On the red corner

Being in Contender Asia is one in a life time dream come through. Everybody try to outshine each other. BUT nobody can beat this guy. For all his effort I think we should put him in CA2 , coz he can make the show truly Malaysian.

No I'm not talking about Alif.. it the guy who say "on the red corner ...", yes the emcee, a compère or you could call him MJ for "microphone jockey," OMG this guy is really good!
He's a real talent! Vote our MJ for CA2!

Enjoy the fight between Alif and Tengku Shahrizal ..you judge!!

Alif WHO?

Alif is the big winner. I heard he got offer to fight in Lumpinee and Turkey.

But his biggest challenge is he got to leave his cloud nine. He have to proof that his wins is not luck.

Locals especially Kelantanese will follow him closely, the nak muays are taking numbers to be in line to take him out. One night wonders or a genuine dragon slayer. I think he is feeling the pressure now.

Alif, Big Z believe in you. Your parent believe in you. The Warriors are all behind you.
Get your act together, make everybody proud including yourself!


Fight between current and former Boxx Warriors. Hashim represent Boxx Warriors at Super 4 Contender Asia Qualifying, he was second to Tengku Shahrizal. He left Boxx Gym early September 2008. Hashim did come back to Kulim for a short period for some fine tune before the super 8.

In Malaysia, there are not many gym that you could call a gym. None in Kelantan, None in Terengganu (Hashim home state). That bad? Yes that's Muay Thai in Malaysia.
For that I like to salute Boxx Warriors Gym and Malaysian Tiger for showing the way, how a gym should run.

At Boxx, we been getting enquiries from other gym to have their boxers train and represent us. These are gym that sincerely want their boys to grow. You heard it before ..If you love somebody, you have to let them go ... with good performance from Alif, Fauzan and Firdaus, you will understand why!

Quickies !!

I predict the outcome of the match correctly, but I don't expect it to end so fast.

Enjoy Tengku Shahrizal vs Kudin fight.

Rematch no: 3

Abbas, Boxxtomoi & Namsaknoi.(pic by Nadya S)

Abbas fought Rittadae twice before. Abbas KOed Ritt in round 3 (elbow) during the WTMO title challenge. On the 2nd encounter , Abbas win by points, but it was a very close fight. Both were not satisfied with the fight, especially Ritt.

From my understanding, both the title holders; Abbas and Namsaknoi, made special requests to the promoter to fight the opponent whom they both have high respect. Both Ritt and Berneung are at the peak of their career. It's the moment of truth. Are they really better than their opponent?

Expect a non stop action pack fight.

Reason NO: 6 why you should not miss our event!

TIGERS

The most "tigers" participate in our event is 3..That the Malaysian Tigers (MT) , during our KL International Muay Thai Challenge.

For the coming Kedah Royal Cup we have another 3 "tigers", this time from Thailand. Tiger Muay Thai (TMT).

TMT powerhouse : Berneung, Robert and the third tiger RITTADAE (pic below)

(pic from TMT www)

All the tigers are Khru at TMT Phuket. Rittadae have a very impressive records. At 20, North Thailand Champion (3 times),85 Fights, 60 Wins, 23 Loses, 2 Draws."...amazing 26-4 over his last 30 fights with 21 KO’s with 6 coming from left hook liver shots and another 8 from left hooks to the head " - source MTM www.

Both Berneung and Rittadae will be fighting for TM-WMC Royal Cup title belts, fighting again the holders Namsaknoi (vs Berneung 9th May) and Abbas BoxxWarriors (vs Rittadae 8th May).

I like to thank Jonny Betts for the TMT t-shirt. He's from tigerMT(Phuket) but right now train at BoxxWarriors Gym Ampang.

Kejohanan TOMOI Jemputan Kedah.

Penganjur Tomoi Jemputan Kedah pening kepala ... ramai sangat yang daftar dan menawar diri untuk mengambil bahagian. Mungkin ini perkara biasa bagi negeri Kelantan, setakat semalam hampir 60 orang sudah mendaftar, hantar profile serta mengambil berat badan. Ramai lagi yang masih membuat pertanyaan.

Kedah Muay Thai is alive!

Rematch no: 2

Beside the rematch between NAMSAKNOI YUDTHAGARNGAMTORN and BERNEUNG SAKHMOSIN (Namsaknoi putting his TM-WMC title belt for grab) another rematch will be between DANIEL MASHAMAITE (South Africa) vs MEX 11 M- 150 (Thailand). Daniel was KOed by Mex (2nd round) during the PROFESSIONAL MUAY THAI CHAMPIONSHIP in Kelantan, April 18,2009.

