26-04-2008
The hunger is back, Remy "The Flying Gentleman" defeats Melvin Manhoef
Amsterdam, April 26, 2008, The Amsterdam ArenA

Today the two top fighters, Remy "The Flying Gentleman" and the explosive fighter, Melvin Manhoef meet each other in a K-1 Super fight. This K-1 Super fight is the second time that Remy and Melvin fight each other. The stage is set in the Amsterdam Arena, where a mixture of the It's Showtime event and the K-1 event is held. Yesterday at the press conference Remy and Melvin had a fierce looking staredown which lasted for approximately half a minute, which indicated both fighters were more than eager to win this fight.

The first round started and Melvin took the initiative with body blows as well as pounding hooks to the face of Remy. Remy responded by keeping a solid guard, observing his opponent and countered the attacks from Melvin with body kicks and high kicks. In the late end of this 1 round Remy managed to land a solid high kick and the first down for Melvin was a fact.

In the 2nd round Melvin continued to work on his game plan and this was to fight in close range with Remy. Remy who responded to the close range fight from Melvin by executing his famous knees and again Remy scored a down on Melvin, as Remy sailed a knee on to the chin of Melvin. After Melvin received 8 counts Remy took the initiative and again Remy started to throw a knee, but this time Melvin managed to counter a hook, with his right hand. The fans really got enthusiastic by the battle and began to loudly cheer for the fighter they favored. For a moment it seemed that at this point the fight could go either way. Remy appeared to be hit from the countered hook, but he quickly recovered and threw in a kick and again Melvin had to receive 8 counts to recover.

As the third round began, Melvin had already received three downs, but nevertheless Melvin kept seeking the fight and tried to come close to Remy. Melvin even executed a well performed spinning back kick. Now Remy is ordered from his corner to lead the initiative in the fight and this Remy does. With a lot of body and high kicks, Remy seemed like a hungry predator out for the kill. After Melvin received a down for the fourth time, Remy ended the fight with an extraordinary Flying kick, which left Melvin on the canvas and counted out by the referee. And again Remy could celebrate another victory to his list.

Below Remy answers a few questions:

Remy in this match you seemed to have a certain amount of eagerness like you had in the beginning of you career, can you explain where this came from ?

Well to tell you the truth my life is proceeding in the right way and on top of this I have a new girlfriend. And furthermore I think the trainings with my new trainer Ivan Hippolyte are now paying off. It takes time to adjust, rely and understand each other and now after two years Ivan and I fully understand each other, which can be seen back in my fighting style. And finally I wanted to show the Dutch crowd my skills, as I don't get to fight so often in Holland.

Today we saw a Remy who threw a lot of kicks and hardly threw any punches, was this part of your game plan ?

Yes the kicks were part of my game plan. Choosing the right strategy is the basic principle within thai boxing. When you fight against a fighter like Melvin Manhoef who is an excellent boxer you will avoid boxing along with him, but you have to use kicking techniques to intercept and counter his attacks.

Remy two times in the fight it seemed you were really hit, how did you experienced this ?

Two times in the fight Melvin really caught me, and I was out of balance ! But I wasn't dizzy or so. I recovered quickly and continued to counter.

Remy at the press conference you and Melvin had a long staredown and it seemed you both were very angry among each other. After the fight you Lifted Melvin in the air, with a nice gesture. Did you gain more respect for Melvin after this fight ?

No I can't say I gained more respect for Melvin, because I already had a lot of respect for Melvin. He is a fighter who trains very hard, and furthermore Melvin is not afraid to fight anyone, so you can only have respect









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