Muay Thai veteran Stamp Fairtex faces kickboxing black belt Julie Mezabarba at ONE: ‘NextGen’ this Friday. The Thai fighter will have a point to prove and is taking inspiration from one of her compatriots.
Stamp admits she was celebrating when Superbon Banchamek knocked out Giorgio Petrosyan at ONE: ‘First Strike’ earlier this month,
“It was a big surprise but I was so happy for Superbon. He won it for Thailand,” she said.
Superior sport
Mezabarba believes her kickboxing skills match up well with Stamp’s Muay Thai experience but the Thai sees things differently,
“For me Muay Thai is better, I started it in it,” she explained.
The Thai fighter can see some advantages that come with a kickboxing background,
“Kickboxing only has kicks and punches but the footwork is good. Muay Thai doesn’t have much footwork but has good rhythm.”
Stamp is also impressed by Mezabarba’s footwork,
“I think I’m better than her with my knees, kicks, and elbows. She has good footwork. She is a good fighter but I think I’m better.”
Lifetime experience
While there is no such thing as a black belt in Muay Thai she does have around 100 fights to her name. Stamp thinks this experience could prove the difference on Friday night,
“I mastered Muay Thai and I have been practicing it all my life. I will try to knock her out if I can.”
But she believes her opponent will have a size advantage and knows it won’t be an easy fight,
“She is quite strong, quite tough, and a little bit bigger than me so it’s going to be a tough fight for me. In my mind I only need a victory.”
Stamp also warns her adversary that trying to follow through with her promise to finish the fight with a KO could be a dangerous strategy,
“She wants to knock me out, but she better be careful because she might get knocked out instead.”
