Muay Thai differs from conventional kickboxing as it allows elbow strikes as well as use of the knee to the head. Hamilton’s coach Billy Murray of Belfast renowned ProKick Gym recognises the difficulty of the task ahead – but still favours his boy.

“Gary is at the top of his game and he’s looking for new challenges,” he said. “He has been making his way in conventional professional boxing recently but when this opportunity came up to face Cinti in such a prestigious event, we couldn’t knock it back. Getting Gary in shape for the fight will not be a problem.
He has always entered the ring in prime condition – Gary is in Spain right now taking in some warm weather training all in preparation of his up-n-coming hectic fights schedule.
But we’ll have to work hard to make sure he’s ready for the brutal knocks a Muay Thai fight can bring. It’s Gary’s first FULL Muay Thai encounter, and he plans to let Cinti know he has been in one hell of a bout.”

Belfast fight fans may remember Filipo Cinti from several years ago when he faced legendary French fighter Mohammad Samir at the Ulster Hall.

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