Liam Harrison vs Rambo Pet Por Tor Or. Rambo
Yokkao’s latest show will be headlined by the UK’s Liam Harrison making his first appearance for the promotion in over a year. Facing him will be Rambo Pet Por Tor Or. Rambo. A welcome addition to an already stacked card featuring talent rarely accumulated in a single show. Rambo has been a regular fighter at both Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadiums in Thailand. The seconds fight to be a Thailand vs UK matchup after Jonathon Haggerty takes on Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the co-main event of the night.
Liam Harrison – Recent History
Harrison is probably the best known active UK Thai boxer in the world. Training with Richard Smith at Bad Company gym in Leeds, Harrison is regularly cornered by fellow teammates Jordan Watson and Cousin Andy Howson. Harrison is coming off two consecutive losses, the first being in France against Bobo Sacko. On that occasion Harrison lost on points after breaking his foot in the second round. The injury resulted in Harrison being inactive until his latest bout against Charlie Peters on Muay Thai Grand Prix’s show in London.
After the loss to Sacko which left Harrison six months of recovery, a title defence was booked for Harrison to defend his welterweight title (147lbs) against Charlie Peters. Dubbed the “Battle of Britain” the title was to be competed over 5 round in London. The key which led Peters to victory appeared to be his work rate. Harrison was scoring well with the switch kick to the body but in between these kicks he was relatively inactive. Peters was able to outwork him in these intervals and win a number of rounds by very narrow margins. This resulted in Harrison losing via points and with that his number one position which he had dominated for years.
Kicking tendency
Harrison’s go to technique has always been his low kick. Rather than the slower Thai style kick of performing an axe like motion with the leg, Harrison prefers an almost football kick approach. This result in a wickedly fast kick making it extremely difficult to intercept or anticipate. When Harrison took on Kevin Burmester, Harrison rarely threw anything other than a low kick the entire fight.
When Burmester moved forward to throw a kick, Harrison would step backwards and whilst the German was out of position, crop his leg with his kick. This kick also served to stall Burmester’s combinations, when he threw his first punch Harrison slipped to the outside whilst kicking the leg. The end came in the second round with Burmester unable to continue due to the accumulation of damage to his leg, resulting in the knockout win for ‘The Hitman’.
Like in his fight with Peters, Harrison used his switch left kick to the body extensively in his fight against Singdam Kiatmoo9. When in an orthodox versus orthodox style matchup, this kick has the advantage of being delivered to the open side of the opponent. This makes the body a larger target to hit and often throws off fighters who are used to only having to check with their lead leg. Harrison also showed off his boxing, peppering Singdam’s head with punches to make him raise his guard before attacking the exposed body.
If there is one criticism of Harrison it is his overreliance on his favourite weapons, namely his switch left kick and right low kick. He has demonstrated the power he has in his boxing, utilising it would aid him in varying his offence. Harrison was able to land an excellent boxing combination off an uppercut which slipped through the long guard of Singdam in the final round of their fight. The Thai was able to survive and clinch with a tired Harrison to stall out the round and win a decision victory.
Rambo Pet Por Tor Or. Rambo
Rambo is perhaps a name you will not be as familiar with as many of the other top Thai fighter of the current era. Despite relative anonymity, Rambo has the calibre of an elite Nak Muay, fighting both at Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadiums regularly.
Watching one of his fights, it becomes apparent at once that he displays the calmness and sense of infallibility of the best Thai boxers. Despite his opponent being the aggressor for much of the first round recorded on the clip, Rambo almost looks like he’s sparring. In traditional scoring, showing that your opponent’s strikes are not affecting you is a big part of mitigating their scores. This is why many of the Thai fighters you see fight have such good poker faces when they fight.
As expected, Rambo has excellent kicking defence and balance from sweeps from his opponent. In the clip you can see how he counters his opponent with a kick but then gets it caught. Rambo is able to keep a solid footing and prevent his opponent from using a sweep. When his opponent release his leg and throws a kick, Rambo is ready to check with the same leg just released. An excellent display of balance and defence.
The incredible balance of Rambo allows him to be more offensive in vulnerable positions that many schools would simply teach you to escape or stall out until the referee separated you. A couple of times during the fight when his opponent catches his kick, Rambo immediately begins peppering him with right hooks. This is done whilst remaining balanced and preventing a sweep, not an easy feat. Whilst the hooks don’t have near as much damage as they would from a grounded position, they still force your opponent to react. Taking several (albeit fractionally powered) hooks to the head does not look good with any judge. This forces the catches of the kick to either drop the leg or rush into a counter strike.
In addition to the unusually offensive defence against kick catching, Rambo also displayed some unusual rhythms in his fight against Muangthai. This came mainly in how he doubles up on right side offences. Throwing the right kick then immediately after the right hand and occasionally chaining on a right elbow. Typically, combinations are taught to flow from side to side. Meaning that each strike sets your body up for throwing the next. However, this can become somewhat predictable to an experienced opponent who knows how to block or evade the strikes. Doubling or even tripling up on a single side attack can catch your opponent reacting to an incorrect strike. Worst case scenario for your opponent is them removing their guard entirely or leaning into the path of the second strike. Even if they survive the doubling up, it will make them second guess themselves as to how the combinations will flow.
The Clash
As we have already mentioned, this is a cross roads for Harrison. Having lost his last two bouts he will be desperate to get back into his winning ways. The opening rounds will probably see Harrison using the trademark techniques we discussed, the fast low kick to slow his opponent and the switch kick for scoring.
It would be good to see Harrison use his boxing more in this match as Rambo tends to prefer to keep his range. Often when you watch the Thai fight, he will use a long guard and constantly give his opponent small pushes to keep them at range. This keeps them on the end of his kicks and unusually long reach arm for somebody of his weight class. Keeping close to Rambo would help to mitigate Harrison’s reach disadvantage and prevent Rambo from openly scoring with his kicks.
As for Rambo, the first two rounds will probably be spent feeling out Harrison’s power and keeping him at bay using his front kicks. The pace and output would then increase towards the later rounds. The tricks we discussed in the article will almost certainly be put into practice to try and catch Harrison out. An obvious solution for Rambo should Harrison close the distance would be for him to clinch up with the Englishman. Native Thai fighters tend to fight more gruelling clinch battles than their western counterparts. This mean that Rambo, at the very least, should be able to neutralise Harrison’s offence in the clinch and move into space when they break.
As for who has the overall advantage? It is an extremely close matchup and the question posed simply does not have a straightforward answer. It all depends on what shape they both come into the fight. If Harrison comes back using more of his weapons than simply his switch and low kick, it’s easily believable that it will be his night. This one will have to go as a truly 50-50 match, all the more reason to watch the fight.