Azzopardi goes the distance in France

The match was in Marseille, France, on a professional level. This was the first time that Azzopardi took part in this sport. The match was a 5x2 and since it was with Savate rules the athletes had to wear special footwear, which is compulsorily in this discipline. The match was a "Full Contact" one and as protective equipment the athletes had the gloves and the mouth guard.

Both athletes weighed 75kg as required for their category. For Azzopardi this was his first match in Savate despite he trains in Kickboxing but recently focused more on K1, which normally also uses knee techniques. He has various local titles and two world titles of World Kickboxing Network (WKN). On the other hand Fermont has trained in Savate for many years and has about 60 matches on professional level. In the Savate of France he is also considered as one of the ten best athletes in this sport.

In the first round Fermont started pressing with hand techniques and Azzopardi worked more to study his opponent. In the second round Azzopardi started with the counterattack on the legs and repeatedly found his mark. In the other three rounds the athletes have continued to counter each others attacks where Azzopardi focused more on the legs and Fermont on the stomach. Finally the "judges" gave victory to Fermont by points.

With Azzopardi there was also Master Noel Mercieca, the founder of the Ying Yang Kickboxing and Daniel "the Jet" Zahra, where until in Marseille did a training session as a preparation for his next professional match. This was the second time a Ying Yang athlete competed in Savate and thus increase friendship between the two countries in promoting Martial Arts.

With this competition in Marseille Master Mercieca was also nominated as the Maltese representative for Savate in France. This was confirmed by Jean Louis Borg, the French legend of Savate and President of the "International Federation of Kombat Boxing (IFKB)".

In the first week of November Master Mercieca as well as "the Wolf" Azzopardi along with other Ying Yang athletes will go to Pisa to represent Malta in an international competition of the WTKF. The Maltese athletes will participate in K1, Kickboxing and MMA.

For more information please visit the website www.yingyangkickboxing.com or contact Master Noel Mercieca on 79208283 or [email protected]