Daniel and Mex (file picture by Pak zawi)

EVENT OF THE YEAR

The Thais heard about this event and they are negotiating to send TV crew to cover the fight!!

What ever the out come, the Muay Thai Nation rate our event very highly. Their promoters always try to squeeze in their finest boxers. The boxers are honoured and always give their best, so they will be invited again.

If it is good enough for the Thais, reason no : 4 why you should not miss The Royal Cup of Kedah!

Bernama Report

Two Malaysian Muay Thai Exponents Qualify To Contest 'Contender Asia 2'
TitleBy: Ramjit-

KOTA BAHARU, April 25 (Bernama) --

Two Malaysian Muay Thai exponents did the country proud after being selected among 18 foreign exponents to contest in this season's "The Contender Asia 2" (TCA) reality TV combat show.Bernard Radin, 36, from Sarawak and Faizal Ramli, 19, from Kelantan earned their ticket after beating their respective opponents in the finals of the Super Muay Thai championship at the Youth and Sports Complex here yesterday.TCA executive producer Riaz Mehta said it was the first time Malaysian exponents had gained selection for the popular reality TV show and more significant was the fact that the Malaysia will be the venue for shooting the programme."The presence of Malaysian exponents in the popular show that has about 500 million viewers in more than 40 countries through the AXN channel, will be an added bonus to local Muay Thai fans. The show will start in June while the final is scheduled for January 2010," said Mehta.Mehta added that the 18 contestants from 17 countries will be vying for coveted belt and RM800,000 total prize money.Meanwhile, Faizal who had been competing in Muay Thai competitions for the past six years said he was both delighted and determined to do well in the show.-- BERNAMA

CONTENDER ASIA II - The Super 8

Most people have read the result of the Super 8 fight and most must be shocked by the result as many have predicted a win by Tengku Shahrizal of PDRM. The biggest surprise was the elimination of Tengku Shahrizal at the hand of Alif Zulkifli my grandnephew of which none of us would give him half a chance other than Zahari of Boxxwarriors who has seen Alif's transformation after his transfer from M 150 Kota Bharu. Zahari made a comment somewhere that Alif and Wes Jaya may spring a surprise because they are the dark horses.
If you visit Malaysian Tiger's site and look at their poll, Alif didn't receive a single vote. Even I didn't give my grandnephew my vote. How shameful of me.
Now to satiate your craving for news about the event, here are some pictures to lessen your burden. Sorry I am not in the frame of mind to write lengthy fight reviews as I haven't viewed all of my video footage.
The Super 8 in pictures.

This is what they were fighting for, the prestigious belt when you are throned as the champion. Any lesser positions will mean only a trophy. Only the champion will take home RM3,000 prize money and the losing finalist will get half of that.

The VIPs includes Mr. Riaz Mehta The Executive Director of The Contender Asia.

Look who is here. It is Stephen Fox the presenter of Contender Asia. The other guy is a Kelantanese with KL Freestyle Kickboxing. Didn't get his name though we have met at an earlier event in Dewan Kompleks Sekolah-sekolah Wakaf Mek Zainab.

This is Sam, the Production Manager of The Contender Asia. He interviewed Pak Zawi to gauge the spectators responce to the event. Come June, Pak Zawi will have the fleeting seconds of fame when millions of people from 20 countries view the show. Thanks to Bernard who had not much option when Sam asked him for an English speaking spectator. Did Pak Zawi fit in the bill? You will have to watch the show to find out.

Puan Surina gave Pak Zawi the best ringside seat with the permission to shoot videos from the seat. Fair enough when you have several television cameras trained towards the ring, a camera man with a camcorder by the rings edge will not make a good scene.

The fighters will enter the ring walking on a raised platform just like a catwalk. The only difference is you don't see pretty models on it but tough and mean looking oily men displaying their bare muscular upper torso. Here you see Bedu and Eikkasit escorting Alif to the ring. Hey Alif has a six pack now!

The opening act was a fight between Mat Ropi and a fighter from Langkawi by the name of Nasir Saad. Despite the thunderous cheer from the home crowd especially from the MC, Mat Ropi failed to deliver the finishing touch to KO his opponent. Mat Ropi clearly lacks the finishing touch. He won by points though.

