C-MAX 2 'COLLATERAL DAMAGE'
April 17th, 2004
Calgary, AB, Canada North American 8 man welterweight modified Muay Thai
rules tournament
The C-MAX event on April 17th in Calgary hosted some excellent bouts. It was attended by about 1700
people (the venue was seated for 2000 people). Attendance was down considering Calgary was in hockey mania with their
hometown team in the playoff eliminations against Vancouver. "I would have been happier with a sell-out, but
considering what we were up against, I think we did all right. There are times I honestly feel I need a crystal ball
to try and figure out what we are up against", laughed Mike Miles. "After the stumbling blocks I have
been encountering since November of last year, I am glad and relieved this event took place. It has allowed me to
get the ball rolling and gain momentum for promoting more fight events again in this city. Things seem to be back on
track!"
On the day before the event, there were a few stumbling blocks. But they were straightened out and turned C-MAX 2
into an even more anticipated event. Kirk Bovell (Barbados) did not come. "I am pretty upset about
this and it has cost me about $3000+ in travel costs. I expected more of Kirk and I expect him to cover these
costs", said Mike Miles.
At the weigh in, six of the athletes were heavier than the 147 lb. (67 kg.) weight limit and had to lose weight.
They were Trevor Smandych, Oscar Contreras, Rino Belcastro, and Erick Majia Cano. Both
alternates Saji Geevershese and Mark Brackenbury were also heavy and had to lose weight. Cano could not
get the weight off in the specified time, and was disqualified by the Commission. This meant both alternates
immediately stepped into the competition. The bouts looked awesome and were!
The bouts were fought under rules similar to 'Superleague'. They allowed clinching and knees to the body and head.
Elbow attacks were not allowed.
A quick synopsis of the bouts. C-MAX 2 - 8 man Tournament
Elimination match 1 Mark Brackenbury (Canada) vs. Jose Luis Uribe Garcia (Mexico)
Mark looked good. Sharp, with some nice timing both offensively and defensively. Mark intercepted fairly successfully
with his teeps, while changing from hand to foot attacks. He dominated in the clinch. Jose tried to score on the
outside but Mark nullified most of the attempts. Jose did drop Mark to the canvas by taking out his supporting leg.
Mark shook Jose a few times but did not capitalize (finish Jose off). Mark did 3 rounds here and walked out of the
ring winning by unanimous decision.
Elimination match 2 Rino Belcastro (Canada) vs. Oscar Contreras (Mexico)
Many expected a knock down, drag out war here. Oscar likes to throw hard punches as does Rino. But Oscar looked
very laid back during the beginning of this fight. Rino moved very well throwing strong punches, kicks and knees. A
few very hard body shots took their toll on Oscar. In round three Oscar did land some very good right hands but Rino
seemed to absorb the blows like they were nothing. Towards the end of the third round, Rino landed an explosive right
hand that put Oscar down on the canvas hard. Oscar was back to his feet by the count of seven, but was on queer
street. Thus the referee wisely stopped the fight. Rino took a little more punishment in his first bout than his next
opponent, the winner of the first bout did.
Elimination match 3 Saji Geeverghese (Canada) vs. Rami Ibrahim (USA)
This fight started with both athletes in a sprint and then slowing down as the bout progressed. Saji appeared to want
to knock Rami out in the first round, but Rami was quite difficult to hit. Rami eventually settled down and then
provided more movement (dancing and angling) as each round progressed. He worked on picking his shots. Rami heavily
worked his left hook and though he landed a few, Saji covered very well. In the third round Rami picked up his work
rate and started working his combinations, from punches to low kicks. This worked very well for him. Rami walked away
the winner and not too bad for wear and tear.
Elimination match 4 Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Juan Carlos Bautista Perez (Mexico)
Trevor looked quite rusty and looked like he was trying to find his bearings. Though he powered through his opponent
with punches and kicks, he looked a little off in terms of pulling the trigger when he wanted and finding his range.
Juan was taking some very hard low kicks when suddenly towards the end of the first round, Trevor landed an explosive
left body hook which put Juan down and out of the fight. The result was minimal damage to Trevor.
Superfight 1 Lee Mein (Lethbridge, Canada) vs. Sahba Hesabi (Toronto, Canada) Modified Muay Thai
These two superheavyweights stepped in the ring and decided to war. Lee possessed more power than Sahba. Lee managed
to land some excellent right hands. The first putting Sahba down hard to the canvas. Sahba showed the warrior he was
and he got up in the ring to battle again. Lee jumped in and literally delivered a jumping right cross that landed
and he followed with a right uppercut which connected. Sahba went down and the corner threw the towel in. Lee won by
first round TKO.
