FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS NYC had its season opener for 2011 this past January 14th featuring a packed house with a full card of muay thai and amateur boxing. There were a lot of great pro and amateur match ups through out the night with our very own "Mr. Classic" headlining the show. Friday Night Fights NYC imported Alexandre Lavrushin with Cool Hearts Muay Thai out of Philly VIA Russia. Alexandre is a former national russian champion in Ashihara Karate while currently making waves in the muay thai world.
With both fighters understanding the international scope of this match up the fireworks were set off early in the bout. Chris came out as usual, trying to get a feel for his opponent with carefully placed shots and using his left leg as a rangefinder. Alexandre feeling the pressure of the foreign crowd wasted no time trying to set the pace. He brought his european style of muay thai with strong hands setting up his low kick attack. Chris felt comfortable working out of long range using his left leg and footwork to keep his distance. First round could have gone either way.
In the 2nd round the pace intensified as Alexandre ended the round with a strong right hand putting Chris on uneasy feet, backing him up against the ropes. Before the end of the round Chris was dropped with a furious flurry resulting in a standing eight count from his russian opponent. Making his way back to the corner, Chris was now behind in the fight. Both fighters came out in the 3rd round with a sense of urgency. Early in the 3rd round, Alexandre now in full throttle, landed a heavy left knee in the clinch on the chin of Mr. Classic, dropping Romulo to his knees for another standing 8 count. By the count of 6 Romulo was determined to finish what he started. Finishing the round, Romulo knew that there was only one way to win the fight.
Regaining his composure through the 3rd round gave Romulo the confidence necessary to go on the counter attack for the last couple of rounds. With his head now clear and Alexandre low on gas, Mr. Classic started to show how he earned his name. Staying technical and true to form, Romulo was able to start sending the Russian back on his heels and put the crowd on their toes. Romulo outlasted his Russian counterpart to the very last bell but unfortunately there wasn't enough time. Romulo lost an unanimous decision to the game Alexandre Lavrushin.
Mr. Classic put action behind his school's motto "All it takes is heart" on this evening and gave the crowd a performance they surely won't forget. With his 2nd loss on record, Romulo is eager to get back to the drawing board and make 2011 another year of representing muay thai to the fullest.
Another goal of Romulo's for 2011 is leaving his school's mark through his newly formed competition team. On January 15th, Melvin Vega fought his first official fight as a CROM Martial Training representative. Melvin Vega is a dedicated student of CMT training in all ranges proving himself to be a mixed martial artist. On saturday night at Gleason's he tested himself against yet another russian opponent, out of Fight Factory in Brighton Beach. Melvin came to CMT as an 0-1 boxer but that night he proved that he has learned a lot since his 1st loss. Melvin Vega proved to be more technical, in better shape, and with a bigger heart, outpointing his opponent for a majority decision. Vega showed why a consistent body and head attack is a crucial component to the sweet science. Congratulations Melvin- you've made CMT proud!
And finally, this saturday evening, 1/29/11 come out and support David Sanchez as he represents CROM Martial Training in his amateur debut Saturday 1/29/11 at Muay Thai Challenge War 5 at the World Wide Boxing Gym in the Bronx.
Location: World Wide Boxing Gym 3134 Jerome Ave. Bronx, NY
Ticket info: Available at the door for $35.
Chris got into Muay Thai in 1996 under Sitsutam “Tommy Thai” Watcharanantakul, an ex-fighter from Thailand, under whom Chris first fought. Unfortunately, Watcharanantakul moved back to Thailand, forcing Chris to seek another trainer. Romulo then trained and fought under full contact champion Francisco Burgos. After a brief hiatus from training to spend time with his newborn son, Chris trained and competed for a couple years in shoot boxing under Geoff Roesch, finally returning to Muay Thai at Ultimate Gym under Ajarn Prasit Thong Dong from Saktaywan Muay Thai Camp in Thailand. However, after only one fight, Chris once again lost his instructor, as Ajarn Prasit left the US to go back to Thailand.
cites Strout’s knowledge and skill as a coach as a major inspiration and catalyst to his own fighting and teaching.
Best of luck to Chris with his gym and his upcoming fights, and we eagerly look forward to seeing him defend his WKA Professional North American Middleweight Title, which he won over Sean Hinds in May of 2010.