The Super 8 fight started with Tengku Sharizal of PDRM against Kudin Raja Jerung of MT. Pokku finished off the fight with a KO over Kudin in the first round! He must be saving his strength for later. Having been KOed in another earlier match with Ediey Selendang Kuning earlier in the mont, Kudin may have not repuperate well enough.

The second Super 8 fight was between Alif and Hashim Ramli of Terengganu. Alif doing the wai kru. Alif's fitness seemed to have improved a lot since his fight against Barbod of Iran in November 2008.

Alif's opponent was Hashim Ramli a fighter with 25 fight records against Alif's 20. Alif made a short work of it and KOed Hashim in the second round. This was the first upset. Terengganu's dream of having her own Nak Muay fighter in Contender Asia II in Terengganu was dashed. Hashim is a good fighter with a good built. They will have to contend with a Kelantanese to carry the Malaysian flag together with Bernard Radin of Sarawak the other qualifier.

Wes Jaya is the fighter from Boxxwarriors. He seems relaxed before the match started. Wes Jaya is a Malaysian based in Vancouver Canada.
Wes doing the wai kru with his opponent Azwan of M - 150 in the background. Wes Jaya won this match by knocking out Azwan in the second round.
Khoo May Yang of TNT came in for the third fight. This fighter is considered by some as impossible to be felled. His opponent Faizal of Malaysian Tigers later proved that nothing is impossible. A low kick to Khoo's leg felled him.

Khoo psyching his opponent before the fight.

Khoo and Faizal in a tight embrace.


Khoo's cornerman trying to ascertain if Khoo was alright after the fight went the distance of five rounds. Faizal was adjudged the winner based on points.

The first semifinal was between Tengku Shahrizal. Nobody consider Alif as a threat to Tengku Sharizal by the way he demolished Kudin Raja Jerung ealier. Alif proved otherwise and Tengku Shahrizal was KOed in the second round.

Wes Jaya came in next against Faizal Siku Emas.

Faizal attacked Wes with his elbow and blood oozed from the wound. The referee stopped the fight in the second round and so Faizal won by a TKO.

Wes was sutured up after the fight. When he stopped over at my house in Pasir Mas with the entourage led by Zahari, Wes looked none the worse for wear. Soon he will be fighting again.

Faizal was given the last instruction befor he fought Alif in the final. I have no pictures of the final fight. Suffice to say, Alif had no answer to the attacks by Faizal. Alif seems to have run out of gas and was happy to be the second best in the tournament. Given the earlier predictions, going beyond the first round was more than enough for him. Getting the scalp of Tengku Shahrizal was prized enough for him. Soon Alif will be fighting in Lumpinee Bangkok. Lumpinee is the dream venue for any nak muays from Malaysia. Being able to fight there will be a dream come true for Alif. Thanks to Boxxwarrior, Alif will soon have his dream come true.


During the break, Faizal seemed to enjoy a cold bath given by his cornerman.

Faizal the champion

The victor was ecstatic when the belt was wrapped around his waiste by Mr. Riaz helped by the topgun of MT.
The vanquised found solace in being able to reach somewhere no one had ever think he would.

All team managers were given a token of appreciation by the Organizer. Here En. Zahari the boss of Kulim Gym was seen getting his.

Mr. Zahari of Boxxwarriors and Mr. Farek of M 150 Kota Bharu. Both men have had a hand in the development of Alif's career as Alif was with M 150 before his transfer to Boxxwarriors.

All the contenders were in the ring to be phtographed. Where is Kudin? Kudin was out of frame on the extreme right. I will find another picture with Kudin in it. My apologies to Kudin and MT.

Pak Zawi reporting fromPasir Mas for Boxxtomoi Muay Thai Magazine.

All photos were shot by Yani.

FAIZAL WIN.

game over:
FIZAL WIN
BEAT ALIF IN ROUND 2

GOOD NIGHT-GUA MAU MASUK TIDUR.

FAIZAL vs WES

FAIZAL WIN
WES TKO ROUND 2

ALIF BOXXWARRIORS

ALIF BOXXWARRIORS KO TENGKU SHARIZAL
IN ROUND 2

ALIF IN FINAL VS FAIZAL OR WES.

