The Loup in Magherafelt got its first taste of LIVE kickboxing
on May 7th. Fighters throughout the north the south of Ireland
made the trip to the Loup community centre for an afternoon
of trills and spills.
The event was headlined by promoter/fighter Darren Dougan
of the Golden Dragon Martial Arts based in the village.
Despite a disappointing result for most of the local boxers,
it was a day of glory for the clubs coach and event organiser
Dougan. Who managed to gave the home fans a fantastic performance.
It was Dougan’s fourth contest as he took on Bangor’s
Maurice McLean in a final eliminator for a shot at the Super
Middleweight Ulster title. Dougan started well in the first
landing with some clinical kick and punch combinations,
but the gutsy Bangor man fought back and put enough pressure
on the local hero to prevent him reaching the minimum kick
quota of eight kicks per round. In the second Dougan knew
he a had to make up three kicks and he immediately landed
with a spectacular half turning kick to the mid section
of McLean. From then on he took control of the contest,
forcing a standing eight count early in the second and with
the backing of the three hundred strong fight fans he pushed
Mclean almost to the bell before the referee stopped the
contest. It was a fabulous performance and a great debut
event for Dougan who now hopes to fight for his first title
on June 10 when the biggest ever event to be held in the
UK or Ireland comes to Northern Ireland’s premiere
event, the Odyssey Arena. The Kickboxing Mania VII promotion
will host seven major title fights including world championship
contests. Check out www.prokick.com for all the up to date
information and full fight card. Tickets for the show are
on-sale now from the Odyssey Box Office on 028 9045 1055
or through www.theodyssey.co.uk, plus the Prokick hotline
on 028 90651074 or at www.prokick.com Tickets are priced
at £10, £17.50 and £27.50 (includes booking
fees).
A special thanks to the new WKN promoter Mr Darren Dougan
of the Golden Dragon Martial Art club....well done!
