Written By: Marc Aplin
World MUAYTHAI Magazine
December Issue WMM 03
My final month in Thailand was spent in the little explored Provence of 'Isaan', which is basically North East Thailand. The North East of Thailand is probably the least visited and explored by Westerners because it is so poverty stricken and has very little in terms of sights, shops and environmental wonders when compared to the rest of Thailand. However in terms ofMuaythai it is far, far more advanced and respected, to name but a few Isaanie Muaythai fighters we have Yodsankli, Malaipet, Sanchai, Anuwat and thousands upon thousands more.
I was a bit nervous about going to Isaan on my own because I had be warned that the people I was staying with spoke NO English at all and my Thai is very, very basic. Having spent time inPai, I wasn't expecting anything too fancy, but when I arrived to 'J.Chiwat Gym' in Isaan I was very surprised at how little they had for a gym, which had a stable of fighters who were gaining moderate success in Lumpini . The gym was hard to find and it was literally just a ring with 3 punch bags down a back ally-way. I arrived to the stares of wonder and amazement from the young lads who trained there, all under the age of 16 and all with between 50 and 200 fights.
None spoke any English, but they made me take my top off to look at my tattoo they noticed because it overlapped my t-shirt and commented on my white skin before they all began laughing in hysterics, but it was meant kindly. One boy Jack at 13 years old had over 150 fights with 120 wins and was a regularLumpini fighter and province title holder. There were 3 older fighters 21, 21 and 22 but they were all at Lumpini in Bangkok for a fight, which I was told they all won successfully.
The gyms history is basically that J.Chiwat trained Amateur boxing and was relatively successful at it, having fought in Europe, Japan and a few other countries. He eventually got injured before his time as so many great fighters do and began to coach fighters in his home city ofPaimai . On arrival I was basically told that he pretty much adopted 8 out of the 10 kids who train there, they all live in a wooden two bedroom house, he buys them food and the only money he makes from the gym is 50% of the fighters winnings. He said I would be welcome to stay at the gym, but he would only accept a payment in terms of my fight earning and therefore I needed to agree to fight, which I readily did. When we arrived at the house inPaimai I was a bit taken back because the rooms were basically 5 bed covers on the floor in each room, a small front room with a fridge and rice cooker. There was no shower, just a bucket of water which you threw over yourself and the toilet was one of those old Asian squat toilets.
To be honest if you told me before I left to Thailand I'd be sharing a room with 5 people I'd never met before and that my bathroom would be a bucket and hole in the floor I'd tell you that you were crazy. This however was my sixth month in Thailand and the Thai culture had began to rub of on me. I'd began respecting how little people had, but also how little that meant to them, everyone in Thailand is so care free and happy all the time with the fact that they are living and anything they have on top of that is just a benefit to be appreciated.
The next morning I was woken up at 5:00am to go running in the local park. The local park in Paimai is basically a big circle and was perfect for running, each lap was 1.5km and we would do anything between 3 up to 7 laps twice a day. Until the age of 15 the boys just do their laps in the morning and then go home to get ready for school, those over 15 have to head down to the gym for morning training. I remember every morning finishing the third lap with the boys and looking at the trainers with pleading faces of, 'are we done?', but very rarely would we get away with 3, we'd go around again and look at them again, usually no response and we'd do another lap, this would repeat until they would say we were done.
I'd go training with 2 other boys, only one of them lived with me 'Chio', he was actually 22 with a kid so didn't train all the time. The other was called Tong-Chai, we was 17 and probably the best fighter from the gym other than Jack and I'd say over my time in Thailand probably one of my best friends. Tong-Chai was a rare breed of Muaythai fighter, he had more of a Western boxing / kickboxing style, he was light on his feet and loved to throw punch combinations, this made him a great sparring partner. Most mornings it would just be me, Tong-Chai and two trainers at the gym to workout, we were both training for a fight at the end of September, mine in Paimai's annual fair, Tong-Chai at Lumpini.
