A week and a half ago Rami Ibrahim scored a big win over Thanit Watthanaya at the Warriors Cup XVIII to win the WBC Muay Thai International Challenge belt. Rami took some time to talk to Muay Thai Authority about his big win and his gym in Philadelphia. Rami also highlights some of his young prospects that have been taking the amateur Muay Thai circuit by storm as well as discusses some potential re-matches he would like to take place.
MTA: Big win this past weekend over Thanit Watthanaya, how did you feel after that performance?
Rami: Yes, it was a big win, not only because it was against the respected Thai, Thanit Watthanaya, but more so because this was a victory for all my Palestinian people around the world with me being the first fighter to win a championship title from the most respected combative title in the world, the WBC. I felt ecstatic about that and my performance was on point. It was definitely a historical moment!
MTA: Did that fight play out as planned with your coaches as far as strategy?
Rami: I did not have my coach to train me but I had 2 of my students/fighters who stepped up to the plate and helped me carry out my own plan to win this fight. Roosevelt Velez, held pads for me, sparred with me, and clinched with me. I told him what I wanted him to do, and how “Boom” fights. He watched his fights on line as well and imitated him picture perfect for me. The plan was to take away his main weapons, the right hand and the right body kick, by going from boxing, to elbows to clinching, from fighting Thai style to western boxing style. That plan worked perfectly and we locked his game. My other student, David Nguyen, took it upon his own self, and offered to get me physically prepared, giving me the strength and conditioning camp I’ve been deprived of as a fighter. I trained 3 weeks for this fight, 3 times a day, focusing on just a few things and the strategy worked out just as I wanted.
MTA: Is your boxing something you always see as being a key to victory for you?
Rami: My boxing is definitely an aspect of me that always gives me the edge with every fighter I’ve fought, however, it’s not the only thing that I have to be the key for my victories in my career, because I’m well rounded. As a young child I’ve learned that one must not only know different styles of fighting, but also be able to execute those different styles against different fighters. That’s why I don’t care about the fact many of my videos throughout my fighting career are online, because I treat everyone different anyway.
MTA: What's next for you after the win?
Rami: Now that this fight is over, I can tell everyone about my next fight, which was already scheduled a few months ago. It’s going to be October 12 in Panama. It will be the main event and I will be fighting against Thailand’s very own Oron Deachkalon Sumalee. I just never spoke about it because I had to fight “Boom” so he was my main focus. I will take a few days off to enjoy my WBC victory over, but I will have to get right back to fight mode because Oron has over 300 fights and he’s a Lumpinee, WBC, and WMC champion.
MTA: You have been in this game for quite some time, are you planning on hanging the gloves up anytime soon?
Rami: Yes, I have been in this game for a minute now, 21 years and counting. My original plan was to retire by the age of 35, however, things are changing now. Before you could have never got me to say that word “retire”, but now 2 things are changing that. One, I’m fortunate enough to have done really well as a trainer that my students/fighters are getting really good on a national and international level. With great power comes great responsibility, so now I must give them more time and more attention to because I want them to have all the things that I never had as a fighter. The second reason, which is the main reason I’m pushing to an early retirement is my mom. She had to put up with me fighting for 21 years. She’s had enough of me putting my life on the line every time I step into the ring and keeps telling me that I’ve won enough fights and I’ve won enough belts, and that it’s time to give her this one thing before she goes away (God forbid, May God keep her healthy and alive in my presence, ameen). So now I’m finally coming to the rationalization that it’s ok to retire. After all, the only fighters who have as many fights as me in this sport are Thai’s. So I think I’ve done enough.
MTA: If you could pick any opponent next who would it be?
Rami: If I could pick my next opponent, I would pick Matt Embree. We had a great fight the first time and I’m pretty sure people would like to see that again. Coke Chunhawat is also another fight I’d like. If I can’t get those matches, I’m open to fight any opponent in the world at my weight. I’m not picking and choosing my opponents.
MTA: Your gym in Philly is doing pretty well, what do you attribute your success to?
