ROME, Italy (Sept. 7, 2012) – Three of Italy’s top rising stars – Mustapha Haida (18-1), Marco Re (20-3, 13 KO’s) and Alessandro Campagna (29-5, 14 KO’s)– are amongst the fighters that have been tabbed to compete in two Superfights as well as two tournament reserve fights at the highly-anticipated GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ (70 kg) championship kickboxing event at the iconic PalaLottomatica venue on Saturday, November 3.
Haida will face off with Muay Thai powerhouse Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO’s) of England at 70 kg (154 pounds) in one of the two Superfights and Re will collide with the versatile Alka Matewa (43-6-1, 23 KO’s) of Belgium in the other at 72.5 kg (160 pounds).
In the first of two 70 kg tournament reserve bouts for the card’s eight-man tournament, Fight of the Year candidate Dzhabar Askerov (73-28-1, 37 KO’s) of Russia will take on standout Yoshihiro Sato (49-18, 20 KO’s) of Japan while flamboyant, master technician and seasoned star Fabio Pinca (85-17-4, 32 KO’s) of France clashes with fast-rising, 20-year-old Campagna, who has been dubbed one of the world’s top prospects.
Both reserve matches will be fought before the Final 8 quarterfinal round tournament matches take place. Should any victorious fighter, or fighters, be too injured to advance to the next round of the tournament, their spot will be offered to the fighter they previously defeated. If that fighter cannot continue either, a tournament reserve bout winner will be substituted into the tournament.
“The fighters making their way to the GLORY ring on November 3 are the absolute best in the world in their weight class and are fighting not only for their own glory but for that of their nations,” said GLORY Managing Director, Marcus Luer. “The upcoming event has an incredible mix of champions and hungry, young talent that want to take their spot on the world stage. I have no doubt that the action will be fast and explosive.”
Superfights:
Jordan Watson vs. Mustapha Haida
Watson has been going from strength to strength on the way to becoming one of the England’s top fighting talents. He has an attacking style and a great deal of power, which has led to him knocking more than half of his opponents out. In his last fight, he thrilled British fans with a standout performance, including a thunderous head-kick, on the way to a comfortable decision win over Hamed Assan of France.
Haida, originally from Morocco but based in Italy, has enjoyed an almost unbeaten run on the Italian circuit, where his fluid and technical style has been impressive. Watson has the power advantage and far more experience, which means Haida will have to be on top of his game and fighting cleverly to get the win.
Marco Re vs. Alka Matewa
With 13 of his 20 wins coming by way of knockout, Re’s record lends testimony to his level of power. Re also brings to the ring great timing ,which allows him to land attacks and counterattacks very precisely, often kicking an opponent's leg out from under them while they are attempting to kick him.
Like Re, Matewa has stopped more than half of his opponents. An experienced professional, Matewa works hard on his hands and he has a good level of boxing ability and good head movement. He doesn’t have the same flair that Re does but he has a high work rate and has demonstrated his willingness to trade blows with opponents.
Tournament Reserve Fights:
Dzhabar Askerov vs. Yoshihiro Sato
Askerov has won over legions of fans with a super aggressive style of fighting that spawns round after round of non-stop action and attacking.
Sato is, in some ways, almost the opposite of Askerov. He is a cerebral fighter and does not rush in to trade shots. Instead he likes to pick his opponents apart and use his range advantage, working away at their legs and body with kicks and knees.
This fight is like a meeting of fire and ice and their strengths and weaknesses play well against each other. Askerov sometimes struggles to defend his legs because he is planting his feet to let his hands go, while Sato’s main weakness is probably that he is relatively easy to hit for a fighter with good hands.
Both fighters are determined to notch a victory after suffering defeats in their respective bouts at GLORY: First 16 in May. Askerov’s fight with Robin Van Roosmalen in the event was a three-round war and an instant classic which fans around the world immediately declared a possible Fight of the Year.
Fabio Pinca vs. Alessandro Campagna
Pinca is a tremendously exciting talent and he has an unusually wide arsenal of techniques at his disposal. If the opportunity for a spinning back-fist is there Pinca will take it as easily as he throws a jab. Pinca is very good at working his opponents all over and he has stopped nearly half of them inside the distance.
Earlier this year, he took a win over the world’s best Muay Thai fighter Saenchai, a testament to Pinca’s remarkably complete skills. He is a difficult proposition for any of the world’s top fighters and he will definitely have some tricks to show his young Italian opponent.
Campagna is taking a huge step up in opposition for this fight, but he has shown his worthiness of doing so by earning wins over several fighters with more experience and bigger reputations.
Campagna is big for the weight class and will have a size and range advantage on Pinca. He also shares a background in Muay Thai with Pinca and is very fond of throwing hard punches to the head to create an opening for knees to the midsection.
Tickets for GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ event, priced from € 27.50, are available for purchase online at www.ticketone.it.
The Superfights and reserve matches round out a card headlined by the world’s top 70 kg fighters competing in a one-night single-elimination tournament to determine the best of the best, with a $300,000 grand prize at stake for the winner. The tournament draw features Giorgio ‘The Doctor’ Petrosyan (71-1-2 (1 NC), 33 KO’s) of Italy, Albert “The Hurricane” Kraus (66-16-3, 39 KO’s) of Netherlands, Robin “Poker Face” van Roosmalen (35-13-3, 10 KO’s) of Netherlands; Shemsi Beqiri (71-7, 31 KO’s) of Switzerland, Ky Hollenbeck (34-7, 21 KO’s) of USA, Tim Thomas.(60-1-9, 35 KO’s) of England, Davit Kiria (18-7, 10 KO’s) of Netherlands and Sanny Dahlbeck (24-4, 14 KO’s) Sweden.
The matchups for the quarterfinal round of the tournament will be determined in a random draw, the details of which will be announced soon.
Doors at PalaLottomatica will open at 18:00 local time for the Final 8 event. The first preliminary bout will begin at 19:00 and the first main card bout will begin at 20:30.
About GLORY:
The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to successful fighters in 16-man grand prix tournaments which are open to only the very best fighters in each weight class.
With television deals spanning every continent plus a groundbreaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations already.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel include prominent hedge-fund investors, the pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia and several executives from the Golden Glory and It’s Showtime team.
Contact:
Mike Afromowitz, Gala Klyuchkina and Bert van der Ryd - [email protected]
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