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 News from Around Banderas Bay | May 2006 
Muy Thai Packs a Punch - and a Full House - at Collage Club
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
| | Manzanarez Jr. has his hand raised in victory by his brother and sister. | 
| | Hugo Solario, brother of Lanna Gym's Carlos Solario wins a decisive battle in his amateur match. | 
| | Santiago Manzanarez Jr., 5 year old son of Muy Thai legend Santiago "Dragon" Manzanarez makes his debut in the ring. |
Puerto Vallarta - A full Muy Thai card gave a full house of fight fans plenty to cheer about at the Collage Club in Marina Vallarta this past Saturday night. Thirteen bouts filled the fight card that began at 7 PM and came to a rather early conclusion at close to midnight.
Well over 1,000 in attendance were treated to 10 amateur fights before cheering on the boxers in the three professional bouts that concluded the evening. The phenomenon of Muy Thai boxing in Puerto Vallarta continues to grow as there are now seven gyms in town that train potential fighters.
Lanna Gym, run by Carlos Solario had a good night, sending out fighters in nine of the 13 scheduled bouts. A highlight in an amateur fight had Carlos' brother Hugo Solario taking on Benito Villanueva who was fighting out of Santiago "Dragon" Manzanarez' Round Dragon Gym. The bout was quickly paced with both fighters landing kicks, knees, elbows and punches with frequency. The younger Solario took the fight in a unanimous decision amid a cheering crowd.
Having followed boxing for years, Muy Thai has been a new experience and I have found it to be fairer, well disciplined, more competitive and more legitimate. The sportsmanship and mutual respect for the competitor's rivals is unequaled.
Referees are well instructed to stop a bout if there appears any danger for the fighter. The amateurs wear protective headgear as well as pads on their knees and elbows to prevent injury.
Above all the scoring system has eluded me, until I was allowed to sit on the ring apron with Martin Huerta, who runs the Power Fitness Tiger Champ Gym and has been a professional fighter for a number of years.
Under Martin's tutelage, I learned that punches, although they appear to be potent are scored well below kicks, knees and elbows. When a boxer takes or throws down his opponent, it does not count at all. With all that to remember, it's no wonder that I couldn't score a fight in the past. I did well this time, using the knowledge that Martin shared with me to predict a large percentage of winners.
A popular fight is always between two young kids and this night was a bit more special as Santiago Manzanarez' young five year old son fought. Manzanarez is the Mexican Muy Thai champion and the World Champion in kick boxing.
The Dragon Jr. made Papa very proud with his ring savvy at such a young age. His opponent was Jose Uribe, and the two put on quite a show for the fans. After the traditional draw was called, the two young battlers went around the arena with buckets as fans threw dinero (much of it paper) into their coffers. The two must have done better than the professionals yet to fight later in the evening.
The first pro fight didn't appear to be properly matched when the two fighters from Guadalajara came into the ring. Cesar Palomera scored a 2nd round TKO over Roberto Gavilan Romero and the bout had to be halted due to injury. Romero was alright, but did lie on the canvas as the medical crew assisted, making sure that no permanent injury would incur.
Lanna Gym's Ernesto "Finito" Valdez fought in the second pro bout against the Round Dragon Gym's Sergio "El Pollo" Castro. Valdez dominated with a number of combination kicks and had his opponent back peddling throughout the bout. The fight ended with a 4th round KO victory for Valdez.
The main event pitted the same two gyms, as Elder "Thai" Huerta of Lanna fought Gregorio "Dragonsito" Gabriel of the Round Dragon Gym. Gabriel was the more aggressive and powerful fighter, as his opponent had very few answers during the assault. The referee did the correct thing and stopped the fight in the 4th round, giving Gabriel a TKO victory.
Another Muy Thai event should be announced soon. With the increasing popularity of this very un-North American sport, there will surely be a packed house. As soon as we hear about the when and where, we will pass it along to our readers. |
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