Rami: All praise due to God! I am fortunate for my good experience in life as well as the bad. My gym, my students, and my fighters are doing well because of those experiences, especially the bad ones. As a young child I remember my fighting career being very hard because I was on my own. You can ask those coaches who have been in the game as long as me and they’ll tell you I went to fights as a young child on my own. Sometimes with no corner men at all and sometimes I would take some kids from school to corner me. I had a hard knock life, was treated badly as a fighter, and even until now I have it hard. I don’t get much time to train with my trainer Aziz because he’s 2 states away and is busy with his 2 schools and I am always in Philly busy with my school because I don’t want to be selfish and leave my students alone for a few weeks to prepare for my fights. So I learned how to do things on my own as a fighter. I try not bring it up so people don’t say I’m making up excuses but those who know me, know how hard I had it as a fighter, and still do. All that helped me in developing the best fighters in the world. It taught me what they needed, what they didn’t need and helped me build not only champions but even warriors. I remember when I opened my gym, 2 of my champions, Timothy “Lion Heart” Amorim and Osvaldo “June” Dominguez, I was coaching them and getting them fights when I didn’t even have enough money to buy a heavy bag for them to hit in my gym. You tell me what fighter you know, stepped into the ring and had fights without hitting a heavy bag? So I just used my knowledge and gave them all the pad work and one on one work I can. They’re both now well respected Muay Thai fighters with Timothy Amorim being a 4x champion (including a WKA World title).
MTA: You have some of the most talented youngsters in the Muay Thai circuit, care to put people on notice about any of them specifically?
Rami: Some of the best fighters I’ve created are these young talented fighters you see me post about to the world, 6 of which are national and world champions already, ranging from the ages of 8 to 17 years old. They are Ethan “Crazy Beast” Melendez (8 yrs old IKF World Champ), “Lil” Stevie Foster (10 yrs old and ranked #1 in the world in boxing), Cesar “Mr. Nice Guy” Ramirez (15 yrs old WKA North American Champ and representing Team USA at this year’s WKA World Championships in Italy), Elias “E-Killer” Melendez (13 yrs old WKA North American Champ and representing Team USA at this year’s WKA World Championships in Italy and a TBA and IKF World champ as well), and last but not least my nephew Ahmad Ibrahim who’s 17 yrs old and been in Muay Thai for only 3 years and already is a 9x Muay Thai champion (3 of which are World titles). Yes, I am blessed and God is great to me!
MTA: Thanks for your time Rami. Any words for your supporters?
Rami: Thank you as always for taking your time to interview me, and thank you for writing on this sport to help it grow, and thank you to my #1 supporter, GOD!
MTA: Big win this past weekend over Thanit Watthanaya, how did you feel after that performance?
Rami: Yes, it was a big win, not only because it was against the respected Thai, Thanit Watthanaya, but more so because this was a victory for all my Palestinian people around the world with me being the first fighter to win a championship title from the most respected combative title in the world, the WBC. I felt ecstatic about that and my performance was on point. It was definitely a historical moment!
MTA: Did that fight play out as planned with your coaches as far as strategy?
Rami: I did not have my coach to train me but I had 2 of my students/fighters who stepped up to the plate and helped me carry out my own plan to win this fight. Roosevelt Velez, held pads for me, sparred with me, and clinched with me. I told him what I wanted him to do, and how “Boom” fights. He watched his fights on line as well and imitated him picture perfect for me. The plan was to take away his main weapons, the right hand and the right body kick, by going from boxing, to elbows to clinching, from fighting Thai style to western boxing style. That plan worked perfectly and we locked his game. My other student, David Nguyen, took it upon his own self, and offered to get me physically prepared, giving me the strength and conditioning camp I’ve been deprived of as a fighter. I trained 3 weeks for this fight, 3 times a day, focusing on just a few things and the strategy worked out just as I wanted.
MTA: Is your boxing something you always see as being a key to victory for you?
Rami: My boxing is definitely an aspect of me that always gives me the edge with every fighter I’ve fought, however, it’s not the only thing that I have to be the key for my victories in my career, because I’m well rounded. As a young child I’ve learned that one must not only know different styles of fighting, but also be able to execute those different styles against different fighters. That’s why I don’t care about the fact many of my videos throughout my fighting career are online, because I treat everyone different anyway.
MTA: What's next for you after the win?
Rami: Now that this fight is over, I can tell everyone about my next fight, which was already scheduled a few months ago. It’s going to be October 12 in Panama. It will be the main event and I will be fighting against Thailand’s very own Oron Deachkalon Sumalee. I just never spoke about it because I had to fight “Boom” so he was my main focus. I will take a few days off to enjoy my WBC victory over, but I will have to get right back to fight mode because Oron has over 300 fights and he’s a Lumpinee, WBC, and WMC champion.
