Westpark’s Corey O’Malley won with a first round stoppage in Thailand last Friday, February 7.
It was the Black Dragon kickboxer’s first ever Muay Thai fight as he took on a Thai national who was a Bangla Stadium Champion.
The bout took place in the renowned Rawai Stadium in Phuket and was scheduled for five three-minute rounds.
The fight was under full Muay Thai rules, meaning bare shins, elbow and knee strikes permitted, along with the conventional boxing and kicks. Another first for Corey was the use of six oz gloves as opposed to 10oz gloves.
Unfazed by the series of firsts he was experiencing, O’Malley went straight to work, asserting his dominance early. He put the Thai champion on the backfoot from the off, dictating the pace.
It took him less than a round to have the Thai fighter in trouble and shortly before the bell, O’ Malley landed a thunderous leg kick which dropped his opponent to the canvas.
Unable to continue, the referee called a halt to proceedings, thus giving Corey the win by TKO.
Corey, alongside Oisín Concannon and Darren Van Strien from Westside, travelled to Thailand for a month of training which consisted of five or seven kilometre runs followed by three two-hour sessions each day.
