Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Schilling: “I’m sorry I allowed Barrett’s ego to get even bigger”
Joe ‘Stitch ‘Em Up’ Schilling says he could not believe what he was reading when he looked atWayne Barrett’s latest interview.
Los Angeles-based Schilling (16-5, 10 KO’s) and New York man Barrett (4-0, 3 KO’s) are rivals both for the GLORY middleweight crown and for the right to be considered the top US fighter in the division.
Both are taking part in the GLORY: LAST MAN STANDING eight-man tournament on June 21 and could potentially cross paths once more.
They fought at GLORY 12 NEW YORK on November 11 last year. Schilling came in as the winner of the GLORY 10 LOS ANGELES middleweight tournament and Barrett was coming off a huge KO win in that tournament’s reserve match.
After the tournament Barrett had declared himself to be unimpressed with Schilling’s performance – despite a double knockdown of world #1 Artem Levin (47-4-1, 33 KO’s) – and said a fight between them would be “inevitable”.
Barbs were traded back and forth before the fight took place in November. Barrett scored two knockdowns in the second round. Schilling scored a knockdown in the third. Barrett won by unanimous decision.
Looking back on that fight in his latest interview, Barrett remarked that he would classify Schilling as “a power fighter” rather than an intelligent one. He also weighed in on the Dutch kickboxing style and why he believes Artem Levin is not the living legend some kickboxers see him as.
“I would say I am more of a speed guy than anything. The fight we had was one of the worst performances of my career and so if you based your opinion on that maybe you would say I was a power guy,” he says.
“I was looking for that one big shot because early in the fight I saw a giant hole in his defense and really went chasing after that. And I got frustrated with him running away.
“I bought into a lot of the talk that went on before the fight so I was expecting him to actually fight me.
“The sparring partners I had for that fight had been putting it on me, in preparation for what I expected from Barrett. But instead he was literally running away from me and avoiding the exchanges.
“I got frustrated and lost my cool. I went to shit for two rounds and got sloppy. I kind of got it back together for the final round. I was awful but I still managed to drop him and break his nose.
“So I guess if you were assessing me based on that fight alone you could say I was a power fighter or not very intelligent. But I disagree with Wayne’s statement.
“In fact I generally disagree with about 90 per cent of what Wayne Barrett says. His ability to say arrogant s–t and still be perceived as humble is absolutely astonishing to me.
“Some of the things he came out with in his latest interview were astronomically stupid. To talk about the Dutch kickboxing style and actually bring Ramon Dekkers’ name into it, and say the things he said…
“Did he really compare Artem Levin to Ricky Hatton and himself to Floyd f–king Mayweather, is that what he did?
“Wayne, I am really sorry that I had such a terrible performance and allowed your ego to get even larger but please try to remember you have only had four professional fights.”
Several weeks out from the biggest tournament of the year, Schilling says he is not going to be drawn into the same kind of exchanges that preceded his fight with Barrett last year.
“In the last fight I got into all the back and forth banter and got into a certain mindset but this time I am not at all concerned with what Wayne Barrett thinks about…hmm… anything, really,” he says.
“I don’t believe Wayne Barrett beat me and is a better fighter. My performance was more detrimental to me in that fight than his performance was effective, if you know what I mean.
“I am not worried about what anyone thinks, only about being the best Joe Schilling I can be on June 21. The only person who can beat me is myself. That’s the only person who has ever beat me in a fight.”
California’s Ky Hollenbeck may be one fight from Title Shot
Ky Hollenbeck (46-3, 23 KO’s) is looking to put a show on when he faces Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie (41-4-1, 21 KO’s) at GLORY 17 LOS ANGELES on Saturday, June 21.
The lightweight Muay Thai stylist is one of America’s top contenders in the world of kickboxing and if he can beat Ristie, he is right there in the mix for a title shot.
Possibly he could even be Davit Kiria’s first challenger, Kiria having won the belt by KO’ing Ristie in the fifth round of an epic fight at GLORY 14 ZAGREB in March.
Cor Hemmers, matchmaker and Head of Talent Operations for GLORY, has his eye on this fight. “If Hollenbeck wins then almost certainly he gets the title shot, it would be hard to say no,” he says.
