full Glory 5 fight card and ticket sales announced for 'Spong vs. Bonjasky' on March 23 in London...

Glory World Series - the world's premiere kickboxing league have announced the full fight card and ticketing details for their first UK based event to be held at London's Excel Arena on Saturday the 23rd March.

Headlined by a heavyweight contest between the legendary Dutch fighters Remy Bonjasky (77-15, 40 KO's) and Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO's) and supported by some of the world's best stand up fighters, Glory's inaugural UK event promises to showcase the most stacked kickboxing card ever to grace a British venue.

GLORY 5 will see 22 fighters and 11 fights spread across one memorable night. From top to bottom, the card features a roll call of world-class talent including the likes of Albert Kraus (66-16-3, 39 KO's), winner of the first ever K-1 MAX tournament, facing the sensational Andy Ristie (43-2, 16 KO's) in a match which will go a long way towards determining a top lightweight contender.

British talents Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO's) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2, 38 KO's) widely regarded as two of the best kickboxers the UK has ever produced also feature. Hailing from the Bad Company gym in Leeds, England, the duo have fought all over the world and are amongst the few foreigners to have found success in the fighting rings of Thailand.

The London event comes hot on the heels of Glory's New Year's Eve ‘grand slam' event in Tokyo, Japan and follows a series of spectacular, sold out events throughout 2012 which have consolidated Glory's reputation as the world's premiere kickboxing league and home to the wold's most respected stand up fighters.

"When GLORY decided to stage a show in London we knew we would have to put together a special card for the British capital. Fans have wanted to see a fight between Remy Bonjasky and Tyrone Spong for some time but the two have never met in the ring - until now," says Marcus Luer, GLORY CEO.

"Bonjasky is an idol to fight fans around the world and Spong has been on a steady rise to the top, he's a fighter that everybody is talking about right now. They are both very skilled and very fast so we are expecting a really entertaining fight. Bonjasky's flying knees and Spong's hands are capable of stopping a fight in an instant - don't blink."


Tickets for the highly anticipated GLORY 5: Spong vs. Bonjasky will go on sale from today -Friday, January 11 via Ticketmaster. Tickets are priced at £45, £65 and £200. Fans can purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by telephone via 0844 847 2543.

Known as ‘The Flying Gentleman', Bonjasky stands 1.93m (6‘3") and weighs 108 kilograms (238 pounds) and is a household name among kickboxing fans. His illustrious career has seen him win numerous top honours, including three K-1 Grand Prix wins, but this will be the first time that British fight fans have the opportunity to see him fight live.

One of the most athletic fighters ever to step into the ring, Bonjasky's flying knees and kicks have provided some of the most enduring images of the sport. Among his career victories are wins over Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, Alistair Overeem and Jerome LeBanner. Bonjasky participated in GLORY's 16-man Grand Slam tournament in Tokyo, Japan on New Year's Eve and has gone 2-1 in 2012.

Like Bonjasky, Amsterdam native Spong, who recently relocated to Boca Raton, Fla. to train with the famed ‘Blackzilians' fight squad, is a world-class athlete. Standing 1.88 meters (6-foot-2) and weighing 103.5 kilograms (228 pounds), he started his career as a middleweight and has retained that speed and fluidity as he has moved up through the weight classes to heavyweight.

With explosive power in his hands, nearly two-thirds of Spong's wins have been by stoppage, including his June KO of the legendary Peter Aerts, also a three-time winner of the K-1 Grand Prix. Prior to moving up to heavyweight, Spong held the light-heavyweight (95 kilogram/210 pound) title in top European organization It's Showtime, which GLORY purchased in October 2012.

Other highlights include the light-heavyweight Danyo Ilunga(41-4, 34 KO's), a student of Bonjasky's who has been thrilling fans across Europe making his UK debut against the top French talent Stephane Susperregui (32-4-1, 27 KO's).in a fight that is very unlikely to go the distance.

Britain's Liam Harrison faces Mosab ‘Jaguar' Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KO's), a Dutch-Moroccan fighter who combines ferocity with exceptional technicality. His world-class skills will provide the toughest test of Harrison's career to date. Watson faces an equally tough test in the shape of Australia's ‘Stone Cold' Steve Moxon (29-4-1, 16 KO's), a knockout machine with a sky-high finishing ratio.

The full fight card is as follows. All fights are three rounds of three minutes duration fought under Glory World Series rules:

Heavyweight
Tyrone Spong (Suriname) vs. Remy Bonjasky (Netherlands)

Lightweight
Andy Ristie (Suriname) vs. Albert Kraus (Netherlands)
Light-Heavyweight
Stephane Susperregui (France) vs. Danyo Ilunga (Congo)

Featherweight
Liam Harrison (UK) vs. Mosab Armani (Morocco)

Lightweight
Jordan Watson (UK) vs. Steve Moxon (Australia)

Light-Heavyweight
Raymond Daniels (USA) vs. TBC

Heavyweight
Singh Jaideep (UK/India) vs. Yong Soo Park (South Korea)

Middleweight
Steve Wakeling (UK) vs. Simon Marcus (Canada)

Welterweight
Maxim Vyrovski (Russia) vs. Duoli Chen (China)

Lightweight
Johann Fauveau (France) vs. Warren Stevelmans (South Africa)

Catchweight
Reece McAllister (UK) vs. Tim Thomas (UK)

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/1/11/1759106/glory-5-fight-card-ticket-sales-london-spong-vs-bonjasky-k1-kickboxing-mma

Spong responds to Bonjasky recent comments.