We would start with 10 minutes of skipping or tyre jumping which was surprisingly tough after the running. Then we would do 15-20 minutes of shadow boxing in front of the mirror, working on keeping light on your feet, throwing quick / snappy punches and pivoting. Then came bag work, which we would aim to do 5 x 5 minute rounds, usually 3 kick based and 2 punch based. The trainers would be shouting to go harder and faster and to stop being lazy through out the whole thing. We would then be called into the ring for rounds of pads, this would be pretty typical Thai Pads, with the punches to the pads being used to set up big kicks or a clinch, where we would throw sets of 10 knees and of course the Thai favourite of about 3 or 4 sets of 10 round kicks on each side, just to really exhaust you. Once that was finished we would do on average 5 rounds of sparring (1 round boxing sparring, 1 round kicks, 3 rounds full Thai) and 5 rounds clinching. By this time the ring floor was usually soaked with sweat and I'd be dreading what was to come next. We'd leave the ring and begin our sets, which consisted of 100 round kicks off each leg, 200 front kicks, 200 knees, 100 hooks, 500 straight punches, 200 sit ups and then a set of weights (usually 3 x 50 of very light bench press and bicep curls).
It was usually 9:00am by now and Tong-Chai would drive me home on his moped, where the house would be empty, but I'd always find an omelet and rice on top of the fridge, left for me by the kids. A few times one of the boys Ling (Thai for monkey!) would leave me some kind of sweet or chocolate under my bed cover, so I'd eat all of that before showering and collapsing in my bed until about 3:00pm. The boys would then arrive home from school and we'd go straight back to train, pretty much the same as I described for the morning.
Once training had finished we'd all jog home, which was great fun. Imagine being the only white person to have ever trained Muaythai in a town that has perhaps 4/5 white people visit a week... then imagine running through that whole town shirtless in your Thai shorts past all the shops and markets and main roads. So many people smiled at me, gave me inquisitive looks, asked the kids what on Earth was going on, they were all amazed when they learnt I was fighting at their fair and the boys would always tell me they'd say things like 'No... you be killed' or 'You don't look like a fighter' and all the rest of it, but mostly people would say well done and I even had some thank me for trainingMuaythai and coming to their country. When we got home we would eat, pretty much every day we would have rice with chicken/beef/pork in numerous varieties, it was always much needed, we'd all then shower before sitting in front of the TV for a couple of hours. At 9:00pm every night J.Chiwat, the gym owner would come and give us 'Nam De-Hol' which is basically a type of milk mixed with beans and stuff like that, he said it was good for energy... at that point we'd all be told to go sleep and never would anyone argue.
This was my daily schedule for about a month, my fight came about so quickly it was scary. We arrived at the fair and there were thousands of people, I was pretty nervous at this point. I asked who I was fighting and they said 'not sure', I asked what they meant and they basically couldn't explain it in a way I would explain, so they said I would understand soon. After about 30 minutes a crowd appeared on top of a make shift stage by a temple with about 30 children who wanted to fight. They just picked them there and then based on size, pushed them together and eventually we had 15 groups of 2 children... I was amazed, there were no experience based discussions, no scales, nothing like that and then once that was sorted it was my turn. I got on the stage with about 14 other guys, all pretty big, some of them bigger than me, which surprised me, I was put with a Chinese looking guy, but they changed their mind about three times putting me with a dark Thai for a bit and then a younger guy, before eventually deciding the Lao guy was the best match because he was my height and a similar build, the Chinese guy was taller but skinnier and the young guy was massively built but shorter.
The ring was placed in the middle of a main road and all the fighters were just getting changed in the middle of the street. I can not be sure how many people were there, but because it was a free event, there must have been about 1000-2000, maybe even more, I can't be sure. I felt a bit nervous, because I was the only Westerner there, let alone fighting... Everyone kept asking who I was fighting, then when I pointed him out saying 'Oh...' then looking down and saying 'Good Luck', this really didn't help my nerves I must admit. I kept hearing my name 'MAK! Ferrang! ' over the speakers, so I guess my fight was being hyped up a bit. My trainer called me over about 10:00pm to get warmed up, which in Thailand is basically laying down and being massaged with Thai oils, I love this, it was certainly not my first time and once the massage is done you feel totally relaxed and ready to go. I began shadow boxing and throwing a few kicks, before I got called to the ring.
This was probably the best moment I had in Thailand, walking to the ring as the only Westerner in the town, 1000's of Thai people applauding me and looking forward to seeing my fight. I walked in and began myWai-Kru , the crowd went absolutely crazy and cheered the whole way through, by this times my nerves were totally gone. I was happy, excited and so incredibly thankful to the gym for everything they had done to me, I just wanted to make them proud. I came to my corner and had my Mung-Korn taken off.