Result : Wes vs Azuan

Wes BoxxWarriors WIN.
KOed Azwan in Round 2

Result : Khoo vs Faizal

FAIZAL WIN BY POINTS

Result : Alif vs Hashim

Alif BoxxWarriors WIN
Hashim KOed in round 2

Result : Pokku vs Kudin

Tengku Sharizal WIN.
Kudin KOed in round 1

super 8 - draw

Tengku Sharizal (PDRM) Vs Kudin (Tigers)
Alif (Boxxwarriors) Vs Hashim (Terengganu)

Khoo Red Dragon (TNT) Vs Faizal (Tigers)
Azuan (M-150) Vs Wes (Boxxtomoi)

File photo :Wes with Nam of Boxxwarriors Gym Ampang.

You hear it first here!

SUPER 8 - 1st reporting

All boxers have their weight taken . The draw will be around 5 pm.

You hear it first here!

Could This Be The Muaythai Event Of The Year?

After being treated to a gala muay thai event called TM_WMC INTERNATIONAL MUAY THAI CHALLENGE 2009 on 27th, 28th and 29th April 2009 at Stadium Sultan Muhamad IV, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, muay thai fans in Kelantan will be treated to another event which the organizers are touting to as The Muay Thai event of the year in Malaysia.

Could it be any better?

Come and watch the event at Kompleks Belia dan Sukan Negeri Kelantan on Friday 24th April 2009 at 8.00 PM to know for sure.

My eyes caught the sight of a banner placed nicely at eye level at the roundabout in Pasir Pekan. The banner was well designed without too much information being crammed in and only the pictures of the eight nak muay contenders were on it.

At a glance I did manage to glean what the intended message that was supposed to be conveyed by the banners put up by an event organizer. More often than not some organizers will try to cram in so much information as possible rendering the banner useless.

Some organizers had the cheek to put up their own faces on the banner hoping to garner some publicity which consumed much needed space to deliver loud and clear the message intended for the public to see.

The vertical banners has two sets of photographs of nak muays and they too did manage to convey the message to the public.

The Contender Asia II the Malaysian Qualifier Super 8 will be held on 24th April 2009 at Kompleks Belia dan Sukan Negeri Kelantan, located at Panji Kota Bharu. The event is held to select the Malaysian Representatives to participate in the reality TV show that will be held in Terengganu.

Today I was in Kota Bharu to buy some computer peripherals. Being already in Kota Bharu I was curious to see how the preparation for the event had progressed since the event will begins tomorrow at 8.00 PM which is very early by Kelantan standard as night events should start after Isya'.

Though there is not much physical activities yet, I heaved a sigh of relieve at the sight of an indoor stadium with no walls. From experience for indoor events held previously, cigarette smokes coming from excited spectators are the worst problem to non smokers like me.

I know no amount of signs and request from the master of ceremonies will deter them from smoking. With open walls hopefully some breeze will blow across the hall and bring some respite to our suffocating lungs.

Upon returning home I was green with envy when I read this blog about Mr. Mussadik Boxxtomoi receiving the hard copy of an invitation card from the organizer for him to attend the event.

For your information Mr. Mussadik is located in Rawang, Selangor and may not be attending the event at all while Pak Zawi is just 30 minutes drive away in Pasir Mas.

Anyway the organizer had requested me sometime earlier to send my mail address so that they can post the card. Today is already Thursday and tomorrow is a non working day in Kelantan. If it doesn't come today, no way that I can receive the invitation before the event.

It is not that I am so hard up that I need a free pass but it feels nice to be invited and hopefully the invitation card will give Pak Zawi the freedom of choice whether to sit in the guest area or stand near the ringside to take photographs and videotape the fights for a blow by blow review of some of the fights.

Please note that my grand nephew Alif is fighting in this championship for Boxxwarriors Kulim. It was almost 2.30 PM when I heard the door chime indicating that someone was at the gate. True enough I saw the postman waiting to handover to me a plastic envelop from Poslaju.

With heart thumping I opened the envelope with contain the card. Now I know what Mr. Mussadik meant by the nice looking card. On the front page you can see the photographs of all the contenders for the Super 8. Among them is Alif.

The inside page is the fight schedule. There seems to be too many fights scheduled for the night with the main event to be completed by 11.20 PM so that the prize giving ceremony can be carried out till 11.35 PM.

From that point onwards more fights will be held and mind you there will be ample matches to last into the wee hours of the morning if you care to stay and watch.

The organizers requested that the card recipient kindly RSVP their attendance by calling Khaldun on his mobile before 22nd April 2009. I received mine on the 23rd of April but out of courtesy I called Khaldun and he inquired further whether I will be attending alone or with my spouse.

