Hi Fight Fans - Feb 9th 2003

Got any news? If so, please email it to - prokick@group.tm

Kickboxing and Fight fans we are now into our fourth month of our regular kickboxing News in the People and it couldn’t have began at a better time for the sport with all the recent successes at both home and abroad. Why subscribe to your monthly Martial Arts magazines for your news when you can read the latest news it right here every Sunday for just 65pence. Remember if you have any news please forward via email to kickbox@people.co.uk.

BACK TO SCHOOLS Former World kickboxing champion Billy Murray is to return to the Omagh and Strabane area at the beginning of March to teach in three schools. Last year Murray taught over twenty students from St Colman’s and Milltown High Schools. Next month the Prokick king pin will introduce the system to a third in the Strabane area - St Eugines High school. And more schools are expected to follow suit. The man responsible for helping introduce the sport is Youth Sport Coordinator and Ulster Schools Basketball coach Mr Jim McCloskey. He is pleased that kickboxing is back for the second year in succession. He said “Last year I was delighted to introduce kickboxing and it proved to be a major success with the sixth formers. This year there has been an noticeable increase in the number of girls interested, which is a positive move for us as they are generally not as active in school sport at the moment and this seems to be something of interest to them” Murray is also planning an open day seminar on kickboxing for the general public in Strabane as part of his planned province wide road show with all proceeds going to charity. Each seminar will last two hours with Prokick Champions and Instructors, including recently crowned professional Featherweight World Champion Gary Hamilton who will help instruct the public in self-defence and kickboxing techniques, exhibition bouts will also take place. People attending or taking part will simply be asked to make a small donation, which will then be donated, to a Charity of the Leisure Centre or Councils Choice. More details will follow shortly

ON THE MOVE Prokick Kickboxing Gyms is to expand further with the news that two new clubs are opening in England in the coming months. Ballymena Instructor Ann Kennedy is uprooting from N. Ireland and plans to open an outlet in the Norwich area. Ann has been in charge at the Ballymena club on Saturday afternoons in the Seven Towers Leisure centre for over a year now and has built up a very successful membership which she hopes to emulate on the mainland. The Second gym will open in Hartfordshire near London and will be instructed by Graham Thompson who is moving to pursue his career in the Civil service. Graham has been an assistant instructor at the Lisburn branch for sometime and is eager to spread the Prokick word when he moves. This is great news for the club, which already boosts 11 outlets including one in Coventry. Prokick would like to thank both Ann and Graham for there valued time and input at their respective clubs and wish them every success with their new clubs. For Prokick classes in your area please Tel. (028) 90 651074

WKN NEWS As released a last week the WKN are sanctioning the first ever kickboxing event in Nigeria. The show is dubbed " AFRICAN PRIDE WARRIORS " and is set for the 15th March in the city of Lagos. A feast of top fighters are confirmed to be in action including Joseph Mukasa of Uganda whom Downpatrick’s Gary Noade defeated for the Pro/am World Super Welterweight crown in November. Joseph will be involved in a demonstration bout against top middleweight professional Andre Alexi. The event is headlined with a Low kick World title clash and also boasts three international bouts and two national WKN titles. GRADING February 21st , will see kickboxers from all over the north try and move up a level to yellow, orange and Green belt. The tests will start at 6pm sharp. See your club instructor for details or drop us a line to prokick@group.tm Tel. 028 90 651074

INSTRUCTORS COURSE - Prokick will hold an instructors seminar for all the up-and-coming wanabees. The Belfast school of kickboxing excellence are planning a further ten new outlet across the north where the public can learn Kickboxing ProKick style. Part 1. of the course starts Saturday 2pm on the 23rd March. Prokick member only can apply for this seminar, for non member Tel. 028 90 651074 or drop us a line to prokick@group.tm

MASH - THEN COMES THE BASH II -Its less than two week away from the egarly awaited ProKick 10 year dinner bash at the Hilton Belfast. Your tux should be press and ready and the hairdresser booked - The strictly black tie dinner affair will hit the Hilton on Saturday the 22nd Feb. The event will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Prokick club in Wilgar street. World Champion Gary Hamilton ( Pictured) fight is now confirmed he will mix it up against Parisian Karim Saada a tough Thai fighter with over 40 fights to his credit. Paul Day the Intercontinental champion is looking to add a British title to his new year list. International swimming star -come kickboxer is also on the fightcard, and just confirmed young Rodney Duff son of the interrupter Mr Sam Duff from 'Sams yer man' will also share the ring with Japanese import Hiro Mochizuki. Tickets for the event are limited to 200 places and are just £40 - a film show with footage of the clubs history from the past decade is planned. Ulster Televisions voice of Sport Adrian Logan has also been confirmed as guest speaker for the evening so all and all a night not to be missed. For info call Belfast 028 90651074.

CAN’T GET ENOUGH Many fighters would think a schedule of three fights in as many weeks is plenty, but not for Gary Hamilton. The pro World champion has just signed a deal to return to professional boxing in the first week of April as promoter Paul McCausland plans to bring back the N.Ireland area titles. Hamilton has three tough kickboxing bouts in Belfast, Galway and Norway in March and will now go up against seasoned professional Dffyd Carlin also of Belfast for the conventional title on April 5th. Holders of any of the area title’s shortlists boxers for the coveted British title, which if Hamilton did win would make him unique as winning a professional boxing crown whilst being Kickboxing World Champion. Kickboxing fight fans may be disappointed to here this news but don’t worry Hamilton plans to continue with his fancy feet work.

FLATLEY BACK ON A HIGH Owen Flatley, Galways European Welterweight Champion received good and bad news this week when his World title rematch against Scotland’s Chris Carslow was called off. The Pro/am bout was scheduled for March 2nd at Peter Foley’s Rumble in the Bay event in Galway as it didn’t suit the champion due to work commitments. “If it was the week before or the week after I would have no problems with going to Galway for my first defence, but I have prior work commitments which can’t change” Said the Champ. Promoter Foley has run the very successfully event on the same weekend for the past few years and has quite rightly decided to stick with his date. This is bad news for Super-Welterweight World Champion Gary Noade who was also in the mix for a crack at Scotland’s Chris Carslow. Noade was instructed last month that he must wait and challenge the winner of the Welterweight contest. No one knows when the bout will now take place, but speculation is that it could be in May at Foley’s next promotion. Despite this unfortunate news Flatly has been given a glimmer of hope. The WKN regional office as been locked in negotiations with the head office in Nimes over the last few days and has clinched a World title fight only against the Super-Lightweight Champion Jerome Houn (France). It will prove difficult to drop the weight to 64kg but Flatley as ever is quietly confident that he will have the fancier feet work. Ireland’s No.1 Heavyweight Sean Collier is also confirmed for the card as he continues his quest in the pro ranks in his second fight this time against Phillipe Soyer of France. Collier is a very impressive fighter and Peter Foley as big plans for the Wexford man. In his first bout he stopped former middleweight World Champion Chinto Mordillo in three rounds at the Ulster Hall. With the bout against Soyer another in Galway in May and one proposed at Billy Murray’s event on June 7th he hopes to climb the ladder to open up some title options before the end of 2003. Galway’s Leisureland Complex will also feature Belfast’s World Champion Gary Hamilton who will face Russian born Mike Pazowski now fighting out of Dublin. This fight will be unfamiliar territory as Hamilton makes his debut under Thai-Boxing rules, will Hamilton be able to cut the mustard. For ticket contact Mr peter Foley on Galway 0878119227
If you are interested of joining the WKN, contact the regional office Tel. 028 90 651074 or if you have a information on kickboxing drop us an email to the above address.

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