Come out and support the Five Points Fight Team as they participate in the 4th installment of this always excellent international pro-am promotion. It will be a big night for Five Points as Eddie Martinez makes his pro debut against seasoned veteran Ben Yelle of Michigan, Gaius Ebratt fights for the WKA Regional Title versus heavy-handed Sterling Thompson of Canada, Pascal "The Business" Jean-Michel rematches Hiro Pereira of Pennsylvania and Greg Rowe returns to the ring against local fighter Aaron Hauck of Ronin Athletics. Tickets and information at the front desk or here.
The NY Showdown IV
The 7 Train Theatre,
134-37 35th Ave, Flushing NY
Advance Tickets: $35
Doors: 6:00 pm, 1st Bout: 6:30 pm
RESULTS: Another excellent show from our friends at TakeOn Promotions. The crowd was treated to an evening of exciting muay thai action and the Five Points Fight Team was simply outstanding.
First up was Greg Rowe against the very strong Aaron Hauck of Ronin Athletics. Anyone who sees Greg train knows he is talented and athletic. They may not know he has one of the finest work ethics in the club, diligently performing all the tasks necessary to improve his game (he's also one of the very good guys who always has an encouraging word and time to help a teammate). All of that is finally coming together for Greg and the crowd was lucky to see a very talented fighter coming in to his own. Greg exhibited ring savvy, speed, toughness and excellent combinations, dominating an extremely strong talented opponent en route to a well-deserved unanimous decision.
Youyung Cho was the next Five Points fighter to enter the ring. Youyung took the fight as a last-minute replacement when the opponent for Sitan Gym's Greg "Tank" Lachaga suffered a training injury. No one would know that Youyung hadn't been preparing for this bout for months. In just his second ring appearance, Youyung exhibited a solid chin, supreme relaxation, confidence and stamina with a dazzling display of aerial techniques and ring movement. The only indication of his inexperience was his inability to consistently gauge his distance, a shortcoming that cost him a split decision loss but that will be easily sorted with training time. Expect some truly exciting fights from Youyung in the future.
Pascal Jean-Michel returned to the ring with a rematch against Hiro Perera of Ayutthaya Muay Thai in Washington, D.C. Perera is is tough, experienced fighter known for his KO power. Their first match-up was shaping up as an exciting contest until Pascal suffered a dislocated shoulder. There was no sign of lingering effects from that injury in this rematch. Pascal used speed and angles to neutralize the larger and more powerful Perera's advantage, imposing his pace on his opponent. This was a close, back-and-forth bout with excellent technique from both fighters. At the bell, it was a well-deserved decision for Pascal by split decision.
Gaius Ebratt entered the ring to contest the WKA Regional Middleweight Title with the solid and surreally tough Sterling Thompson of Canada's Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts in what was inarguably the bout of the night. We have seen Gaius (literally) grow at Five Points Academy from a skinny, gangly kid to a mature, very strong, very talented fighter and instructor. This bout seemed to mark a milestone in his development as he exhibited poise and ring generalship to completely dominate a very, very good and game opponent. Utilizing his evil front kick and clinching skills, Gaius began to impose his will from the 1st round. After suffering a deep cut under the eye from a clash of heads in round 3, Gaius only intensified his attack, unleashing truly ferocious combinations to the head and body utilizing all the weapons of muay thai. In his first five round bout, Gaius continued the assault without sign of fatigue right to the final bell. In the end, it was Gaius Ebratt with the win and the title by unanimous decision.
In the co-main event of the evening, Five Points' Eddie Martinez made his pro debut against the very experienced, very strong Ben Yelle of Swanson Muay Thai in Marquette, Michigan. Fresh off a victory in California a few weeks ago, the hard-kicking Yelle came in clearly confident of victory. Eddie immediately displayed superior speed and technique, landing rapid combinations before Yelle could get in to his game, taking the first two rounds with a clinching and boxing clinic. As the fight progressed, Yelle's strategy of powerful low kicks, combined with his first foray into the longer professional rounds, started to take it's toll on Eddie. Yelle started landing hard shots as Eddie seemed distracted by the kicks to his leg, resulting in a 3rd round for Yelle. Round four saw an an exciting trade of punches that put this bout in the fight of the night competition, as first Yelle had Eddie on the ropes, then Eddie rallied to land his own, harder shots at the end of the round. Round five saw Eddie comfortably regaining his stride with fast, crisp punching and ferocious knees. At the end of this close and exciting professional bout, most observers felt that Eddie's rally, along with the 8 count Yelle received for spitting out his mouthpiece for the 3rd time, rated a win for Eddie. And one judge agreed, with a 48-46 scorecard. The other two judges, however, scored the bout equally for both fighter's (47-47), resulting in a majority draw to the disagreement of the crowd. Judging aside, this bout showed why Eddie is a remains the fighter that other fighters love to watch. He is talented, exciting, determined and exhibits muay thai technique that is a joy to behold for fans of the sport. There are exciting bouts ahead in this young professional's career.
A great night for the Five Points Fight Team. As alway, heartfelt thanks to the many, many people who contribute to our fighters' success: the Five Points members who come to support them at the fights, the training partners who help them prepare (at no small cost in physical pain to themselves!), and our experienced senior fighters and instructors who always have encouragement and advice.
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