It is early morning in Boca Raton, Florida and ‘The King of the Ring’ Tyrone Spong has just been out for a run, hitting the pavement early in the day to avoid the sweltering heat of the afternoon. The run concluded, he returns to the Imperial Athletics training center, home of The Blackzilians fight team, for another day of embracing the grind that all fighters must go through if they want to become a champion.

Spong has won belts and titles aplenty over the years but now, aged 27, he has established himself as a heavyweight contender. Having recently signed to GLORY, the world’s new premier kickboxing league, he wants to earn himself a title shot as soon as possible. But it will be a hard road, and the journey will begin on March 23 in London, England when he faces the three-time K-1 Grand Prix winner Remy Bonjasky.

“I think its a really big fight. Its going to be a great fight. The fans have been really enthusiastic about it and they are really looking forward to it. I am trying to build my own legacy and I see it as a great challenge. I am not much of a talker, I let my actions speak for themselves. He is a big name in the sport, I like the challenge, lets see what happens,” Spong says as he sits down to talk about his GLORY debut.

“Styles make fights and we will only see when we are in the ring exactly how we match up. But I think that I have a pretty all-round style - I can punch, I can kick, I can use my knees, everything. Flying knees too, if I want. With Remy its mostly kicks, people say that his boxing isn’t that great. But still, he knocked down a lot of great opponents, a lot of big champions, so its going to be interesting.”

Bonjasky’s trademark attack is the flying knee; does Spong have one of those in his repertoire as well? “Sure. I like training everything and I am blessed that I can do most of the techniques. Most things I train, I can master. Including the flying knee,” he smiles.

He declares himself to be “not much of a talker” and so Spong rarely gets into the kind of trash-talk exchanges which other fighters seem to relish in. But today he has been reading comments Bonjasky made in a recent interview and he has some responses he wants to make.

Bonjasky has declared Spong to be “not a natural heavyweight” and is of the opinion that he has lost speed and skill on his way up the weight categories. Bonjasky has also speculated about the possible impact on Spong of seeing his Blackzilians team mates Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans lose their fights at the UFC 156 event earlier this month.

“He is a big champion, [surely] he can’t talk that stupid? Come on man. I am not Alistair, I am Tyrone Spong. It didn’t do anything except motivate me more. So he shouldn’t worry about me, he should just worry about himself,” Spong snaps, a rare break in his usually placid demeanor.

“On March 23 we will get in there and we will see who is fast and who is not. We will see who lost skill and who did not. I don’t like to talk too much, but we will see on the night who is better.”

In April, top-ranked heavyweights Daniel Ghita and Gokhan Saki will clash in Istanbul, the capital city of Saki’s Turkish spiritual home. The winner of that fight is likely to get a title shot against GLORY’s heavyweight world champion, Semmy Schilt. That might seem like a dubious prize to some, but Spong also wants to place himself in the queue to fight Schilt.

“I am looking to make a big upset. I am actually looking forward to fighting Semmy. I like challenges. I’m a crazy guy. He is big and everything but I like to test myself. Most people want to avoid him but I am different, I’m just different. I need challenges to motivate myself,” he explains.

However, it is possible that the title could be in different hands by the time Spong earns a shot at the belt. it depends on whether the winner of Saki vs. Ghita is able to take the belt from the giant karate fighter currently holding it. This contender elimination fight has excited the fanbase worldwide and Spong is one of them.

“Its going to be a brutal fight and a knockout. Daniel Ghita made a lot of progression in the last year and a half but Saki also is very skilled. Its going to be a very tough fight and its a 50-50 fight but if I had to pick one of them, I would say Saki,” he says.

This is the year the Amsterdam native wants to make an eternal mark on the fight game. At the same time as he is planning to take a run at the GLORY heavyweight championship, the most prestigious title in kickboxing, he is also venturing into mixed martial arts. Spong recently debuted for the World Series of Fighting mixed martial arts organization. Ironically, WSOF is owned by kickboxing legend Ray Sefo; he and Spong fought in 2010.

“Honestly it doesn’t matter to me, a fight is a fight. I enjoy both sets of rules. I enjoy the adrenaline rush, waiting out to the ring and getting it over with, making a war. I train in jiu jitsu, with a gi and without a gi, but I don’t like being on my back,” he says.

“World Series Of Fighting just signed a deal with NBC and they are looking forward to putting me on most of the shows. So I am looking forward to that and its going to be a big year in MMA and in kickboxing. I am looking forward to the opportunities that are coming up.

“Its going to be my year, 2013. You hear that number, thirteen? Its a bad number. So that means its a good year for the bad guy!”


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