Hey this is as good an opportunity as any for me to introduce my spouse to the world of muaythai which I my self has embraced since November 2008.

If you are coming to the event, see you at Kompleks Belia dan Sukan Negeri Kelantan.

My Story

Fauzan Zabidi of BoxxWarriors gym, will have his own blog before his fight in Kulim (7th May 2009). It's all about him! .

It will be in Malay. He will pen his thought & experience. Basically it a story about Nak Muay.

He will talk about all his fights including this one:

SUPER 8

I like to thank the organizer of CA Super 8 Malaysian Qualifier for the lovely invitation card. Nothing like holding a hard copy of the card. Event is tomorrow, 24th April, KB. If it is KKB, then I don't have to think twice.

2 warriors and 1 ex-warriors will be taking part. Alif, Wes Jaya and Hashim. Who will win? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think all 7 contestants will try to avoid Wes Jaya, not that he is the best, but nobody have seen he fight before, even his own coach & gym!

To be honest the favorite are still Tengku Shahrizal & Faizal of Tiger.
The spoiler (underdog) Wes, Kudin & Khoo TNT.
Hashim, Alif and Azwan wont make the cut.

The winner and Benard Radin will represent Malaysia. They will be a household name soon, no mater how they fare in the real show.

Good luck to the fighters.

Public Announcement

PERASMIAN PERSATUAN MUAY THAI GARUDA

DI SEMELING, SG PETANI KEDAH.

TARIKH : 25hb APRIL,2009

JAM : 8 PAGI - 6 PETANG.

INFO : HISHAM 012-544540

Video Tomoi : Cara menontonnya

Anda pernah menonton video Tomoi?
Mengapa, macamana dan apa yang anda tonton ?

Mejual DVD/VCD adalah satu pendapatan untuk team boxxtomoi dan kawanboxx. Ia subsidi untuk bill hotel, duit minyak dan makan minum krew kami. Untuk Piala DiRaja awal bulan depan, krew kami ialah 6 shooter (3 kamera biasa & 3 kamera video), 3"pemberita" untuk Boxxtomoi Magazine dan blogspot.

Selain dari itu kami juga menyediakan krew untuk membantu melincin perjalanan acara, diketuai oleh saudara Zack (floor manager) dan 4 pembantu. Bersama dengan krew-krew saudara Sanusi dari boxxevent (dan bantuan kelab-kelab tomoi tempatan), kami akan sama2 akan memastikan perjalan event itu lancar.

Boxxtomoi selalu memberi kelainan, hampir semua event yang kami buat pengambaran, dvd/vcd perlawanan malam pertama kami akan jual pada malam kedua.Ini untuk peminat yang tak sempat menonton acara malam pertama.

Berbalik pada tajuk kita: Cara menonton video tomoi.

1) Tontonan umum:
Kalau boleh, kita tonton ramai, macam kita tengok bola. Lagi besar skrin nya lagi bagus. Untuk kepusan, bila tengok jangan diam saja, setiap kali nak muay kena belasah, bunyi sekali, "oieee","ambik kau", "dusyyhh,dusyyhh","adoi" ,apa2 saja bunyi untuk menambah efek.Hahaha, anda mungkin ingat ini kelakar, cuba buat gini,anda akan tahu perbezaannya.

2) Tontonan orang gym:
Orang dari gym tengok lain sikit. Mereka tak kisah siapa menang, kalau budak dari gym itu kalah,lagi seronok mereka tonton. Bila kalah,mesti lah ada perasaan pedih & marah, tapi bagi trainer dan nak muay itu sendiri, ianya satu pebelajaran. Mana silap kita.Persoalannya hampir sama," kenapa kau biarkan dia blah,blah,blah.. " jawapannya , balik gym, latihan yang lebih keras.

Sabtu lepas, saya dapat tape rakaman fight Ediey dan Kudin. Keduanya antara peninju terbaik Malaysia masa ini. Cara peribadi saya minat kedua-duanya, jadi macam rakan-rakan yang lain kami nak tengok mengapa keputusan begitu mengejut.
Kami menonton kat Ampang Gym.

Paling riuh komen bila pusingan yang Ediey tumbangkan Kuddin, bukan sebab tumbukan Ediey,tapi sebab cameraman fokus keadaan penonton, (haha) dan ada yang pandang saya, ehemm,hallo, bukan aku yang ambil lah!!

