Bird Shot Down - Image

Mark Bird will not face Toby Smith ( Toby pictured here with his Father) in perth on March 13th when John Wayne Parr challenges for a WKN world title. : All images © Prokick.com. Click here for full terms & conditions.

Mark Bird will have to wait a little longer before he gets the chance to fight down-under. Over the last couple of days there has been emails back and forth between Billy Murray and Mr Smith the father of Toby Smith the named opponent for ProKick’s Mark Bird in Perth. It was a mix-up in rules for the fight as all the fights on the February 13th Bill are under Full Muay-Thai the only style the event promoter promotes… Continued below >>>>

There was concern in two camps – one in Murray’s that Mark was not ready and two from the Smith camp that even though Mark was two years older he may not be experienced enough to take on Toby Smith. It was just a misunderstanding right from the start over rules –

It wasn’t until we agreed to travel to Perth for the fight and I sent for confirmation and condition about the fight that the WKN and the Australian team stated it was under Full Muay-Thai. We tried to compromise to suit both teams but unfortunately it didn’t happen this time - and looking at all the factors and after hearing from Toby’s father I think it is for the best. Said Murray

Mr Smith from Perth Austrralia had this to say: "There seems to be some confusion as this is the first promotion WKN have sanctioned in Australia , I appreciate everything you are prepared to do for us. We only fight Muay Thai. Toby has just returned from Bangkok where he has been training since xmas and only just fought in Rajadamnerm stadium and defeated a fighter of 26yrs with well over 50 fights.

From my research I see you have a great gym and Mark looks extremely promising but after great discussions with my team we have decided it be in our best interest to stick with an opponent with a Thai style back ground as this is our chosen art and wish to continue on our path of fighting Thaiboxers once again.

I want to thank you so much for everthing you must have done to make this fight possible." Mr Smith added, "September could be a possibility for sure in the mean time maybe Mark can train in the clinch and have a couple of muay thai fights, please keep in touch with Marks progression if things are looking good we will bring you guys here in September, look forward to dealing with you in the future."

Good luck to Toby Smith and his team, we’ll keep you all informed about how he does and the top of the bill - John Wayne Parr and his challenge for the WKN world title in Perth on March 13th.