Elimination match 5 - Semi-Final Mark Brackenbury (Canada) vs. Rino Belcastro (Canada) "I really expected a much closer war in this match", said Mike Miles. Mark seemed to have Rino's
number in terms of controlling the gap. Rino wanted to box and Mark was determined not to let that happen. Rino was
held at bay by teeps and when Rino did get in, Mark would clinch and then spin or trip Rino around the ring. Mark
delivered a few spins and trips followed by some knees and kicks. Mark looked in his element in the clinch, while
Rino looked the exact opposite. Rino was impressive with his hands and his power. Unfortunately, he just was taken
out of his battle plan. Mark won by unanimous decision, though he took a little damage.
Elimination match 6 - Semi-Final Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Rami Ibrahim (USA)
Trevor again seemed to be battling for his bearings. Rami was to choose a hit and move style which for the first
round worked quite well. In the second and third round, Rami still employed the same strategy but he did not have
the power on his shots he possessed in the first round. Trevor shelled for most of Rami's onslaughts and countered
with strong blows. Even when hit, Trevor was not to be moved back and instead countered with heavy shots that even
when blocked, sent Rami stumbling backwards. It was a very close fight with Trevor winning the decision. Minimal
damage to Trevor who was now set to battle for the title and the money.
Superfight 2 Full Muay Thai Scott Clark (Canada) vs. Gustavo Adoldo Perez Hernandez (Mexico)
Scott looked a tentative in this match as he found his bearings. Gustavo wanted to hit and fall to the clinch.
Gustavo would then try and get to the ropes and hold them for leverage. He was warned for this many times by the
referee. Scott looked comfortable in the clinch which seemed to frustrate and Gustavo. During round two Scott kept
landing good punches to kicks and then both would end up in the clinch. In this round, a fast and furious right elbow
strike made it in by Scott and it produced an egg under Gustavo's eye. At the start of the third round, Gustavo would
not come out due to eye problems and Scott walked away the winner.
Final match Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Mark Brackenbury (Canada)
The bout that the audience was waiting for, while the two athletes planned on how to win the title and the money. The
two athletes had met in the ring years earlier with Trevor walking away the winner. Mark had made it known during the
interim years that he felt he should have won the first encounter. With the loss, Mark had become highly critical of
Trevor and his career. "I had wanted to have this bout as a main event for a TSN (Canada's national sports channel)
televised card in the near future. But things work in strange ways", said Mike Miles. The bout was a very good
and entertaining with each athlete delivering clean, powerful, and impressive technique. Both athletes had to work
hard in this match and the audience showed their appreciation. In the first round, both boys exchanged very well with
Mark managing a teep which was to put Trevor onto the seat of his pants. This seemed to wake Trevor finally up and
put him into a very competitive gear. In the second round, Trevor picked up his work rate chasing the retreating Mark
around the ring. He started to land some nice body kicks. Mark would catch them but had no luck trying to dump Trevor
who even landed a few punches while Mark held onto the leg. Mark had performed successfully in the clinch in his
previous two bouts and many expected him to use this tactic against Trevor. While in the clinch, Mark had dumped his
last two opponents at will on the canvas, but with Trevor this was not to be. Trevor managed to nullify Marks'
spinning and throwing and used his knees as successfully in the bout as Mark. During the bout, Trevor was also landing
some very damaging body punches (at the conclusion of the event, Mark was to see the doctor concerned about a possible
rib problem and wondering why he was vacating blood when he urinated). In third round, there was a lot of
action. Mark was looking weary and being forced backwards while Trevor just seemed to keep picking up steam. The
decision was split for Trevor. International event guest Tony Myers agreed with the decision for Trevor.
There were a lot of good fights on this event. Trevor vs. Mark was very good and could have headlined a fight
event anywhere. The event highlighted the possible consideration of some future fights. Rino wants a shot at Trevor
as does Rami again. Rino also wants a rematch with Mark. The list could go on and on for these warriors.
Trevor finally got to fight since basically training for this event since last September for April 17th. Trevor
trained for November when he was disappointed on the day of the event because Danny Steele pulled his infamous no
show. Then Trevor trained for February 7th C-MAX which had to be cancelled on 10 days notice due to some issues which
finally have been resolved. So today he finally got the chance to fight after 8 months of training. He looked a
little gym stale (and the 8 months training definitely contributed), but he managed to shake a lot of it off during
each successive fight", said Mike Miles.
