One of the most intriguing Muay Thai contests ever to be fought in Thailand will be the WBC Muay Thai heavyweight world championship _ one of seven world title fights in the Battle for the Belts event at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani next Saturday.
Muay Thai heavyweight championships are usually unpredictable due to the awesome force of a heavy blow that often ends such contests with a sudden knock-out.
It's rare for a Muay Thai heavyweight contest to take place in Thailand. And even rarer still for such a title is to be held in the Thai capital as part of a three-hour broadcast on Channel 9 (3pm to 6pm) and worldwide by IMG.
The WBC heavyweight world championship will be a highly anticipated showdown between Argentina's title-holder Christian Bosch and the challenger from Japan, Fabiano Cyclone.
Fabiano, a former K1 heavyweight star, is coming to Bangkok ready to do what it takes to win the title from Bosch.
Speaking from his home gym in Tokyo where he's been training for the past three months, Fabiano said he doesn't expect that the championship will go the full five rounds.
"When big guys collide in the ring, one stands up and the other goes down. My focus is to stay standing and win the world title," he said.
Fabiano said he had mastered punches and kicks while fighting in K1.
"Muay Thai is very different to K1 kickboxing. You've got to have better conditioning and be able to use the extra weapons of knees and elbows. Grappling was the hardest thing for me. To hang on and keep striking is a tough skill to learn," he said.
His Argentina's opponent Bosch also predicts a KO result.
"We're both fit enough to go hard for five rounds, but the reality is that only one fighter will most likely be standing upright at the end. That's the natural way of the heavyweight division and a points win is a secondary consideration," he said.
Bosch has been training for a week in Phuket to get over the jet lag after flying to Thailand all the way from South America.
He and Fabiano will come face to face for the first time at the weigh-in on Friday morning at Fairtex Muay Thai resort in Pattaya.
Fabiano is hoping to take the WBC green belt back to Japan where he says K1 is in decline.