Hollenbeck and Ristie are both notorious for having ‘awkward’ styles, which are very individual to them, and a nightmare for opponents to prepare against.
“Our styles are different and unique. We both developed styles that aren’t the traditional kickboxing style. I think that is why we have both found success,” Hollenbeck muses.
“Our styles might not be the norm and people might have things to say about that, but they work for us.
While both are unorthodox, that doesn’t mean they are similar. They both vary from the traditional style, but in different ways.
“Ristie has good angles, he throws from angles that you don’t see and wouldn’t expect. That’s what makes him dangerous,” explains Hollenbeck.
“I like flashy moves that are high impact. If I can get my opponent to say ‘what the hell was that?’ then I know I’m doing something right.”
That explains why Hollenbeck’s highlight reel includes such spectacular things as spinning back-fist knockouts. We are likely to see at least one attempted in the fight with Ristie, but Hollenbeck doesn’t have any formal plans beyond his penchant for the flashy.
“I can’t worry about what he is going to do. I just have to trust in the game plan I have developed and keep doing what has been working for me,” he says.
“I’ve never been the fighter that sits back and waits for my opponent to dictate the fight. I always have a game plan for every person I fight and it almost always changes mid-fight. I just trust in my style and my skills because I know I have what it takes to win.”
Hollenbeck’s last two fights have seen him take out established European veterans, which is a hallmark of contender status in the this sport.
At GLORY 10 LOS ANGELES he shocked fans by coming back from a year-long injury layoff to take a short-notice fight with former world #1 Albert Kraus and dominate the fight.
Then at GLORY 12 NEW YORK in November he mauled Warren Stevelmans, though his clinch-heavy tactics in that particular fight brought criticism from the fans who wanted to see more bombs being thrown.
“I was probably my biggest critic from that [Stevelmans] fight. I pride myself on being an exciting fighter win lose or draw and i definitely had some less than exciting moments in that fight,” Hollenbeck says.
“That said, I did feel like I was able to impose my will in that fight, which is good. I just need to clean it up for this one and show the GLORY fans the skilled fighter I can be.”
As for the courageous decision to take Kraus on short notice as his return fight, Hollenbeck says “sometimes its better to jump straight into the deep end rather than wade your way back in.”
“My whole career has been a series of fights that I wasn’t supposed to win and I usually come out on top, so I figured why break the trend? My team and my coach believed in me so there was no reason to doubt my ability to beat him. It was just time to get back in the ring.”
On June 21 it will be time to get back in the ring again. Hollenbeck hasn’t fought since November as he took a brief hiatus to accept a place at a fire-fighter training academy in his native California.
Like many fans he was on the edge of his seat for the Ristie-Kiria thriller and he takes inspiration from it as he prepares for his own upcoming fight with Ristie.
“Ristie vs. Kiria is by far my favorite GLORY fight. It’s up there with any of my favorite fights of all time,” he says.
“You couldn’t write a better fight if you tried: the skill of the fighters, the eight-count, Kiria losing four rounds then the rally in the 5th, the finish with seconds left in the fight and the emotion from Kiria afterwards.
“That was truly a great fight. Fights like that are why people watch this sport.”
Meet the GLORY Fighter: Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai
At just 20 years old, Yodkhunpon (83-21-1, 51 KO’s) has made a big name for himself in the world of Muay Thai fighting. Known to his friends as ‘Muu’, the youngster is ranked in the top ten for his weight class in Thailand.
That is no mean feat considering the sheer depth of talent in Thailand around the 140lb mark. It is a huge accomplishment for one so young, but Yodkhunpon has even bigger goals in mind. He wants to make his mark on the world stage, not just his native Thailand.
And so he made his way to GLORY, where he debuted at GLORY 15 ISTANBUL in April. He faced the Dutch-Armenian fighter Raz Sarkisjan (30-7-2, 12 KO’s), an experienced kickboxer with very fast hands.
It was a baptism of fire for Yodkhunpon. He won a decision after a close fight, but he learned a lot about the differences between fights under Muay Thai rules and fights under GLORY rules.
“To be honest, Istanbul was not my best performance. I was not used to the GLORY rules and therefore I hesitated many times with my attack,” he says.
