UNDEFEATED MIKE LEMAIRE CAPTURES ROAD TO GLORY USA MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP IN LOS ANGELES
Feb 12, 2013 Comments
(PRESS RELEASE) -- LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2013) – Before a
roaring crowd at Hollywood Park Casino, a superbly fit and
undefeated Mike
Lemaire (9-0, 3 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. ran to three
consecutive victories, including a third round (2:26) KO of Eddie
“Showtime” Walker (11-2-1, 9 KOs) of Atlanta, GA in the
championship round of the ROAD TO GLORY USA eight-man middleweight
(187 pounds/85 kilograms) tournament on Saturday, Feb. 9.
For his efforts, Lemaire was awarded a tournament grand prize of $20,000 and a one-year development contract with GLORY, the world’s new premiere kickboxing league.
“For me, this tournament was all about the contract with GLORY;
Money is just money, but the contract is a tremendous opportunity,”
said the 26-year-old, 6-foot-1 Lemaire, a protégé of former world
Muay Thai champion Melchor Menor. “I’ll fight anyone (GLORY) puts
in front of me now – anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’ve got a lot to
work on and a lot to learn, but I’m here to stay.”
Lemaire overcame tremendous odds against Walker after being pushed to new limits by fellow prospect Andrew Kapel (12-4, 10 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minn. in the tournament’s semifinal stage. Walker, by contrast, was relatively fresh and well-rested after scoring a second round (1:26) KO on Edgar Del Fierro (18-5, 14 KOs) of Fresno, Calif. in the quarterfinal stage and a second round (2:13) TKO on Van “The General” Wyk Povey! (33-4-1, 22 KOs) in the semifinal stage of the tournament.
Lemaire took charge in the added round, cracking Kapel with his right hand and repeated round kicks, including one to the head towards the end of the round before Lemaire was declared the winner of the hard-fought contest by split decision.
In the tournament championship bout, Walker began stalking Lemaire in the outset as he had done to his first two opponents.
After turning the tides with his right hand and rallying in the middle of the first round, Lemaire continued his momentum in the second, finding his rhythm and putting pressure on Walker with quick hand combinations. Then, a sudden hard right leg kick from Lemaire found its mark on the left thigh of Walker, who crumbled to the canvas in pain.
Walker made it to his feet and through the round, but his leg was noticeably battered. In the third round, Lemaire went after Walker’s bad leg, putting Walker down three more times with leg kicks before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
In the quarterfinal round of the tournament, Lemaire overwhelmed Russian import Evgeny “The Beast From The East” Zotov (5-3, 3 KOs) of Sevierville, Tenn., putting Zotov down and out for the count with a thunderous head kick in the second round (:48) of the fight.
COMPLETE ROAD TO GLORY USA MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Tournament Reserve Fight:
Afam Egbochuku def. Jacob Poss via KO – Round 2 (1:08)
Quarterfinal Round:
Eddie Walker def. Edgar Del Fierro via KO – Round 2 (1:26)
Van Wyk Povey def. Jonarh Junio via TKO (two knockdown rule) - Round 1 (1:23)
Andrew Kapel def. Casey Greene via split decision - 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Mike Lemaire def. Evgeny Zotov via KO – Round 2 (:48)
Semifinal Round:
Eddie Walker def. Van Wyk Povey via TKO (two knockdown rule) – Round 2 (2:13)
Mike Lemaire def. Andrew Kapel via split decision (after sudden victory round) - sudden victory round scores: 10-9, 9-10, 10-9
Championship Round:
Mike Lemaire def. Eddie Walker via KO – Round 3 (2:26)
About GLORY: GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world's new premier kickboxing league, producing live events across the globe and offering up to $2 million in prize money to the winners of one-night, 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each of six different weight classes. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world's largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world's most widely distributed sporting organizations.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and so! on in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
In 2013, GLORY launched the ROAD TO GLORY tournament fight series to identify and develop new kickboxing talent in The United States, Japan and elsewhere around the globe into future champions and superstars of the sport.
For his efforts, Lemaire was awarded a tournament grand prize of $20,000 and a one-year development contract with GLORY, the world’s new premiere kickboxing league.
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Lemaire overcame tremendous odds against Walker after being pushed to new limits by fellow prospect Andrew Kapel (12-4, 10 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minn. in the tournament’s semifinal stage. Walker, by contrast, was relatively fresh and well-rested after scoring a second round (1:26) KO on Edgar Del Fierro (18-5, 14 KOs) of Fresno, Calif. in the quarterfinal stage and a second round (2:13) TKO on Van “The General” Wyk Povey! (33-4-1, 22 KOs) in the semifinal stage of the tournament.
Kapel sent Lemaire to the canvas in the first round with a round
kick to the head, but Lemaire beat the referee’s count and
continued to move forward and press the action, scoring repeatedly
with his right hand over the course of the bout. After the third
and final scheduled round of the matchup came to a close, the bout
was declared a draw, sending the fight into a fourth, “sudden
victory round” to determine a winner.
Lemaire took charge in the added round, cracking Kapel with his right hand and repeated round kicks, including one to the head towards the end of the round before Lemaire was declared the winner of the hard-fought contest by split decision.
In the tournament championship bout, Walker began stalking Lemaire in the outset as he had done to his first two opponents.
After turning the tides with his right hand and rallying in the middle of the first round, Lemaire continued his momentum in the second, finding his rhythm and putting pressure on Walker with quick hand combinations. Then, a sudden hard right leg kick from Lemaire found its mark on the left thigh of Walker, who crumbled to the canvas in pain.
Walker made it to his feet and through the round, but his leg was noticeably battered. In the third round, Lemaire went after Walker’s bad leg, putting Walker down three more times with leg kicks before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
In the quarterfinal round of the tournament, Lemaire overwhelmed Russian import Evgeny “The Beast From The East” Zotov (5-3, 3 KOs) of Sevierville, Tenn., putting Zotov down and out for the count with a thunderous head kick in the second round (:48) of the fight.
COMPLETE ROAD TO GLORY USA MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Tournament Reserve Fight:
Afam Egbochuku def. Jacob Poss via KO – Round 2 (1:08)
Quarterfinal Round:
Eddie Walker def. Edgar Del Fierro via KO – Round 2 (1:26)
Van Wyk Povey def. Jonarh Junio via TKO (two knockdown rule) - Round 1 (1:23)
Andrew Kapel def. Casey Greene via split decision - 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Mike Lemaire def. Evgeny Zotov via KO – Round 2 (:48)
Semifinal Round:
Eddie Walker def. Van Wyk Povey via TKO (two knockdown rule) – Round 2 (2:13)
Mike Lemaire def. Andrew Kapel via split decision (after sudden victory round) - sudden victory round scores: 10-9, 9-10, 10-9
Championship Round:
Mike Lemaire def. Eddie Walker via KO – Round 3 (2:26)
About GLORY: GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world's new premier kickboxing league, producing live events across the globe and offering up to $2 million in prize money to the winners of one-night, 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each of six different weight classes. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world's largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world's most widely distributed sporting organizations.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and so! on in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
In 2013, GLORY launched the ROAD TO GLORY tournament fight series to identify and develop new kickboxing talent in The United States, Japan and elsewhere around the globe into future champions and superstars of the sport.
