Prokick's
kickboxing amatuer world champion Gary Noade has sensationally
announced that his next fight will be his last.
The Downpatrick dynamo, who has held the WKN amateur welterweight
title since November last year, will hang up his gloves
after an encounter with much-fancied Larne man Wilson Snoddy
at the Kickmas Box on December 22 at the Ulster Hall.
Veteran Noade made the announcement after coming off second
best in a warm-up bout in Barcelona on Sunday. Noade was
beaten by Spaniard Alex-Joe Baena in a bruising encounter.
He fought under Full Muay Thai rules, a very different discipline
to the Full Contact rules under which he holds his world
title. He took the fight to Beana and put on a gutsy show,
pushing the technically superior Spaniard the entire five
round distance. But in the end, the judges decision was
no surprise.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Noade.
“Fighting under Thai rules after full contact is like
playing rugby after following a successful career in soccer.
But its something I have long wanted to do to complete my
career in Kickboxing. I've been thinking about retirement
for some time. Keeping up the level of training needed to
remain at the top of the tree is a tremendous commitment,
so I’ve decided to bring the curtain down after the
Christmas bout. I’ve been involved in the fight game
for 20 years and I’m going to go out on high in front
of local fans in Belfast .”
“That was one of the toughest fights I have ever
seen,” said Billy Murray, Noade’s coach. “That
sort of fighting allows use of the elbows and the knees.
I’ve seen bigger men than Gary wilt under the sort
of blows Baena rained down. It was a bone-crunching encounter.
Gary is obviously disappointed but I think he can take great
heart as he has never fought under Thai rules before. When
he gets in front of the Ulster Hall crowd in December, then
the real Gary will emerge and he will retire as world champion.”
It had been thought that Noade would go for one last fight
against Scottish star Douglas Morrison, but this plan has
now been shelved.
ProKick
team-mate Gary Hamilton. The WKN world featherweight champion
moved up two divisions to light welterweight to meet Oscar
Biel in a non-title clash. Hamilton had hoped the Spaniard’s
weight advantage would not be a deciding factor and he had
the measure of Biel for two rounds. But the Spaniard, light
Welterweight world champion, put together some stinging
punch and round-house kicks in the fourth, before connecting
with a series of punches followed by an unstoppable left
kick to knock-out the the 23 year old Belfast world champion..
“Gary looked like he had him in the early rounds,
but Biel’s superior weight and strength told in the
end,” said Billy Murray. “Gary is tough and
this just hardens his resolve to do the business at the
Kickmas Box.”
The December event, billed as a festive feast of fists and
feet, will see Gary wave his farewell as top of the bill
attraction.
Rising stars such as ‘Belfast Express’ Andrew
Grimason and Lydia ‘Pocket Dragon’ Braniff will
also take to the ring.
Tickets, £15 - £25 ringside, are available
through ProKick and affiliated gyms, or by calling 02890651074.
They are also available from the Ulster Hall box office
02890 323900