The first round he kept clinching me because in the opening few seconds I flurried him with about 15 consecutive punches... so I just kept kneeing him and elbowing him. Twice I gave him a smack on the cheek with really heavy elbows and I think from there he was rocked and didn't want any part of punching with me. Then he got a few kicks in to my legs, so I kicked him in the face twice just before the round ended and won that round. I dropped him with a jab, cross, elbow in the second, but he got up on the count of seven. Third round he clinched me and I bent his head down andknee'd him in the face, his head was down and I smashed three elbows on the back of his head and pushed him against the ropes. He was dizzy, I could see that, I did a spinning back kick to the rips and winded him (crowd went crazy!) so I thought ok, lets do another, did a spinning heal kick to the head and he staggered and fell and shook his hands. I thought he meant 'you didnt hurt me' but he meant he couldn't continue (he had been winded by the spinning back kick), as he staggered back I hit him with another spinning heel kick to the face and he turned his back, fell and shook his head, they counted him anyway and they rang the bell.
The croud went crazy and mobbed me when I got out the ring, one guy said he bet 8000 on me after the first round!!! That's like a months wages, maybe more. Everyone just kept saying how well I had done and thanking me and asking if I would fight again, introducing me to their friends, taking photos, it was one of the best nights of my life. I had done what I had wanted to do, I had come to Thailand, I had began learning the art ofMuaythai and I had gone to a totally Thai town, won but most importantly gained the respect and appreciation of the towns Muaythai fan-base.
The experience in Isaan is so, so different that at say Chay Yai, True Bee, WMC, Fairtex, Kaesamrit or any of these gyms that are catered to tourists. There are almost no tourist gyms here and none of the gyms have websites. I was the first foreigner to have ever trained here and as well as that I was the first foreigner to have fought in their town, therefore all the trainers took an interest in me and really wanted me to do well. I think if you want to come out to Thailand,definitely spend a week in somewhere like Korat and try finding a gym unspoilt by foreigners. This might mean you spend 2/3 days visiting a few cities asking locals for 'Muaythai' or 'Boxing gyms', turning up to them and being turnt away by Thai's unwilling to train a foreigner, but you will eventually find one willing to train you. As long as you are prepared to live at the gym and train with them exactly to their schedule they'll train you properly and you'll be made to feel like part of the family. Most importantly you'll be living the life of a Thai Boxer and surely that's why most of us want to go to Thailand.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Rasmus Zoelyner
Written By: Thomas Larsen
World MUAYTHAI Magazine
December Issue WMM 03
Coming from a country with only about five million inhabitants I was quite surprised the first time I heard about this guy Rasmus Zoeylner – he was supposed to fight none other than Yodsaenklai Fairtex and I had never heard of this Danish fighter before. In Denmark the Muaythai community is small and for a passionate Muaythai enthusiast like me it is easy to know ALL the fighters domestically so I quite surprised.
In this interview our readers will get to know probably one of our strongest professional Muaythai fighters right now and most importantly how it all got started; what Muaythai means to Rasmus and a lot more.
WMM: Hi Rasmus. How’s life treating you?
Rasmus: Hey Thomas. Well, my life is good right now. I just fought Abbe Joof at the K-1 Scandinavia event in May in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a good fight against a heavy and good opponent. Unfortunately I got injured in this fight so I had to withdraw from a big eight-man tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark with strong names like Ole Baguio Laursen (Denmark), Jiri Zak (Czech Republic) etc. That was as big disappointment to me but now I am just looking forward to the next fight and two months of training in Thailand.
WMM: Right, excellent. Rasmus can you try to explain to our readers how it all got started?
Rasmus: When I was a young boy I played football at the local club. I was quickly spotted by a talent scout and was sent off to one of the big football clubs in Denmark. I played football until I was seventeen years of age – around this time I started to get bored with football! I needed some new challenges so I moved on and started to look for another sport.
I had always been fascinated by martial arts. And now I had the chance to finally try it out myself so I found a local Kickboxing gym called AKBK and tried it out. By the end of the first training session I was hooked! I loved the energy and the intensity of the sport and I just couldn’t get enough and instantly I was training five times a week every single week.
