Kickboxing gala
Last Saturday, June 8, The Night of Kick and Punch 16 – Black Tie Edition 3 was held at the amazing Reggia di Venaria, in Venaria Reale, close to Turin in North Western Italy.
In this kickboxing gala, most fights were under K-1 rules: Punches, kicks and knees. Promoted by Angelo and Marianna Valente and Michele Briamonte’s Sap Fighting Style in partnership with con AB Consulting, Sicurjob Srl and H-Onelab Srl, The Night of Kick and Punch 16 – Black Tie Edition 3 was a success in every aspect of the promotion: The fights were spectacular, the place was sold-out and the spectators were enthusiasts, among them Italian top model Chiara Scelsi.
Dazn broadcast the event and the media coverage was impressive with newspapers and magazines writing articles and publishing the press releases in their online and paper editions. The Night of Kick and Punch 16 was a black tie event: The guests had an aperitivo (an Italian ritual in the late afternoon: usually sparkling white wine or a cocktail with small pieces of bread topped with Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma or other Italian products appreciated internationally) in the beautiful garden of the Royal Palace and then enjoyed the fights inside the building while eating a 5 stars dinner sitting at an elegant table in the Citroniera hall projected by famed Italian architect Filippo Juvarra and built between 1722 and 1727.
Barbosa wins by KO
The final of the 70 kg (154 pounds) tournament between Carlos Barbosa (Spain) and Amin Ettayeb (Morocco) was spectacular with Barbosa knocking down Ettayeb in the first round and then knocking him out in the second round with his punches. “I never was a professional boxer – Barbosa said – but my trainer always considered very important the boxing side of kickboxing so I became very good at throwing punches”. The semifinals were held last March 2 in Milano: Carlos Barbosa defeated Francesco Maggio in 2 rounds after an exciting fight while Amin Ettayeb beat Sheriff Konteh on points. In his two Italian fights Carlos Barbosa proved to be world class fighter and that he deserves other big opportunities against the best in his weight division.
Grusovin wins on points
Former Wako-Pro World Featherweight Champion Luca Grusovin had a great battle against Alessandro Bellini: Grusovin won the first and the second round knocking down Bellini in the first, but got hit by a perfect hook to the chin in the third round and went down.
Grusovin got up but it was clear that he had not recovered and he used all his experience to make it to the final bell.
Grusovin won on points and then said: “That hook hit me like a bomb, but my mind was still capable of making me last till the final bell. Usually, when you get hit at the chin like that, you go to sleep. Your teammates will tell you what happened when you wake up”.
Cimpeanu defeats Rebbouha
Former Wako-Pro World Super Welterweight Champion Georgian Cimpeanu defeated on points after 3 rounds Ayoub Rebbouha. It was a clear victory for Cimpeanu whose photo was on the poster of the event. He was born in Romania, but he always lived close to Rome and speaks Italian with Roman accent.
Italian fighter based in London (England) Amro Ghanem came back to his country to fight Mohad Arkat (France) for the European muay thai championship and won on points after 3 rounds. This victory will open Ghanem the doors of the promotion Thai Fight which is based in Thailand. Amro Ghanem has been living in London for the past 11 years and has become a star of the Muay Thai Grand Prix promotion winning the British super lightweight title and the Intercontinental welterweight championship. Muay thai allows punches, kicks, knees, elbows and also throwing the opponent but when he hits the mat the action must be stopped.
Revolt
During the Night of Kick and Punch 16 – Black Tie Edition 3 Angelo Valente and Michele Briamonte announced Revolt, a new kickboxing company that will promote a tournament with 100,000 Euros (right now 107,000 dollars) for the winner. In Italia, and maybe even in Europe, no kickboxer ever got a purse of 100,000 Euros.
Michele Briamonte explained the reason of such a big purse: “We want to have a promotion at the same level of the K-1 Grand Prix, One Championship and Rizin, they are leaders in Asia. The fighters who sign with Revolt must understand that they are signing for one of the leading kickboxing promotions in the world and a big prize money is one of the factors that make a first-class promotion”.
