Lion Fight 25 takes place this Friday, October 23rd at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA. The night's main event features a rubber match between John Wayne Parr and Cosmo Alexandre. This is a highly anticipated bout between two elite Muay Thai fighters.
Parr and Alexandre have split a pair of fights, and it will be interesting to see which fighter emerges victorious in their third encounter. The first fight between the two happened over eight years ago at Evolution 12 in Australia. Parr was the winner that night taking home a unanimous decision over Alexandre. The second bout happened six years go at Evolution 17 as part of a one night 8-man tournament. Alexandre defeated Parr by (T)KO due to leg kicks in the tournament semi-finals.
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| John Wayne Parr |
Parr has seemed to defy father time, he is pushing 40 and has won nine of his last ten fights with five of those wins coming by (T)KO. In that streak he has scored wins over some top tier fighters including Mike Zambidis, Yohan Lidon, Jordan Tai, and Marco Pique. His only loss in that ten fight span is to highly touted Toby Smith.
Parr is a technical fighter that likes to control a fight. He presses the action when he needs to and makes sure to keep busy throughout. He has a high output of strikes when he fights and that should help him score points on the judges card as Alexandre has proven to be a difficult fighter to finish.
Alexandre enters the fight with Parr on a four fight win streak, including victories of Dzhabar Askerov and Marco Pique. Like Parr, Alexandre has been in the ring with the best of the best in his career. Alexandre holds a win over Parr by (T)KO, but it should be noted that both fighters had already fought one fight on the night of the tournament and Parr took significant damage to his leg in his first bout. It was visibly affecting him in the semi-final bout and Alexandre was able to capitalize and get the (T)KO win.
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| Cosmo Alexandre |
Traditionally Alexandre has been his own worst enemy in his fights. He is a notorious slow starter and it has cost him when it comes to fights going the distance. Alexandre has a height and reach advantage and he needs to keep Parr at bay with a stiff jab and a solid push kick. When Parr gets inside he likes to unload in bunches, but if Alexandre could successfully keep him at a distance then he can slow the fight down. Alexandre can't afford to take the early rounds of the fight off because he might dig himself a hole he won't be able to dig himself out of later and it could cost him on the judges score cards if the fight goes the distance.
Parr is going to come out and put on a show, that is a guarantee. He likes to go out and let his weapons fly. Alexandre likes to fight a slower pace, but has the tools to cause some serious damage. The questions that loom around this fight are pretty simple. Will father time catch up with John Wayne Parr? Will Cosmo be aggressive enough early in the bout? Those seem to be the real deciding factors in this fight because both are highly talented individuals. It will come down to who can successfully control the fight. Can Parr get inside and score points on Alexandre with his high volume style, or can Alexandre slow the pace of the fight down?
It will definitely be interesting to see who gets the better of the other. It doesn't seem likely this one will end in a stoppage unless it is from a cut or an injury. Who do you think wins the rubber match between these Parr and Alexandre?
