Auckland man dedicates crown to Mother fighting cancer
32-year-old Auckland based kickboxer Joey ‘the Filipino kid’ Baylon defeated kickboxing veteran Sone ‘Archangel’
Vannathy to win New Zealand’s biggest kickboxing event the King in the Ring 62kg at Auckland’s ASB Stadium on Friday
night.
Baylon said the win couldn’t have come at a better time and dedicated his $10,000 win to his mother Myrna Burton who is
currently undergoing chemotherapy for bowel cancer.
“This win has been a long time coming, I was in the final last year but now it’s my time,” he said.
“My mum went in to hospital last week and I have been with her during the chemo, so this is for her.”
The ASB stadium atmosphere was electric as the eight men were whittled down to one winner.
The current 62kg King Alexi ‘Phet’ Serepisos withdrew himself after suffering concussion from his bout with Nikora
Lee-Kingi, leaving the Crown wide open for taking.
The announcer labelled the match between stalwart Vannathy and Sam ‘The Shank’ Hill as the fight of the night after the
two almost matched each other in fitness and skill. But Vannathy walked away with the win.
And New Zealand’s ‘Slick” Victor Mechkov won the World Kick Boxing Federation Middleweight World Title after his fight
against Australia’s Nick Ariel.
Event promoter and six times world champion Jason Suttie said the most supreme athletes were on show all night.
“The fans got to experience a night like no other and see the fittest and some of the hardest hitters in New Zealand,”
Suttie, who is also Baylon’s ETK Gym trainer, said.
“Vannathy is one of my favourite fighters to watch and I hope his long career continues.
“But Baylon’s experienced being at the bottom before and now New Zealand has got to see what I have known about him for
a very long time – he’s a champion.”
Viewers tuned in to King in the Ring from around the world on Sky Sport and on an international King in the Ring
channel.
ENDS