SELECTED PREVIOUS EVENTS 2002

Results - September 16th, 2002



'PHOENIX RISING' - (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) September 14th, 2002
Saturday September 14th saw Muay Thai and Kickboxing come back to the highly supportive city of Calgary Canada. The event was called 'Phoenix Rising' and was originally slated to take place on the 7th of September in the former Kickboxing hotbed and mecca, the city of Edmonton, Alberta. The name of the event was to symbolize the sport of Kickboxing rising from the ashes (having not had a Kickboxing fight card in almost 20 years). Due to short time given the promoter on confirmation of all the appropriate licenses being granted by the Edmonton Boxing & Wrestling Commission, the event was moved back to Calgary a week later (as most contracted athletes could not come to Edmonton on the 7th on such short notice). It was a very unfortunate move for Edmonton because this fight event was fantastic to say the least.

Mike Miles and their 'Mike Miles Productions' Promotional Group, decided to take this event and use it as a teaser for the upcoming international Muay Thai and Kickboxing event being filmed in Calgary for television on the 2nd of November, 'The Battle for the Belts'.

Media support was out in full force for the 'Phoenix Rising' event. Newspapers came and covered the event and television came to film highlights for their respective news channels. Topping this off was the fact that the event was sold out to 1200 people who came to the Palace Night Club to watch the event. "I was expecting around 600 people for this event, but was blown away when I walked out from the change room to a packed house", said Mike Miles. "We did very little advertising for this event but Calgary came out in force to support the event and support the athletes. Thanks Calgary", said Mike Miles.

The main event was highly anticipated featuring a match between Calgary's extremely popular Trevor 'T.N.T.' Smandych and the very respected and highly talented Dan 'Tanis' Rawlings. The contracted weight for this match was 142 lbs. with Rawlings coming in at 140 and 1/2 lbs. and Smandych tipping the scales one half pound heavier at 141 lbs. This was to be a test of both athletes skills who boasted the same amount of professional fights. Smandych was sitting on a WMC Professional Intercontinental Muay Thai Title while Rawlings was sitting on an USKBA Professional World Muay Thai Title. "There was a lot of interest in this fight. It was highly anticipated everywhere. Vladimir (Borodine) and Duke (Roufus) told me how good Mr. Rawlings was and one even predicted that Mr. Rawlings would knock Smandych out early in the bout. American Coach Douglas Dickey also predicted that Mr. Rawlings would defeat Smandych. With all these opinions in my face, I knew Trevor was in for a great bout!", said Mike Miles.

Both men entered the ring in full regalia to start their very impressive Ram Muay's preceding their 5 rounds of 3 minutes full Muay Thai rules bout. Both men looked extremely fit with Smandych looking broader in the chest and Rawlings looking the taller of the two. The opening round had Rawlings hitting and moving while Smandych took his time to settle into his groove while measuring his opponent. Rawlings would land some punches and kicks and Smandych in turn would answer and do the same. The first round was even though one strike showed its effectiveness for Smandych, the left hook. Round two opened with Rawlings turning it up a notch, and Smandych answering in kind. Rawlings would flow smoothly from punches to kicks, elbows to knees, but Smandych would cover and answer with strikes that carried more power than his foe. Mid way through the round, Smandych grabbed Rawlings who was on the ropes and started kneeing the American. It was a great exchange by both athletes, but Smandych landed a very heavy left knee to Rawlings right rib cage and the American went down for an 8 count. With the fight recommencing, Smandych swarmed in to try and finish the fight but the very durable Rawlings survived and answered with a strong defense. Round three was to see Smandych turn it up a notch now. Smandych landed a powerful left body hook to the kneed rib of Rawlings who winced in pain. Smandych cornered his foe and landed another shot which hurt the American. Smelling blood, Smandych turned up the heat with elbows and knee attacks at the head of Rawlings. Rawlings went down and received a standing 8 count. Smandych was now full tilt ahead and the pressure on Rawlings was too much for the hurt American who could not continue. Smandych won the bout by 3rd round TKO. "What a great fight. This is the best Smandych has looked so far in his career as a professional athlete. Rawlings was absolutely awesome and very talented but tonight was not his night. He gave a demonstration of great skill making Smandych work very hard for the win", said Mike Miles.

The semi main event featured Calgary's Jennifer Cutbill battling against American Liz Diaz in a 3 round full Muay Thai rules bout. Diaz came out very strong in the first round frustrating Cutbill who was itching to take immediate control of the match. This was not to happen in the first round as Diaz nullified Cutbill's attacks. In the second round, this changed dramatically. Cutbill started kneeing and landing effectively in the clinch. As Diaz would try and avoid the knee attacks, Cutbill would land strong elbow attacks. By the third round the American girl could not respond in kind to the work pace of Cutbill. Cutbill won the bout by unanimous decision, but Diaz proved she is a true warrior with great heart.

