It’s Fight-Time In Switzerland

The evening started with a presentation and ceremonial opening from the event organisers with all the participating countries in attendance for what was scheduled to be one of the largest international kickboxing events Switzerland has seen in recent years. The Irish ProKick squad in attendance alnside the Swiss, French and other world wide competitors before the event launched.

To start the night there was 2 international demonstration bouts, the second of which was fought by ProKick's own Stefanie McMullen. The tough Belfast fighter gave away an astonishing 9kg in her Full-Contact rules catchweight  contest against  Swiss fighter Laeticia Mauerhofer.  Stefanie did amazingly well once more in what was just her second fight, standing toe to toe with her Swiss opponent for three hard rounds, listening well to the corner's advice. She found herself on the other side of the judges' scorecards once more but  everyone including coach Billy Murray was extremely impressed with Stefanie's performance and it was to say none the least an extremely close call.

Next up from the ProKick stable was Belfast's Gary Fullerton against Swiss Champion and 'Man Mountain' Damien Sabas. The Swiss fighter was noticeably in fantastic shape and looked like he wanted to finish the fight quickly from round one, opening with some stinging kicking techniques and fast hands but the confident Belfast fighter kept his composure and used his experience to deflect the hard blows and put the Swiss fighter down not once, but twice within the first round. The referee was thought to take a little longer than usual on administering the standing 8 count to the Swiss fighter but as the rounds went on and again the tough Sabas was dropped by Fullerton once in the second and again in the closing seconds of the third, Gary took his second win in just two weeks. His corner couldn't have asked for more as Gary used his head, kept on the inside and fought with the heart and determination he has become known for. Next up for Gary is 'Fright Night' in Belfast and everyone in his team are confident he will continue his winning run.

Next up on the running order was Saintfield based ProKick fighter Stuart Jess who found himself up against a very experienced low-kick fighter in Swiss Loic Jeannin. Pretty good first and second round from both fighters but with some heavy leg kicks and some telling boxing blows, the ProKick fighter took a standing 8 count in the second round and unfortunately couldn't find his feet to recover properly. The third round was much of the same and after some heavy leg blows the ProKick corner had no choice but to stop the fight.

Davy Foster was the next ProKick fighter to make his way to the ring. The first round was mostly dominated by Swiss opponent Julien Aeschlimann, with Foster covering well but not really off to the best of starts. At the start of round 2, a completeloy different fighter emerged from the ProKick corner and the Belfast man took the fight straight to his opponent with sharp kicks and excellent ringcraft. For reasons unbeknownst to everyone involved, the judging panel thought the Swiss fighter did enough to take the win. The ProKick corner amongst others believe that this was the wrong call and that Foster was robbed by a truly deserved win.

Young ProKick fightr Karl McBlain was another of the ProKick team that seemed to find himself on the wrong side of the judges this evening. Like a few of his team mates before him he started off the fight at a slower pace than his opponent but quickly made reparations in the second and third rounds. The Karl McBlain that was seen to fight tonight was completely unlike the fighter we have seen in his last few fights and seemed to completely return to form with some clever ringcraft and sharp technique but his efforts didn't seem to impress the judges enough to get the win that many im the venue believed he deserved. Tonight was a display of the Karl McBlain that has had his name recognised within the ProKick ranks and although he didn't get the decision, just like the case of Davy Foster's fight, in many eyes he still had the win.

Last but not leaast was ProKick's Darren McMullan. Darren's fight was the unofficial top of the bill bout and had the 2,000 seat capacity crowd on their feet throughout. The first few rounds was tit for tat, Darren throwing the sharper kicking techniques with his French opponent trying to concentrate on countering McMullan's kicks with sharp boxing.  McMullan despite some telling blows stoodup in his corner for the entire fight not only displaying the faxct he wasn't hurt by the French man's hard boxing skill but showing his grit and tenacity that he has become reknowned for in the ProKick Gym. Both men put on a fantastic display for the 2,000 capacity audience and although (again) most in the audience thought the Belfast fighter did enough to take the win, the judges couldn't seem to split the pair and called the bout a draw.

All in all it was not the most successful nights for the talented ProKick team, especially for Davy Foster. The Belfast fighter was clearly the winner for the majority of the people in attendance, including his own corner and many disagreed with the judges' decisions. It was a clear win for the Belfast fighter but unoffcial opionions don't count on the night and he judges must call the way they see fit.

On a positive note, the hospitality the ProKick team received from the event organisers was without a shadow of a doubt, second to none. Although the fight results didn't go according to plan for the squad, the event team couldn't have made the Irish team more welcome and everyone from the all Ireland ProKick select passes on their sincere gratitude and thanks to the hospitality and respect that was shown to them by everyone involved.

A massive thank you must go out to all the event promoters, organisers and fighters from all at ProKick.

Pictures of the event to follow...

Fight Card and running order:

Light-contact rules - Super Welter weight 72kg 
Nicola Loutencach (porrentruy) vs Antoine Capelli (Le Locle)