-
I'm Way Too Young for Estate Planning. Or Am I? - 3 mins ago
-
Birthday Boy Jordan Gil scores brace as Chennaiyin FC Edge NorthEast United 3-2, extend unbeaten away streak - 4 mins ago
-
Boston ‘is dying from the inside out’, retailers warn - 8 mins ago
-
Four gags from Trump and Harris - 16 mins ago
-
China’s Economic Struggles Drive Exodus In Finance Industry - 17 mins ago
-
Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Tim Tszyu – Tale of the Tape - 19 mins ago
-
Sara Sharif’s injuries comparable to car crash, jury told - 24 mins ago
-
‘My nephews died trying to stop petrol scoopers’ - 25 mins ago
-
NASCAR Las Vegas Entry List Excludes Key Team In Shock Move - 34 mins ago
-
Can Inter Miami and Lionel Messi break the MLS single season points record? Where to watch, live stream - 37 mins ago
French-Algerian Alexis Nicolas reflects on becoming ONE Championship world champ
For Nicolas, it was a daunting task but he was bringing an impressive record of his own. The 25-year-old had dominated the European kickboxing scene and remained unbeaten in 23 bouts.
At the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Nicolas took the champion the distance – outlasting him with a variety of strikes and ultimately a will to keep pushing the pace deep into the fight.
“I was ready for five rounds of cardio, unlimited cardio, you know, because I worked hard every day. So I saw in his face, he wasn’t ready and he knew it would be a hard fight,” said Nicolas.
Eersel had started the fight quickly and Nicolas admits he was hurt in the opener, but had enough to regain his composure and then force pressure onto the champion.
“It was very hard, it was a very hard fight. He was very strong and I know he was very painful in the first round. I was painful too when I kicked his knee. We have two big champions and the best won. And it was me.”
Going into the fight calf kicks made up a sizeable portion of his game plan and they paid dividends on the night, Nicolas was quick to pay tribute to his team for this.
“That was the game plan, the calf kick was the strategy and I saw he wasn’t ready for this,” he said. “I’m very proud. I worked hard. That was the game plan with my gym, Mahmoudi Gym. So thank you, thank you. It was a crazy fight.”
His fans across Europe and North Africa also got a special mention from the new champion.
“My friends, my fans, my family, thank you for trusting me,” said Nicolas. “You know, now I see this fight is very good for me because you discovered me and you made the real Alexis. You understand why I’m like that, you understand why I work so hard. Why my dream is to be the best and now the next adventure for me would be crazy.”
Source link