After only six months of training I had my first fight and when I had trained for about one year and six months I was chosen to be on the national team in kickboxing. It was great but I was still looking for more adrenaline and challenges so I started to practice Muaythai and western boxing to improve my skills and to try something else.
Muaythai quickly caught my interest because of the hard kicks and the possibility to utilize knees and elbows. So in 2004 I went to Thailand to train with the best - this experience basically kick-started my Muaythai career. I went to Chiang Mai to train at Lanna Muaythai Gym but that gym wasn’t really what I was looking for. So I switched gym to Chai Yai Gym and I was in love! It was the perfect gym for me: the trainers focused on the techniques and not just the stamina. When I had trained there for about two months I went back to Denmark.
Then in 2006 I moved to Thailand to start a career in professional Muaythai. I went back to my old Gym in Chiang Mai (Chai Yai Gym) and stayed and fought there for about six months before heading to Rompo Gym in Bangkok. My fights in Thailand went very well: I had twelve fights and only two of those fights were looses – one of the losses was against the Contender Asia Champion Yodsaenklai ‘the Hero’ Fairtex. I lost on points after five rounds.
WMM: Wouv – amazing! Actually the first time I ever heard about you was when this fight was announced somewhere on the internet. How did the fight with Yodsaenklai come about?
Rasmus: The fight against Yodsaenklai was set up by the manager and promoter at Rompo Gym. I was offered this fight right after I had fought and won via KO twice in Phuket. I had watched Yodsaenklai fight before and thought that it would be fantastic to fight an athlete on THAT level.
So when my promoter suddenly told me that he had a WPMF Championship fight for me and I found out it was against Yodsaenklai I could only say “YES thank you!” The only problem was that the fight was at minus 73 kg and my normal fight weight is 79 kg. So I had to cut a little bit of weight before the fight.
Nevertheless when it was time to get on the scale I was exactly 73 kg so the cutting process went according to plan – it was perfect.
The event was held in Nakhonsawan province in Thailand. Of course I was a bit nervous before the fight but not more than usual. Most of all I was just looking forward to fight a fighter of the calibre of Yodsaenklai Fairtex. It didn’t really matter to me if I was going to lose the fight - the most important thing was to show the world that I could fight at this level.
It was and still is one of the hardest fights I have ever fought. Yodsaenklai was tough and his boxing and left kicks were very good. But I think I fought my fight and did the best I could do and after all five rounds I lost on points. I was satisfied with my performance.
WMM: Right, but today you fight in a different weight category. Why is that?
Rasmus: My favourite weight division is the light heavy weight division (81 kg). I normally walk around at 85 kg and before the fight I cut weight. However in Thailand it is very difficult to find fights at this weight so I had to fight at 73 kg.
I am doing the opposite now (back in Denmark) to get fights: I now go up in weight to get fights! When I fought at K-1 Scandinavia it was at 86 kg. So for me it isn’t really about the weight but about getting the best possible fights – the biggest fights.
WMM:Right, interesting. And one of the recent fights you fought was against the infamous Tyrone ‘King of the Ring’ Spong.
Rasmus: Yeah it was a great opportunity for me to fight Tyrone. And of course a great chance to show my skills to the SLAMM! promoters Mike and Milton. The event “Return of the King 2” was held in Surinam on Christmas Eve!
We arrived to Surinam one week before the fight so we had plenty of time to get used to the heat but also to see all the beautiful sites before fight night.
When my brother and I arrived we found out that the set up was way bigger than we’d expected. We did TV and radio interviews and overall we were treated like stars.
Then on December 24th it was fight time and my brother and I went to the event venue. It was a really good set up with a capacity of around 10,000 people, big monitors (for slow motion re-runs etc.) and a huge VIP area around the ring.
My fight was obviously the main event since Tyrone ‘King of the Ring’ Spong originates from Surinam. I had trained hard for this fight and I felt ready and as strong as I can be.
The walk to the ring was amazing as the crowd was very loud and exited – however it was nothing compared to when Tyrone entered the arena: people went crazy!
So now it was time to fight and all the butterflies and nerves were gone and now I had to show what I had prepared for. I instantly went forward and put pressure on Tyrone but it was very difficult since he has such a good eye and he read my moves VERY well. After a short while he hits me with a knee to the jaw and I go down! At that time I don’t know what hit me but I am down and taking the count. I get up and I am ready to continue. The fight continues but I am still a bit dizzy after the knee and then it just happens: I get knocked out 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the fight.