“I was concerned about losing points from a foul. For example, in GLORY fights leg-sweeps aren’t permitted, which is very common in Muay Thai. In fact it is so common as to be instinctive.”
Another thing, which caught Yodkhunpon out was the warm-up. Thailand is hot and humid almost all of the year, so fighters are warm and loose from the moment they wake up in the morning. Extensive warm-ups are not required before a fight.
Even though Turkey is warm by the standards of its European neighbors, in April it was an icebox compared to Thailand. Backstage, a puzzled Yodkhunpon watched European fighters go through extensive warm-ups. He soon learned why.
“At the arena, I saw other fighters warming up with pad work. We don’t prepare like that; In Thailand we only shadowbox a little before the fight,” he says.
“But now I see the importance of doing at least a round or two of pads. The stadiums [outside Thailand] are cold!”
On Saturday June 21, Yodkhunpon will take part in the four-man Featherweight Contender Tournament at GLORY 17 LOS ANGELES.
This is a huge opportunity for him – the fight airs live on SPIKE TV across America, and if he wins he gets a slot in the next Featherweight Championship Tournament, with the world title up for grabs.
Yodkhunpon started training in Muay Thai just a few years after he learned to walk. He doesn’t have much new to learn in terms of fighting skills.
For this tournament – which also features Canadian karate champion Gabriel Varga, California’sShane Oblonksy and former WEC champion Miguel Torres - he is focusing more on weight and nutrition.
“I’m taking a little more time to prepare than I usually do. I want to be in top condition and win this tournament,” he says.
“I’ve also modified my eating habits somewhat, changing from the normal diet of a Thai fighter – LOTS of rice – to one that’s more nutritionally suitable for a combat athlete.”
It is worth noting that 145lbs is above the weight that Yodkhunpon usually fights at. Not only is he fighting under GLORY rules – which disallow clinch and elbows in order to keep action flowing – he is also fighting bigger opponents than he has in the past.
But he relishes the challenge. This is all an exciting journey for Yodkhunpon. Like many of Thailand’s top fighters his roots are in the rural and somewhat impoverished region of Isaan, though he himself was born in a poor district on the outskirts of Bangkok.
In Thailand it is common for poor families to enroll their young sons at one of the many Muay Thai camps. The youths start fighting for money at a very, very young age – nine years old is not uncommon – and the family receives a share of their winnings.
“My family is originally from Khorat in Isaan. When I was young there was never enough money for our family to survive. I wanted to earn money to help my family so I decided to try fighting,” he says.
“My elder brother and I came to Sitmonchai to live and train full-time but he had a congenital disease and had to leave. I stayed on to follow my dream and have been at Sitmonchai since I was 5 years old.
“My mother and my father now have some success making Buddha statues. Along with my elder brother I have a younger brother who’s still quite young. I don’t know if he will follow me into fighting.”
“The money is helpful, especially in such a poor country like Thailand, but I am also interested in seeing the world and traveling.
“I enjoy training with people from all over the world and now international students are very keen to know real Thai technique. I am happy to see this and hope to make more people interested in Muay Thai.”
Travel is a subject close to his heart. Most of his peers won’t travel far outside their home region in their lifetime, but ‘Moo’ is ready to see the world.
“I feel so excited to get a chance fighting abroad because I have dreamed of it since I was a child! I always had hoped for this opportunity,” he beams.
“Going to Turkey for GLORY 15 was my first time outside of Thailand. I really enjoyed myself — on the day after the fight I was able to walk around the old city and eat at a local restaurant.
“I’m excited about visiting more places. Los Angeles is next and I have always really wanted to visit Japan as well so hopefully I can get there in the future.”
In the meantime, Yodkhunpon is a man with big plans. Fighting is only a small part of his visions for the future. Don’t be surprised to see him behind the wheel of a new BMW a few years from now – ‘Moo’ is heading into the business world.
“When I’m not training for a fight, I study at university. I’m currently doing a degree in business accounting at ABAC University in Bangkok,” he explains.
“I also love playing football and I’m a big Manchester United fan. One day, I would like to own my own gym. In fact I plan to open it in the near future. When it is open, everyone can come and visit me! In the meantime, you will see me in Los Angeles on June 21.”
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