MTA: You have been in this game for quite some time, are you planning on hanging the gloves up anytime soon?
Rami: Yes, I have been in this game for a minute now, 21 years and counting. My original plan was to retire by the age of 35, however, things are changing now. Before you could have never got me to say that word “retire”, but now 2 things are changing that. One, I’m fortunate enough to have done really well as a trainer that my students/fighters are getting really good on a national and international level. With great power comes great responsibility, so now I must give them more time and more attention to because I want them to have all the things that I never had as a fighter. The second reason, which is the main reason I’m pushing to an early retirement is my mom. She had to put up with me fighting for 21 years. She’s had enough of me putting my life on the line every time I step into the ring and keeps telling me that I’ve won enough fights and I’ve won enough belts, and that it’s time to give her this one thing before she goes away (God forbid, May God keep her healthy and alive in my presence, ameen). So now I’m finally coming to the rationalization that it’s ok to retire. After all, the only fighters who have as many fights as me in this sport are Thai’s. So I think I’ve done enough.
MTA: If you could pick any opponent next who would it be?
Rami: If I could pick my next opponent, I would pick Matt Embree. We had a great fight the first time and I’m pretty sure people would like to see that again. Coke Chunhawat is also another fight I’d like. If I can’t get those matches, I’m open to fight any opponent in the world at my weight. I’m not picking and choosing my opponents.
MTA: Your gym in Philly is doing pretty well, what do you attribute your success to?
Rami: All praise due to God! I am fortunate for my good experience in life as well as the bad. My gym, my students, and my fighters are doing well because of those experiences, especially the bad ones. As a young child I remember my fighting career being very hard because I was on my own. You can ask those coaches who have been in the game as long as me and they’ll tell you I went to fights as a young child on my own. Sometimes with no corner men at all and sometimes I would take some kids from school to corner me. I had a hard knock life, was treated badly as a fighter, and even until now I have it hard. I don’t get much time to train with my trainer Aziz because he’s 2 states away and is busy with his 2 schools and I am always in Philly busy with my school because I don’t want to be selfish and leave my students alone for a few weeks to prepare for my fights. So I learned how to do things on my own as a fighter. I try not bring it up so people don’t say I’m making up excuses but those who know me, know how hard I had it as a fighter, and still do. All that helped me in developing the best fighters in the world. It taught me what they needed, what they didn’t need and helped me build not only champions but even warriors. I remember when I opened my gym, 2 of my champions, Timothy “Lion Heart” Amorim and Osvaldo “June” Dominguez, I was coaching them and getting them fights when I didn’t even have enough money to buy a heavy bag for them to hit in my gym. You tell me what fighter you know, stepped into the ring and had fights without hitting a heavy bag? So I just used my knowledge and gave them all the pad work and one on one work I can. They’re both now well respected Muay Thai fighters with Timothy Amorim being a 4x champion (including a WKA World title).
MTA: You have some of the most talented youngsters in the Muay Thai circuit, care to put people on notice about any of them specifically?
Rami: Some of the best fighters I’ve created are these young talented fighters you see me post about to the world, 6 of which are national and world champions already, ranging from the ages of 8 to 17 years old. They are Ethan “Crazy Beast” Melendez (8 yrs old IKF World Champ), “Lil” Stevie Foster (10 yrs old and ranked #1 in the world in boxing), Cesar “Mr. Nice Guy” Ramirez (15 yrs old WKA North American Champ and representing Team USA at this year’s WKA World Championships in Italy), Elias “E-Killer” Melendez (13 yrs old WKA North American Champ and representing Team USA at this year’s WKA World Championships in Italy and a TBA and IKF World champ as well), and last but not least my nephew Ahmad Ibrahim who’s 17 yrs old and been in Muay Thai for only 3 years and already is a 9x Muay Thai champion (3 of which are World titles). Yes, I am blessed and God is great to me!
MTA: Thanks for your time Rami. Any words for your supporters?
Rami: Thank you as always for taking your time to interview me, and thank you for writing on this sport to help it grow, and thank you to my #1 supporter, GOD!
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