Obviously it was very disappointing! Not because I lost to a fighter like Tyrone Spong but because I didn’t get to show my skills to the promoters and the spectators.
WMM: Right so since the fight ended so fast and abrupt are there talks of a rematch any time soon?
Rasmus: No I don’t think I can have a rematch soon as Tyrone is gaining weight so he can fight in the heavy weight division.
WMM: Right. Since I was part of your corner crew at your fight at the K-1 Scandinavia event I know you got injured. Could you elaborate on that please?
Rasmus: Certainly. I got injured in my right foot in the second round (I think it was). Right after that round my foot started to swell and the pain just grew and grew. I knew that there was only one round left so I just continued. The day after the fight the pain was so overwhelming that I couldn’t walk. So unfortunately I had to withdraw from the Eight8Brawl tournament which was only two weeks after the K-1 fight.
I was then forced to take a break from fighting and during this time I did a lot of weight training in order to stay in shape plus a lot of bicycling to keep the stamina and endurance on a high level.
WMM: Amazing Rasmus! So do you have any fights scheduled for the near future?
Rasmus: Right now I don’t have any fights scheduled but I am going to Thailand for two months to train and fight again. This time I am going to Sangmorrocut in Bangkok as it is an amazing camp in the middle of Bangkok. There are only fighters at this camp hence it is the perfect place to get in shape and get ready for the next season of fighting.
WMM: Cool, well everybody here at WMM wish you good luck in Thailand.
Now let’s move on to something completely different. On your shorts you have the phrase: “One Family – one Passion”. Could you please explain what that is about?
Rasmus: One Family One Passion is the Team Zoeylner slogan. My brother is also practising Muaythai and he is often part of my corner crew so we have the same passion for the sport.
But the slogan has a deeper meaning than that. It doesn’t matter whereabouts you are or where you train – people respect each other because of the art. For example when I was in Thailand and I was training in Bangkok I also fought in Phuket as mentioned before. I had two fights with only a couple of weeks in between so I wanted to stay down south (in Phuket) until I had finished both fights. I had been to Phuket before to train for three days at Patong Gym and after the first fight I visited Patong Gym again and when I told them that I was staying in Phuket for a couple of weeks they immediately asked me if I wanted to stay with them. Obviously I accepted this genuine and friendly offer and stayed there for three weeks.
And it is the same everywhere I go: people tell me that the next time I go to their country I can stay at their gym so I feel that “In Muaythai we are one family and we share the same passion!”
WMM: Wouv, that’s fantastic. Whereabouts do you train these days and what does a regular week of training look like?
Rasmus: I train at two different camps. Three times a week I train Muaythai at Sor. Rachan Muaythai camp (Editors note: www.sorrachan.eu). I really like this gym and it was at this camp I started practising Muaythai right after I returned from my trip to Thailand. The pad man and trainer at Sor. Rachan is Thai. His name is Singnum Sor. Rungroj and I think he is one of the best trainers in Denmark. He has helped me prepare up to all my big fights in Europe - he holds pads perfectly so I can do some cool, technical pad work. Sor. Rachan is also where my main manager is located. His name is René Lukic Laursen and he got me the fight at the K-1 event in May and also the fight against Tyrone Spong at the “Return of the King 2” event.
Twice a week I train at Athlete Nation (Siam Muaythai Gym) where I focus on K-1 rules fighting and the more European way of fighting. I train under Tony Pettas who is the big brother of Nicholas Pettas.
Once a week I train western style boxing to improve my boxing skills.
Besides that I run six times during the week and weight train four times during the week to improve stamina, punching and kicking power.
WMM: OK. Now Rasmus what are your ambitions and goals within the beautiful art of Muaythai?
Rasmus: My ambitions are to see how far Muaythai can take me! And I hope that one day I can make a living from fighting Muaythai.
WMM: Excellent Rasmus. Well the entire World Muaythai Magazine crew wish you a prosperous career and life and chok dee in your future fights mate.
