Friday, myself, Thomas, Fyn and Colin’s lads Leighton and Sammy made the trip up to Aberdeen for some battles 
Thomas stepped into the Gala world and shinny lights for the first time on a big gala show, flying all the way up to Scotland to face a local lad in front of over 650+ people. No easy ask for your first one. Round 1, nerves were definitely there. He couldn’t quite settle, couldn’t quite find his range and just looked a little unsure. Round 2 he started to find his feet, pulled things back, took more control and started landing better hands to leg combos. Round 3 he really started coming into it, taking over some of the exchanges, and even caught his man with a head kick! Rocking him, the ref stepped in to check on the other lad. Gave him a good 20’seconds recovery, If that count had been given, the decision could’ve looked very different. In the end, a split decision against us… but for a first fight, against a local boy, on a big show like that, I’m more than happy with that effort.
Leighton next for TKO ELITE
I had the pleasure of cornering Leighton under the circumstances, as Colin couldn’t make it this weekend. So firstly, I felt very honoured to be trusted with his lads. Round 1 It was close, but he just didn’t quite do enough work. We made a quick gear change between rounds and round 2 he came out brilliant, dominated the round and really got going. Round 3 became a bit of a battle of cardio and momentum swung back and forth, but Leighton landed some really strong work, including a knockdown, some sharp head kicks and a couple of beautiful knees that really started slowing his man down. Another 30 seconds and I genuinely think we may have got a stoppage. It went to the judges and came back a split decision in our favour. Leighton’s hand raised at the final bell 
Also, fair play to the lad he fought, who took the fight on just one week’s notice. That deserves respect. But… he came in with an unbeaten record, and Leighton managed to add a loss to that card. Quality performance.
Fyn steps up a level everytime he fights, and re watching it back on camera it was even better. At the time I felt this was a really close one that could’ve gone either way. In round 1, Fyn was a little slow finding his range and getting out of first gear, but even then he was still pushing his man backwards, controlling the ring for most of the round and landing some nice clean shots. Round 2 was again pretty evenly matched, but I felt Fyn’s work rate and ring control edged it for him. Then in round 3 he switched on properly, found his range, landed a couple of supermans, a spinning back kick, and started circling his man off onto the ropes and into the corners. Again, a very close fight, but this one went our way on a split decision. Good strong performance from Fyn.
Last up was Sammy for TKO Elite, and once again I was in the corner for a really talented young man. He was up against a very skilled opponent who has fought at semi-pro level and had a lot more experience. Round 1 definitely went against us. Sammy struggled to find his range, his flow and just allowed the fight to be won with cleaner work. He wasn’t hurt, there was no real damage, but the other lad was just tidier. Round 2 was much better, much closer, started to hit and move more, landed some nice kicks and started to settle. Round 3 slipped back a little, throwing but not quite following up, and taking shots. We didn’t get the decision we wanted, but Sammy stayed in there, went the distance and held his own against a very highly skilled lad. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. Plenty to learn from and come back stronger with.
A lot of people were saying that was fight of the night, and to be fair, with the clean technical K1 skills from both lads, I can see why.
Huge thanks to Shane Wares and everyone at Fairbairn Gym and the Apex Fight Show. A quality event from start to finish. Thank you for having us, looking after us and treating us like family. Even the crowd were friendly enough… despite us fighting in their back garden 
Even if one of your fighters still can’t count how many knees he throws in a clinch… but it’s fine. We’ve got broad shoulders. We can take it 
#HKAFamily#FightTeam#FullContact#K1#ProudCoach