Ok mari kita tengok vdo ini cara orang gym tonton,tengok setiap gerak geri nak muay tersebut. Saya setuju dengan pendapat saudara Zack, dari segi teknik, Kudin lebih baik. Ediey lain. Dia memang dilahirkan untuk jadi seorang Nak Muay.

TETAPI, bila saya ulang tayang beberapa kali kat studio saya, lihat betul-betul reaksi penonton. Mereka ini nampak macam bukan peminat Ediey atau Kudin dan bukan peminat sejati tomoi. Bila sahabat dari Kelantan cakap Mus, kat KB jangan jual DVD jual VCD.. saya jawab takkan pula.

Bila dia kata ramai yang berjudi.. jawapan yang sama ..takkan pula.

Kat KB, DVD saya kurang jualan, sebab memang masih ramai yang pakai VCD. Untuk soalan yang kedua , saya belum dapat jawapan yang tepat!!!

Enjoy the fight.

NEWSFLASH - Emi Sampuri KOed His Opponent.

Both Emi Sampuri (Zarimin Yusof) of Boxxwarriors and his brother Zariman Yusoff beat their opponent by KO in the second round at the final day of Pertandingan Muay Professional in Rantau Panjang on 19th April 2009. Zariman who fought with Ismadi Ismail and ex Boxxwarriors but fought under the banner of Boxxwarriors was outclassed by Zariman in every aspect of the game.

The second fight was between Emi Sampuri of Boxxwarriors and Mamat Lintar of Tasek Berangan who weighs almost 10 kg than Emi at 75 kg. Emi was nearly TKOed by an ankle blow that cut the skin of Emi's head but upon inspection was deemed fit to fight further. Emi came back with a vengeance and KOed Mamat in the second round. Mamat being so big had to be carried down by several people down from the ring.

Will elder brother Zariman be joining Emi Sampuri in Kulim soon? Big Z who witnessed both fights was impressed with both of them justifying all the hype about Emi Sampuri.

Daniel Mashimaite was KOed by Mex II of M 150 when he was brought head down on the floor by Mex II knocking out Daniel senseless in the second round thus ending a much waited interesting fight between the two prematurely.

More report to follow.
Pak Zawi reporting from Pasir Mas for
Boxxtomoi Muay Thai Magazine.

PERTANDINGAN MUAY PROFESSIONAL

PROFESSIONAL MUAY THAI CHAMPIONSHIP IN CONJUNCTION WITH VISIT KELANTAN YEAR

Muay Thai lovers in Kelantan never had it so good. After being treated to a gala championship at The Sultan Muhamad IV Stadium with the TM-WMC INTERNATIONAL MUAY THAI CHALLENGE 2009 from the 27th to 29th March 2009 followed by the Festival Pertandingan Malaysia Freestyle Full Contact Kickboxing 2009 from 10th to 13th April 2009 at Kompleks Sekolah-sekolah Wakaf Mek Zainab, now they are served with the Professional Muay Thai Championship brought to their door step in Gual Tinggi, Rantau Panjang.

Not only fighters from Thailand or were formerly from there and now residing in Kelantan, will be fighting but fighters from Russia, South Africa and Uzbekistan (thanks to Boxxevent for making them available) will show their prowess in the ring.

These countries were represented by Aliev Fahridin (Russia), Daniel Mashamaite (South Africa) and Botirov Shuhrat (Uzbekistan). The trio with their entourage had been in Rantau Panjang a few days before the event and had been distributing the championship fliers to prove that they are already here to fight.

Local organizers had been plagued by a no show when foreign fighters were promised to be made available to fight in their event. It is a really good move to ensure confidence among the paying patrons who often demand their money back when the international fighters didn't turn up.

Here is the story of the first night of the championship in pictures.

The President of Persatuan Boksing Kelantan with his men. From left to right: Azmin (Azmin Motor Tanah Merah) Faizal (B 13 Rantau Panjang) Ramli Awang @ Pak Yusof (President of Persatuan Kelantan Boksing), Pak Da Hussin (B 13) and an unknown member of B 13.

The people behind B 13 Rantau Panjang L-R: Pak Da Husin, Faizal and Ayah.

Akhbar Hanafi with Emi Sampuri, Faizal, Orondo and Orondo's trainer.

The crowd is being entertained by this man who sings to entertain the crowd before the fight. He is very good.