World MUAYTHAI Magazine
December Issue WMM 03
Coming from a country with only about five million inhabitants I was quite surprised the first time I heard about this guy Rasmus Zoeylner – he was supposed to fight none other than Yodsaenklai Fairtex and I had never heard of this Danish fighter before. In Denmark the Muaythai community is small and for a passionate Muaythai enthusiast like me it is easy to know ALL the fighters domestically so I quite surprised.
In this interview our readers will get to know probably one of our strongest professional Muaythai fighters right now and most importantly how it all got started; what Muaythai means to Rasmus and a lot more.
WMM: Hi Rasmus. How’s life treating you?
Rasmus: Hey Thomas. Well, my life is good right now. I just fought Abbe Joof at the K-1 Scandinavia event in May in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a good fight against a heavy and good opponent. Unfortunately I got injured in this fight so I had to withdraw from a big eight-man tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark with strong names like Ole Baguio Laursen (Denmark), Jiri Zak (Czech Republic) etc. That was as big disappointment to me but now I am just looking forward to the next fight and two months of training in Thailand.
WMM: Right, excellent. Rasmus can you try to explain to our readers how it all got started?
Rasmus: When I was a young boy I played football at the local club. I was quickly spotted by a talent scout and was sent off to one of the big football clubs in Denmark. I played football until I was seventeen years of age – around this time I started to get bored with football! I needed some new challenges so I moved on and started to look for another sport.
I had always been fascinated by martial arts. And now I had the chance to finally try it out myself so I found a local Kickboxing gym called AKBK and tried it out. By the end of the first training session I was hooked! I loved the energy and the intensity of the sport and I just couldn’t get enough and instantly I was training five times a week every single week.
After only six months of training I had my first fight and when I had trained for about one year and six months I was chosen to be on the national team in kickboxing. It was great but I was still looking for more adrenaline and challenges so I started to practice Muaythai and western boxing to improve my skills and to try something else.
Muaythai quickly caught my interest because of the hard kicks and the possibility to utilize knees and elbows. So in 2004 I went to Thailand to train with the best - this experience basically kick-started my Muaythai career. I went to Chiang Mai to train at Lanna Muaythai Gym but that gym wasn’t really what I was looking for. So I switched gym to Chai Yai Gym and I was in love! It was the perfect gym for me: the trainers focused on the techniques and not just the stamina. When I had trained there for about two months I went back to Denmark.
Then in 2006 I moved to Thailand to start a career in professional Muaythai. I went back to my old Gym in Chiang Mai (Chai Yai Gym) and stayed and fought there for about six months before heading to Rompo Gym in Bangkok. My fights in Thailand went very well: I had twelve fights and only two of those fights were looses – one of the losses was against the Contender Asia Champion Yodsaenklai ‘the Hero’ Fairtex. I lost on points after five rounds.
WMM: Wouv – amazing! Actually the first time I ever heard about you was when this fight was announced somewhere on the internet. How did the fight with Yodsaenklai come about?
Rasmus: The fight against Yodsaenklai was set up by the manager and promoter at Rompo Gym. I was offered this fight right after I had fought and won via KO twice in Phuket. I had watched Yodsaenklai fight before and thought that it would be fantastic to fight an athlete on THAT level.
So when my promoter suddenly told me that he had a WPMF Championship fight for me and I found out it was against Yodsaenklai I could only say “YES thank you!” The only problem was that the fight was at minus 73 kg and my normal fight weight is 79 kg. So I had to cut a little bit of weight before the fight.
Nevertheless when it was time to get on the scale I was exactly 73 kg so the cutting process went according to plan – it was perfect.
The event was held in Nakhonsawan province in Thailand. Of course I was a bit nervous before the fight but not more than usual. Most of all I was just looking forward to fight a fighter of the calibre of Yodsaenklai Fairtex. It didn’t really matter to me if I was going to lose the fight - the most important thing was to show the world that I could fight at this level.
It was and still is one of the hardest fights I have ever fought. Yodsaenklai was tough and his boxing and left kicks were very good. But I think I fought my fight and did the best I could do and after all five rounds I lost on points. I was satisfied with my performance.
WMM: Right, but today you fight in a different weight category. Why is that?
Rasmus: My favourite weight division is the light heavy weight division (81 kg). I normally walk around at 85 kg and before the fight I cut weight. However in Thailand it is very difficult to find fights at this weight so I had to fight at 73 kg.
