Ad
Muay Thai: Rio Rancho's Fuller dazzles, during and after
Published
Modified
Technically sound?
Try technically eloquent.
Saturday at Expo New Mexico, Rio Rancho High School graduate Jalin Fuller made an utterly smashing debut in the combat-sports discipline of Muay Thai — defeating Zach Bunnell of Reno, Nevada, by third-round TKO.
It was the 19th professional Muay Thai fight of Bunnell’s career.
Afterward, Fuller analyzed the fight as a physicist might explain the Big Bang.
“When they told me about all of (Bunnell’s) experience, all his techniques,” Fuller said, “all I was hearing was, ‘traditional base, traditional base, traditional base.'
“Which means, the unorthodox was what was going to allow me to hit my angles and hit my attacks.”
After a relatively quiet first round that the Journal scored for Bunnell (12-7), Fuller began finding the mark, mixing in kicks and knees with some sharp punches, in the second.
Then, in the third, Fuller dropped Bunnell with a knee to the midsection. A bit later, Bunnell went down again, this time, Fuller said, from “a rear teep, which I was using to set up my question-mark kick.”
A rear teep is a blow struck by the bottom of the foot.
Ad
Just before the bell that would have ended the third round, Bunnell went down for a third and final time. End of fight.
“It was a flurry that started off with a dart-in cross, lead uppercut cross,” Fuller explained. “… You have to be present in there at all times.”
Fuller’s length and left-handed (and left-footed) stance, he said, contributed mightily to his victory.
“I know that it bothered him,” he said. “I started out not using my long guard. I wanted him to feel a bit of security in the range. Then as soon as we got into the very last 30 seconds of the first round, that’s when I switched to my fully extended long-guard frame.
“Mine isn’t the traditional Muay Thai long-guard frame, where they use it just defensively. Mine is offensive. It allows me to play with the range and distance. I know that range, where I can crack you and you have no prayer of cracking me.”
Bunnell entered Saturday’s fight as the No. 1 contender for the vacant WBC USA super middleweight (168-pound) title.
“I don’t assume that I’ll get a No. 1 contendership spot,” Fuller said, “… But I do expect my name to be in the top five at this moment.
“I went in there and I kind of made it somewhat easy, so I expect to have a ranking that kind of displays that.”
Fuller’s victory in front of a delighted, near-capacity crowd at Expo New Mexico’s Manuel Lujan Exhibition Complex brought a satisfying end to the first-ever card staged by Albuquerque’s Marc Entenberg and Ricky Kottenstette, promoting as Coalition Muay Thai.
The card was a cultural experience, not merely a sporting one.
Observing Muay Thai traditions, each fighter on the 13-fight card — nine amateur matches, four pro fights — circled the ring, offering a brief prayer at each ring post, after entering.
Then, before each fight began, each fighter knelt and bowed three times.
Music with a loud drum beat played constantly during the fights.
In Saturday’s 155-pound co-main event, Santa Fe’s Jess Martinez lost to Houston’s Parker Bruno (5-2) by unanimous decision. It was Martinez’s Muay Thai debut.
Albuquerque’s Nick Gjelaj looked sharp in defeating Robert Mozisek (3-4) of San Antonio, Texas by unanimous decision in a 142-pound fight. It was Gjelaj’s pro debut, though he’s had perhaps 40 Muay Thai amateur fights.
Fight of the Night honors, or so it says here, go to amateurs Alyssa Clark and Haunani Valente. After five rounds of non-stop punching, elbowing, kneeing, kicking and clinching, Clark won by split decision — earning the Coalition women’s amateur 160-pound title.
