December 5th, on His Majesty the King of Thailand‘s 82nd birthday, the entire Thai nation witnessed as the best of the best fighters came from all around the world with only one mission in mind; to bring home the King‘s Cup trophy, which was donated by His Majesty himself.

The opening of the King‘s Cup can only be described as spectacular, as spectators got the chance to witness the most beautiful Thai cultural show which took the whole audience back to the ancient days of muaythai.

Blackhawk World Entertainment Contest had previously organized all qualification fights in all parts of the world and for the King‘s Cup finals, Blackhawk joined hands with Onesongchai Promotions and the WMC. The action-packed event was televised in 180 countries and had a live audience of over 200,000, people. The VIP guest area was packed with representatives from foreign embassies, politics, celebrities and representatives from over 82 muaythai countries.

And now to the fights.. The draw brought together Cédric MULLER from France and the Contender superstar Nareupol for the 1st fight of the night. A fantastic fight as both fighters fought hard till the end and Nareupol ending up as the winner by unanimous decision.

The 2nd fight had the Brazilian legend Cosmo ALEXANDRE, who is also the hottest export from Brazil since Pelé, fighting against Kevyan HOUSHANGI from Iran,  with Cosmo showing that he truly belongs in that ring by winning a points decision. However, despite Kevyan‘s loss, it was clear that Iran had earned their place among world‘s elite.

The next quarter final had the Austrian superstar Fadi MERZA up against Enriko KEHL from Germany, which was also the youngest fighter in the event but despite his young age, Enriko managed to make this THE fight of the night as both boys were toe to toe throughout the entire fight. Fadi won a points decision but Enriko received a standing ovation from the entire audience and once again proved to everyone that age is certainly only a number. Fadi won the fight but sadly, could not continue due to his injuries so the decision was made to bring one of the losers back and it was Iran who got a second chance.

2007 King‘s Cup winner, Madsua, took on Peter JUUHL from Norway; also a great match where Madsue made his Thai people proud. As for the 1st semi finals, Cosmo was up against Nareupol who got injured from his very first fight and therefor could not continue in round two due to the heavy leg kicks from Cosmo. The 2nd semi final was between Madsua  and Kevyan from Iran, where the fight became a 3-rounds war with Kevyan having nothing to lose and Madsue ended up as the winner but the fight had taken a heavy toll on his body.

The final was between Cosmo and Madsua where Thailand‘s hope rested on Madsue, which was cut and bruised. Mid round 3, Cosmo delivered the final blows and crowned himself the first International Super 8 winner in King‘s Cup history and therefor took the King‘s Cup trophy out of Thailand. Cosmo received a standing ovation for his performance from the 200,000 live  audience. Madsue was also given a standing ovation, despite his loss, for his bravery and for fighting to the very end.

The rest of the evening was full of fantastic fights such as the one between Caley the Australian and Jessica from Spain, where Caley ended up as the winner and the one between the Canadian Centra and Ania Fucz, which was a very close one but Centra won after a great performance from both girls.

Other highlights from the night was the demo fight between two 6 year old girls from Australia and Venezuela, which melted every viewers‘ hearts. And with a fantastic display, Fitness First also showed the world that muaythai is not just a ring sport and for those who intend to fight in the ring but also for fitness and as a great way to stay in shape and stay healthy.

This year‘s event has received the highest praises from all around the world and with the help of Blackhawk and Onesongchai and WMC, it has become the biggest muaythai event of the year for the Kingdom of Thailand. It was certainly a night to remember.

Source: http://www.ifmamuaythai.org/HTML/09_1208_King'sCup.html