I am doing the opposite now (back in Denmark) to get fights: I now go up in weight to get fights! When I fought at K-1 Scandinavia it was at 86 kg. So for me it isn’t really about the weight but about getting the best possible fights – the biggest fights.
WMM:Right, interesting. And one of the recent fights you fought was against the infamous Tyrone ‘King of the Ring’ Spong.
Rasmus: Yeah it was a great opportunity for me to fight Tyrone. And of course a great chance to show my skills to the SLAMM! promoters Mike and Milton. The event “Return of the King 2” was held in Surinam on Christmas Eve!
We arrived to Surinam one week before the fight so we had plenty of time to get used to the heat but also to see all the beautiful sites before fight night.
When my brother and I arrived we found out that the set up was way bigger than we’d expected. We did TV and radio interviews and overall we were treated like stars.
Then on December 24th it was fight time and my brother and I went to the event venue. It was a really good set up with a capacity of around 10,000 people, big monitors (for slow motion re-runs etc.) and a huge VIP area around the ring.
My fight was obviously the main event since Tyrone ‘King of the Ring’ Spong originates from Surinam. I had trained hard for this fight and I felt ready and as strong as I can be.
The walk to the ring was amazing as the crowd was very loud and exited – however it was nothing compared to when Tyrone entered the arena: people went crazy!
So now it was time to fight and all the butterflies and nerves were gone and now I had to show what I had prepared for. I instantly went forward and put pressure on Tyrone but it was very difficult since he has such a good eye and he read my moves VERY well. After a short while he hits me with a knee to the jaw and I go down! At that time I don’t know what hit me but I am down and taking the count. I get up and I am ready to continue. The fight continues but I am still a bit dizzy after the knee and then it just happens: I get knocked out 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the fight.
Obviously it was very disappointing! Not because I lost to a fighter like Tyrone Spong but because I didn’t get to show my skills to the promoters and the spectators.
WMM: Right so since the fight ended so fast and abrupt are there talks of a rematch any time soon?
Rasmus: No I don’t think I can have a rematch soon as Tyrone is gaining weight so he can fight in the heavy weight division.
WMM: Right. Since I was part of your corner crew at your fight at the K-1 Scandinavia event I know you got injured. Could you elaborate on that please?
Rasmus: Certainly. I got injured in my right foot in the second round (I think it was). Right after that round my foot started to swell and the pain just grew and grew. I knew that there was only one round left so I just continued. The day after the fight the pain was so overwhelming that I couldn’t walk. So unfortunately I had to withdraw from the Eight8Brawl tournament which was only two weeks after the K-1 fight.
I was then forced to take a break from fighting and during this time I did a lot of weight training in order to stay in shape plus a lot of bicycling to keep the stamina and endurance on a high level.
WMM: Amazing Rasmus! So do you have any fights scheduled for the near future?
Rasmus: Right now I don’t have any fights scheduled but I am going to Thailand for two months to train and fight again. This time I am going to Sangmorrocut in Bangkok as it is an amazing camp in the middle of Bangkok. There are only fighters at this camp hence it is the perfect place to get in shape and get ready for the next season of fighting.
WMM: Cool, well everybody here at WMM wish you good luck in Thailand.
Now let’s move on to something completely different. On your shorts you have the phrase: “One Family – one Passion”. Could you please explain what that is about?
Rasmus: One Family One Passion is the Team Zoeylner slogan. My brother is also practising Muaythai and he is often part of my corner crew so we have the same passion for the sport.
But the slogan has a deeper meaning than that. It doesn’t matter whereabouts you are or where you train – people respect each other because of the art. For example when I was in Thailand and I was training in Bangkok I also fought in Phuket as mentioned before. I had two fights with only a couple of weeks in between so I wanted to stay down south (in Phuket) until I had finished both fights. I had been to Phuket before to train for three days at Patong Gym and after the first fight I visited Patong Gym again and when I told them that I was staying in Phuket for a couple of weeks they immediately asked me if I wanted to stay with them. Obviously I accepted this genuine and friendly offer and stayed there for three weeks.
And it is the same everywhere I go: people tell me that the next time I go to their country I can stay at their gym so I feel that “In Muaythai we are one family and we share the same passion!”
WMM: Wouv, that’s fantastic. Whereabouts do you train these days and what does a regular week of training look like?
