Warriors Way returns to the Doncaster Shopping Town Hotel this Saturday the 8th April for it’s 18th event and the first of its four shows for the year. A stacked card of 15 fights is scheduled, including the return of local favourites Pat Richards and River Daz.
A five-round full thai rules battle is set for the main event of Warriors Way 18 with regular favourite Pat Richards lined up against Cairns fighter Matt Smith. Following a late change in match-up where he was originally due to fight New Zealander Sam Hill, Richards is looking to get back in the winners circle after a tough decision loss to current Lion Fight and Warriors Way Champion Tum Sityodtong back on Warriors Way 17.
Matt Smith, a current World Kickboxing Federation (WKBF) Australian 64.5kg Champion, comes to Warriors Way with 24 fights to his name and an unorthodox style that has seen him upset many big names in Australian Muay Thai including Beniah Douma, Matt McTavish and Ramesh Habib (x2). Known for being a tough fighter that never backs down, the late call-up shouldn’t phase Smith and the fans in attendance will be sure to see a great contest. Both fighters will be looking to prove a point on the night and set themselves up for some big fights for the rest of 2017 should they get the win.
The Semi-Main event features an intriguing matchup between River Daz and Barthé Boumayé in a fight over three rounds. Originally from the French territory of Guadeloupe, and now residing in Melbourne, Supa Fight Gym trained Boumayé is making a quick turn-around having only fought last Friday. In a fight for the International Kickboxing Federation (IKBF) Victorian title, Boumayé was able to overcome Jacob Bennet via TKO in the third round to capture the strap.
Daz steps into the fight following a strong US debut on Lion Fight 34 in February where he was able to beat American fighter Diego Llamas over five rounds to impress the American audience. This follows on from a year in which he was able to win the Muay Thai Australia (MTA) Victorian title in November and was also nominated for ‘Male Fighter of the Year’ at the 2016 Australian Muaythai Awards. Daz will go into this fight with experience on his side, but its Boumayé who’s name is starting to do the rounds amongst the local muay thai community and will be one to watch out for.
Also on the card is a three round fight between local up and comers Will Smallwood and Indigo Boyd. Both last fought on Rebellion Muay Thai 14 in March where Boyd was able to get the win over Josh Stoffles, while Smallwood dropped a decision again Sulaiman Hashemi. Coming off the loss Smallwood has spent time training at strong muay thai camp Sitsongpeenong in Phuket in preparation for the bout. With both fighters currently holding numerous Victorian titles and both seemingly on the rise, this is sure to be an enticing match-up for the fans.
Fight Card:
- Pat Richards vs Matt Smith
- River Daz vs Barthé Boumayé
- TBA vs Jacob Gelston
- Indigo Boyd vs Will Smallwood
- Tome Korecski vs Kane Worthy
- Corey Barrett vs Andrew Leong
- Sam Himing vs Nathan Culhane
- Emmanual Farby vs Rob Thompson
- Justin Bretherick vs Van Huu Phan
- Ben Higgins vs James Hackett
- Dylan Walker vs Musashi Ledger
- Breeanna Leone vs Marina Verissimo
- Richard Fatilei vs Martin Coyle
- Matthew Eade vs Robert Lambkin
- Tom Kardas vs Tom Cannon