A smiling Kamal of Kelab Sri Kajang. This fighter is being trained to be my cameraman to shoot the second day event because of my inability to attend. The first night was entirely shot by Kamal and I have yet to see the result. The lady in pink is Kak Yah, Emi Sampuri's mother.

Bedu being given the blood pressure check while Aliev waited for his turn.

Akbar Hanafi is given a rub down. For them any corner will do. Below is Akbar's opponent for tonight - Saiful of M 150. Both are champions in their own right with belts to show for them.

Saiful being given the oil bath not far from Akbar.

I caught Saiful shadow fighting to warm up before the match. He quickly don his belt and posed.

The first fight will be this fight between two young boxers Rafik of Azmin Motor Tanah Merah and Suffian of B 13. Suffian is the son of B 13 trainer Ta Beres. They really did fight and the crowd really love it. Fear is an unknown word to them as they fought a no hold barred fight using knees and elbow.

Farek the boss of M 150 chatting to Pak Yusof as Pak Mat Loceng and the MC looked on.

Kamal is a Nak Muay training to be a cameraman. Fighters will become good cameraman as they know the fighters style and technique and will be able to anticipate the next move better.

Ilham Daud getting instruction from his trainer Sik Ku Heng. Kamal used to train under this trainer too.

I wonder if this kick did connect with Naim's head.

Ilham knocked out Naim with a knee blow to his stomach in the 3rd round. The referee confirmed it was not a blow to the crotch and awarded the fight to Ilham.

My favourite fighter Ajan Putra of MZ Repek whom I featured in my article in the first issue of Boxxtomoi Muay Thai magazine was supposed to fight next. The organizer had rescheduled his fight Adik Awang Ikan of Kemahang 2 for the second night. In his place Jebat Pok Wie of B 13 was matched with Wok Yah Tom Yam of Tanah Merah. Wok Yah managed to KO Jebat in the second round.

Tok Ayah is the father of Uda or Kamaruddin of M 150. He waved at me when he saw me aiming the camera in his direction.

Botirov Shuhrat of Uzbekistan striking a pose when he was paraded in the ring to announce his fight with Taufik Adura of B 13 on the final night on 19th April.

Danial Mashamaite was telling something while Mex II looked confused. Unless Danial was speaking Thai, I doubt that Mex II would understand him. They will be fighting each other on the second night. Another great match to see.

Akhbar Hanafi was given a new name that night as Hankebar. He was matched with Saiful. Saiful almost stumbled when his foot was caught by the top rope when he jumped into the ring. Though Akhbar dominated the match, he was unable to knockout Saiful. Saiful managed to inflict a cut on Akhbar's face with an elbow blow and caused a swelling under his left eye.

The referee stopped the match to have it checked by the medical team and he was allowed to fight on. It was a great fight between two belt holders. Akhbar didn't look as lethargic as he did during his fight with Dato 'Epol' in Kota Bharu.

Abang Deen Pulut Ayam helped out in the Boxxwarriors corner for both Akhbar and Bedu. Bedu once trained under Abang Pa who is Abang Deen's elder brother.

I caught Aliev and Bedu warming up before their fights.

The three international fighters with their cornermen.

Orondo of Kelab Sri Tandak Bukit bunga. He waited for Bedu to enter the ring.

Bedu entered the ring with Abang Deen holding the rope down. Orondo was KOed by Bedu if I remember it right in the second or third round. Bedu really was at his best.

The referee from Thailand checked on Orondo to see whether he is seriously injured or not.

Orondo had to be carried out of the ring.

Aliev did the full wai kru while Rosik Lokcing just waited. Reading his mind I thought Rosik wanted to do a short job of Aliev. Little did he expect Aliev to give him such a fight.

Aliev grimacing while waiting for Rosik's fist to land on his face.

Rosik did manage to down Alive but Aliev managed to bounce back. Below Aliev managed to down Rosik too. Sometimes during the fight, Aliev managed to land a solid punch to Rosik's jaw that sent Rosik sprawling backward on the canvas. That punch could have knocked out a lesser fighter but not Rosik who is well known to be a very hardy one.

Everyone went home happy to have witnessed a great event. The small arena will be jammed pack tomorrow as more people know about the great matches slated for tomorrow night.

If you want to see the fights in full, just wait for the videos to be released. There were at least 3 camcorders in action that night. One of them belongs to Pak Zawi.

Pak Zawi reporting from Pasir Mas for

Boxxtomoi Muay That Magazine.