We have received the profile of Olley Watson from Minotaur Gym (Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK) who is going to fight against Malik Omarov from Dubai Fight Academy Gym (Dubai, UAE) in 5 round full muaythai rules title bout. The fight will take place on 20 of April 2007 during "War on the Shore-2" Muaythai event.

Background. I was 13 years old attending a local school in Welwyn garden where I enrolled at a local gym, just looking to get fit. Before I knew about Muay Thai I hadn't really thought of getting into any type of martial art. In the summer, some friends asked if I would go along with them to a ‘Thai boxing' class one night a week... This is when I found the Minotaur gym! I was extremely intimidated at the time; as it was full of out 30 people whom where all at a very high standard. But I worked within my group of friends, and was made to feel welcomed by the club. I instantly became hooked, training twice or maybe three times a week, and following the fighters that where active in the club at the time. After all of this training, I was desperate to fight, but had a long way to go before I was ready to step near the ring. My friends gradually left the club, and I was left to train with the fighters in the gym, who took me under their wing and passed on their knowledge.

I moved onto sparring, but as I was the only junior in the gym at the time, it was extremely tough due to the level of the fighters and the age difference. But this I feel worked in my favor, as after a lot of blood, sweat and even tears I started to enjoy it and progressed. At the time I was training with fighters such as Gareth Hannon, Marcelo Bustamunte and Nick Wilson who where training and fighting for titles at the time. I went up to Manchester to watch them fight, through seeing them train to fight in the ring, and win was such an inspiration.

I had my first fight on the amateur circuit, a no win no lose contests which gave me a taste for fighting, and due to the padding I was able to have many fights against other novices around the country, gaining valuable experience. I then took the shin pads off when I was 16, and really loved every minute of it as fighting without the pads was completely different.

People ask why I compete and train so much; I have tried to explain to them the feeling and buzz you get when you enter the ring against an opponent, but there is no way to telling people what it is like. It is an opportunity so show our skills and such a feeling of achievement. Due to the hard work that the fighters and especially the trainers put in down the gym, it is a lot of pressure to do them proud, and becomes more of a team effort rather than an individual one.

In November 2004 the Minotaur gym gave me the opportunity to travel to Thailand and fight along side Chris Knowles, in the world Amateur Championships. I fought in the junior category against Australia. This experience gave a good insight into true Muay Thai as I trained in the Eminent Air Camp in Bangkok, and the WMC camp. These have fighters from all over Europe and amazingly skilled Thais, which were training for fights in the local stadiums.

I am lucky that in the club, we have fighters that are able to aid me for every fight. From when I started Chris Knowles has trained with the gym, and has recently gone full time. I benefit a lot from training along side some of the best fighters in the UK. I think that I would not have accomplished what I have up until this point, especially without my trainer Paul Taylor and the fighters that I have trained with me till now.

Training what is your routine. When training for a fight a live, eat, and breathe Muay Thai. I train four times a week, consisting of pad work, hard sparring and general conditioning and fitness. Our gym runs on a full time basis, so training can be very flexible. But I tend to stick to the structured classes designed for fighters. These are extremely intense, from shadow boxing and skipping, to rounds and rounds of sparring and pad work. I do a lot of work outside the gym such as running, swimming and a good diet is extremely important.

Being a home grown talent - why stay with one club. I truly believe that I would never be where I am today if it wasn't for the minotaur gym. Through the experience that is passed down through the club, and also the way the fighters help you progress, making you become part of a team, using the best of everybody's knowledge. Paul Taylor is my trainer, who has prepared me for all of my fights. I am fortunate to have Paul prepare me for fights, and I never knew what exhaustion was until Paul started taking me on the pads!!! Also or gym has some of the best facilities, so apart from the structured sessions the door is always open for training so there is no excuses. Our gym has strong links the WMC camp in Thailand, so the opportunity to travel out there to train and fight, or for Thais to come over and train us. It is the people what make the gym what it is, and I couldn't get that anywhere else!

General "underdog" status. At the age of 16 I was fighting men in their twenties, and now at the age of nineteen, I have fought opponents up to the age of 37, rarely facing someone my own age. At first this was extremely intimidating, as fans of the older opponents would laugh as I walked into the ring. I have shown myself that age doesn't mean anything, and with a lot of determination anything is possible. It is good when faces on the Muay Thai circuit start becoming familiar, and people that I used to watch at previous shows, I am now steeping into the ring to face them. I hope that I can continue to further my Muay Thai career, and hope someday that I can fight some of the best in the world in the future.

What he wants to do next. I would like to continue to gain as much experience as possible this year, and continue to try and raise my profile throughout the UK. This is my biggest goal at the moment and I want to try and fight as many fighters that are ranked in the UK win or lose. Also this year I want to try and give something back into the gym. We have a lot of up and coming talent in the gym and I would like to help others with their training, the same way past fighters have done for me.

How does he see his career going? Hopefully I will be one of England's most up-and-coming fighters, and my goal of fighting through of the European circuit, and even one day across the world.

Fight Report. I fought at London's York Hall, in Bethnal Green. This was probably the most nervous I have been for any fight. I was fighting a well seasoned fighter from the East Area gym, Junior Herbert. Junior is 37 and has been fighting for many years even before I was involved in Muay Thai. The experience and age gap were a concern for me, as I still am a new fighter compared to some of the fighters that were on the show.

Having trained hard with Paul Taylor, I was ready to face him to fight for the Capital Punishment British Title. Having warmed up in the changing rooms for some time, as I was second from last on the bill to fight. It was my first full rules fight, so I could elbow and knee to the head, over 5x3min rounds, something that I have not done before, so this added even more to the nerves I already had. The bell rang as round one was underway; I was instantly light on my feet, as I was cautious not to get to close. We exchanged some range finding techniques, trying to feel each other out. We then clinched in the corner exchanging a couple of knees.

As I pushed Junior away, I was eager to try the elbow techniques that I had been training with, following with a uppercut right elbow. This did not connect properly but opened him up for a strong left and right cross. This stunned junior so I followed through with another jab right cross, side stepping out of the corner at the same time winding up my left hook. I then let my left go... Junior then fell to the floor knocking him out 29 seconds into the fight. I was over the moon, and could not believe that the fight was over. When the belt was put on, it was the best feeling and hard to describe! It made training, which feels sometimes extremely tough, worth very minute! (video of this fight)

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Personal Details

Age: 19
Weight: 73 Kg
Height: 6ft
Home Town: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire UK.

Fight record: (W.L.D) 20-2-2

Style: Muay Thai.

Gym: Minotaur GYM

Coaches: Paul Taylor & Ralph Beale

Titles:Capital Punishment British Title

UKMF English Super Middleweight Title

IFMA Junior World Championship Gold Medal

IMKO Junior British Title

IKF English Light Welterweight Title