shortly after his big win - you can view it

   through our tribute page to Mr. Vrede here:  Post fight interview.

(1/16/08)(1/30/08)