Rasmus: I train at two different camps. Three times a week I train Muaythai at Sor. Rachan Muaythai camp (Editors note: www.sorrachan.eu). I really like this gym and it was at this camp I started practising Muaythai right after I returned from my trip to Thailand. The pad man and trainer at Sor. Rachan is Thai. His name is Singnum Sor. Rungroj and I think he is one of the best trainers in Denmark. He has helped me prepare up to all my big fights in Europe - he holds pads perfectly so I can do some cool, technical pad work. Sor. Rachan is also where my main manager is located. His name is René Lukic Laursen and he got me the fight at the K-1 event in May and also the fight against Tyrone Spong at the “Return of the King 2” event.
Twice a week I train at Athlete Nation (Siam Muaythai Gym) where I focus on K-1 rules fighting and the more European way of fighting. I train under Tony Pettas who is the big brother of Nicholas Pettas.
Once a week I train western style boxing to improve my boxing skills.
Besides that I run six times during the week and weight train four times during the week to improve stamina, punching and kicking power.
WMM: OK. Now Rasmus what are your ambitions and goals within the beautiful art of Muaythai?
Rasmus: My ambitions are to see how far Muaythai can take me! And I hope that one day I can make a living from fighting Muaythai.
WMM: Excellent Rasmus. Well the entire World Muaythai Magazine crew wish you a prosperous career and life and chok dee in your future fights mate.
World MUAYTHAI Magazine
World MUAYTHAI Magazine the publication hammering it home, geared towards a global audience who appreciate Muaythai and only Muaythai. The magazine’s unique editorial mission, design, production and photojournalism has received very positive support and readership that encourages our team to find you the stories and people we hope you want to hear about. Thank you for your overwhelming support.
World MUAYTHAI Magazine aims at providing informative, resourceful coverage of all aspects "100% Muaythai" from trainer to promoter, those people with business associated products involved with this sport. Our primary aim will be to image and speak with professional and amateur fighters, who train and compete, fight for the love of this ancient art known as Muaythai.
World MUAYTHAI Magazine provides Oceania Muaythai Federation along with World Muaythai Council, International Federation Muaythai Amateur and affiliated Muaythai Federations world-wide with a vehicle to support the news and information of these "Official Governing Bodies” representing Muaythai today.
Capturing the excitement of the sport in print covering the thrill of being ring side with our readers and with the spectators who passionately follow Muaythai Boxing. We offer the opportunity for Muaythai people to share our Vision for this sport to reach the pinnacle of acceptance world-wide and to be endorsed as an officially recognised "Olympic Event".
Current Issue WMM 03
On behalf of our global Muaythai community I would like take this opportunity to wish His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej a Happy Birthday. December 5th is one of the most celebrated Muaythai days in the Kingdom of Thailand. The King's Birthday Gala Show Cup 2008 will again be brought to you by WMC and OneSongchai.
Our cover features the recent Grand Slam Victory for Kurt “Killer” Finlayson’s to claim the WMC World I-1 International Championship Title. Dynamic fighting duo Dmitry Valent and Andrei Kluebin strike down their challengers.
We bring you behind the scenes coverage on the most successful IFMA World Championships. Malaysia is set to host the Contender Asia series two in 2009. Here comes the Arafura Games 2009, become part of the excitement and get on board for Australia’s largest ever Muaythai Games.
We have professional and amateur fighter interviews with Rasmus Zoeylner Shane Campbell, Carly Guimelli, Dane Sky, Chiquita Lovini-Jorgensen and Giorgio Petrosyan is on fire!
We bring you training in Thailand at Fairtex and Isan. Stuart Holden on being a Pad Man. Gym profile with Reinhardt Badato and we talk to Muaythai Coach Samnang “Dip” Yuanjit. We have clinching tactics. Muaythai in America, what does it take to be a successful Match Maker from leading promoters and we comment on Muaythai in everything.
Plus event coverage on Friday Night Fights in New York City and Australia’s Team Ngapuhi’s Amateur Show, No Contest Challenge and Fight World Cup. We have Muaythai insights, news, directory, new rankings profiles, Muaythai essentials on gear and wear with Punch Equipment gear give-a-way.
Lastly we welcome Muaythai Fighter Steven “Warman” Wright on board as our Guest contributor. Our team at WMM would also like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday season and thank you to all our valued readers.
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