MTA: Joe, you are scheduled to fight Chris Kwiatkowski for Friday Night Fights on September 16th, how familiar are you with Chris as a fighter?
Joe: I know Chris is a great fighter with hard hands that no one should under estimate. I had the chance to watch Chris fight Oliver Parker live at Friday Night Fights June 10 event this year. Also, I train with a lot of fighters who have been on cards with him so I have a good familiarity with his style and pace.
MTA: How has your training camp for the fight been going?
Joe: Training camp is going great. With what I know about Chris, I had a very intense training camp put together. I have worked with new conditioning coach to make sure that physically I will be able to get in there and go to war for 5 rounds, because in all reality, the way our styles match up I can guarantee that it will be a war!
MTA: Going into this fight are there any strengths you feel you possess over Chris?
Joe: Not to take anything away from Chris he is a great fighter, but he relies on his hands and in Muay Thai we have 8 weapons to use, I am a well rounded fighter with a lot of experience. I have been competing in Muay Thai since the age of 9. I have fought the best from around the world (Thailand, Mexico, Canada, USA), held 3 championship titles and competed on the world stage. I think that experience and being well rounded will play a big part in it.
MTA: You are fighting Chris in New York, his own back yard. As a fighter does the crowd affect you at all during fights?
Joe: With the state of Muay Thai in Ontario most of my bigger fights have been in the opponent’s back yard so it is nothing new for me. I know the crowd at the Friday Night Fights events are possibly the most Muay Thai educated and respectful spectators I have seen outside of my fights in Thailand so I think with the style that Chris and I have, the fans will be cheering the whole time!
MTA: You are moving up in weight for this fight, what was the reason behind deciding to move up in weight and do you feel that being the smaller fighter could present any issues?
Joe: From the age of 14-18, I was competing regularly at 135-140lbs but it was a tough cut for me. With each year the weight cut became harder and harder. I feel good fighting at 147lbs, I can focus on strength and power a lot more now that I’m fighting at that weight. A lot of people don’t know this but I actually held a Canadian W.M.F. Title at the 147lbs weight category where I ended up fighting a guy that was 6’6”. So being the smaller fighter isn’t something new for me.
MTA: You have been out of action for a while, what was the reason behind this and are you worried about any ring rust?
Joe: The reason I was out of the game for a bit, was that it is very hard to find good fights in Ontario now and being that I was pursuing a College degree it was in my best interest to focus on the teaching aspect of Muay Thai opposed to traveling to fight. I have been planning on coming back for about 5 months now and began the training camp around that time. I feel good sparring, the timing is there, and reaction time is fast so I don’t see ring rust being a problem in this fight. I want Chris at his best, and I’m sure he wants me at my best so there will be no excuses from my end, I’ve done the training and believe the best fighter will win on that night.
MTA: Can you give us a prediction for your fight wit Chris?
Joe: A full out war for 5 rounds!!!!
MTA: With Muay Thai continuing to grow here in North America are there any fighters in particular that you would like to fight in the future?
Joe: I want to be regarded as one of the best and to do that I will have to fight the best, so I will take it one fight at a time. I’m just excited to get back in there and fight a great opponent in a great promotion like Friday Night Fights. Lastly, I would like to thank muaythaiauthority.com for everything that you are doing for our sport, without these key organizations and media we would never receive the amount of attention we are now, so thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment