Queenstown fighter Rob Horrocks can add ‘Warrior champion’ to his list of achievements.
The 33-year-old came out firing in Auckland’s North Shore last Saturday night for the long-awaited final of the Apex 64kg Muay Thai Warrior Series, overcoming Auckland-based Ale Taumalolo in the dying seconds of the first round.
Horrocks, who was cheered on in Queenstown by a bunch of supporters at The Locker Room Sports Bar, says he’s ‘‘super-stoked’’.
‘‘I set my game plan, I told the people around me exactly what I was going to do, and I went in there on the night and did it — I’m super-proud of myself.’’
The Fight Science head coach says he focused on low kicking off the bat, and as soon as he knew he was doing some damage, ‘‘I just kind of went nuts on it’’.
‘‘[I] landed as many low kicks as I could, and that set up my other shots.
‘‘I landed a good left hook and put him down, about one minute in, and then finished it off with low kicks at the end.
‘‘I’m buzzing, just over the moon about it.’’
He’s particularly pleased to see all the training — two hours before and after work every day — has paid off.
‘‘For it to come right like this … I’m just super-stoked.’’
Along with the title, he’s collected a $4000 cash prize.
Looking ahead, he’s got nothing concrete lined up, personally, but will now shift his focus to his fighters, including Charlie Charalamabides, who’s fighting Matthew Phongsai for a New Zealand title in Wellington’s Capital Punishment 60 next Saturday.
