On the third of March UK ITF Pro Taekwon fighters Lee Hollingsworth, Matthew Brunger, Luke Dempsey, Jamie McAvoy and Shahid Miah made the journey to Aylesbury Waterside Theatre to compete in a night of full contact kickboxing. Hosted by experienced competitor and promoter Steve ‘Pocket Rocket’ Cook, this event was set to be an eventful evening of furious kicks, hard punches and heavy knockdowns. As with any Cook show the weight and health check was run professionally and the fighters felt appreciated and respected as true athletes.

As the door opened the theatre quickly filled with supporters from each camp building an air of excitement and anticipation. Up first and representing Pro Taekwon in his first amateur kickboxing show was Shahid Miah who came out the block throwing handfuls of accurate and devastating punches. This was the perfect start to our night’s campaign with the referee stopping the bout early into the second round.

Up next and again fighting in his debut contest was Luke Dempsey, instructor of Yeading Taekwon-Do Academy. Utilising on his previous semi-contact experience and drawing motivation from a very supportive crowd, Luke entered the ring positive and confident in his ability. Against a taller and more seasoned fighter Luke battled his way through the first round taking an early lead. Over a further two rounds the warriors battled it out in the centre of the ring with Luke narrowly losing on a points decision. At only 18yrs old this was an exceptional performance from Luke and we look forward to
seeing him fight again in the future.

Up next was Jamie McAvoy who was competing over 5 rounds for the vacant super-lightweight southern area amateur title. With both competitors fighting and winning on cook’s previous show this was set to be a hard fought bout. Both Jamie and his opponent Nathan Alleyne entered the ring relaxed yet determined and shortly after the first bell it was clear these were the right fighters for the belt. With experienced and well regarded coaches Master Nicholls and Mr Rauli in the corner, Jamie had the perfect team behind him as he fought into the unknown territory of 5 rounds. Unfortunately with a couple of early (debateable) standing counts Jamie was left with an almost impossible task as he needed to stop the taller and heavier opponent to win. Fighting his heart out till the final bell Jamie done the team and him-self proud and we are sure with time Jamie will achieve the rewards he deserves.

Lee Hollingsworth who made his return to the ring after a 4 years absence. Against the current Pro British Champion Lee jumped into the deep end and made a resounded return to the ring with a unanimous point’s decision victory. With his fast and accurate crowd pleasing display of kicks we, as I’m sure the crowds would agree, would love to see Lee entering the ring again very soon!

The final fighter to step into the ring from the Pro-Taekwon camp was title hopeful Matthew Brunger. After dominating his previous opponent to throw in the towel early into the second round confidence and motivation was high. Being the final fight of the night both teams of supports had warmed up and the chants could be heard throughout the theatre. Against Jake Gladwish a very seasoned fighter from a strong camp we knew his game plan would be set and his fitness would be on point making for a very entertaining southern area super-welter weight title fight. From the first bell Matt set out to control the fight with big sidekicks followed by heavy hands. Throughout the contest Matthew began to relax into his performance and with the guidance of Master Nicholls and Mr Rauli in the corner was able to comfortably see of and neutralise the advances of his opponent. Over five entertaining and hard fought rounds the final bell was struck and the bout was over with Matthew taking the win by unanimous decision and the new Southern Area Amateur belt home with him.

As a team we would like to thank all the spectators that travelled to Aylesbury to represent Pro tae-kwon and its fighters. With the ring being a lonely place, it was encouraging knowing we had the support of over 100 spectators behind us and willing us on till the end. We would also like to thank Master Nicholls and Mr Rauli for their guidance and support on the lead up to the fight and their coaching on the night.