The original semi main event was to feature Calgary's Erin 'Nitro' Linley against Japan's Tsubaki 'Camellia' Oshima. A week before the bout, Linley took a left hook to her right arm while training with stable mate Trevor Smandych. The punch fractured Linley's arm and as a result she could not fight. The Japanese girl who has fought Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts all of a sudden found herself having to fight under Kickboxing rules against Canadian Carla Hopkins. Hopkins sports a record of 5 wins and 1 loss and she was extremely happy to be taking the bout and stepping into the international scene as an athlete. The bout had Hopkins throwing traditional boxing technique which at times would have the Japanese girl backing up flustered. As soon as the Canadian girl would feel she had the upper hand, Oshima would land a solid Thai style cross and follow it up with strong scoring kicks. The bout went the full five rounds and Oshima was to win the bout by a split decision. "Hopkins looked good but she just could not land the kicks as effectively or as often as the Japanese girl. Hopkins has nothing to hang her head about, taking the bout on one weeks notice", said Mike Miles.

There was two Canadian modified Muay Thai titles to be filled on this night. The first featured British Columbia's Jade Irwin stepping into the ring against Manitoba's Trisha Sammons. This was a great fight packed with action from start to finish. Action see sawed back and forth with Sammons landing well in the clinch and attacking effectively off the line. Irwin kept Sammons backing up through the majority of the fight and landed excellent high kicks to her foes head. The result of the bout was a split decision for Sammons who now boasts the WKA Canadian Featherweight Muay Thai Title under her wing. These two would be a great rematch on anyone's event. "Wow, what a fight", said Mike Miles.

The second title featured Calgary's Rob Loder battling against Red Deer's Craig Douglas. Both men looked strong in the scheduled five round fight. Douglas took some excellent shots and responded in kind winning the first two rounds in the judges eyes. However in the third, Loder picked it up and started landing some hard head shots dropping Douglas for an 8 count. Douglas came back more determined than ever but was caught by Loder and went down again for another count. Douglas came back again and showed great heart but he was to be felled a third time and the match was stopped with Loder winning the WKA Canadian Cruiserweight Muay Thai Title by 3rd round TKO. A rematch is in the works.

The remainder of the undercard had the following results:

Ronnie Stone (North American San Shou) stepped into the ring against Levi Kump (Frank Lee's) in a Kickboxing match. Kump was originally scheduled for a Canadian Title fight against Canadian Champion Richard Pogson who injured his hand. Then Kump was to fight Brad Whiteside who could not make the weight. On a couple weeks notice Kump was offered Stone as a match. The match was to be at a maximum of 160 lbs. At the weigh in Stone came in 4 pounds over the agreed upon weight. Kump, just wanting to fight showed his warrior spirit and still took the bout. The bout was very close with Stone winning the decision. "I want to find Levi a match at his weight because he is a very good fighter", said Mike Miles.

Leeanne McLim (Mike Miles Muay Thai/Pride) stepped into the ring against Kathleen O'Donovan (White Tiger) in a Kickboxing rules match. The first round was pure war. The action see sawed back and forth. During an exchange where both athletes connected, McLim landed a roundhouse kick to the neck of O'Donovan who was troubled by the blow. In between rounds, O'Donovan started having vision problems and she decided she could not continue so the bout was awarded to McLim by TKO. "I would have loved to see three rounds of the action and intensity these two athletes displayed", said Mike Miles.

In a previous agreed upon bout, the lighter Justin Tavernini (Progressive/Mein's) stepped into the ring against Jordan Lannon (Frank Lee's) in a Kickboxing rules bout. Lannon opened the bout with great boxing technique, definitely being able to punch surprising and giving problems to Tavernini. However, the durable Tavernini, would respond with pressure and kicks even when taking a blow from his foe. Both athletes showed great desire and strong skills to a highly appreciative audience in the match. Tavernini was to take the match by a split decision. "These kids are the future of the sport. They moved very well", said Mike Miles.

The opening bout of the evening featured Bryan Campbell (National) stepping into the ring against Manitoba's Barry Knudsen. Both men were determined and delivered very strong strikes. Campbell was to land the more effective blows winning the bout by 2nd round TKO.

In an exhibition match lightheavyweight Kevin Brakefield (Mike Miles Muay Thai) mixed it up with heavyweight Trevor Hardy (Progressive Fighting Academy). Brakefield's opponent had pulled a few days earlier from an ear infection and the talented Hardy decided to step into the ring and give Brakefield some work. This he did to the audiences appreciation.

"I want to take a second and thank my team for their hard work, dedication, and team work helping me and the athletes on this event. Darren Robson, Phil Leier, Jason Jillain, Kirbi MacInnis, Erin Linley, Sokhim Or, I am sorry for those I have missed... you guys are awesome!", said Mike Miles.

Mike Miles Production's Mike Miles now looks forward to November 2nd's big international Muay Thai and Kickboxing fight card in Calgary. The event will take place at Calgary Stampede Corral being filmed for television and pay-per-view. Athletes from Australia, Thailand, England and the USA are committed to coming and fighting some of Canada's best athletes. Trevor Smandych takes on Australia's Kurt Finlayson in a WMC Commonwealth Title bout. Jason Jillain has his retirement fight against Australia's Andrew Keogh, also for a WMC Commonwealth Title. Erin 'Nitro' Linley rematches Thailand's Siriporn 'Wicked' Sonplod in a full Muay Thai rules match for a WMC Intercontinental Title. This promises to be one of Canada's best fight events of the year. Stay tuned...

John Wayne Parr comes to Calgary and Mike Miles Muay Thai & Kickboxing in November to perform a seminar on Muay Thai. There is limited space for the seminar...