Kerry took on the Italian, Annalisa Bucci, in front of a sold out crowd. There were numerous other undercard fights leading up to this main event.
As Kerry Louise entered the arena, the crowd erupted as one! This fighter certainly has some very passionate support. There was great support from the North East fans, as well as around 50 to 60 fans and friends, who travelled all the way from the South Yorkshire area, to show their faith in their fighter.
As the bell rang for the first round, Kerry took a few seconds to get the feel of what her opponent was trying to do. Then, almost immediately, she launched some heavy kicks and punches to give the Italian plenty to think about. Kerry-Louise peppered the front leg of Bucci from the off.
There was a little more from Bucci in round two, but Kerry countered strongly, with some great combinations forging a sound lead. Again the front leg was targeted and a reddening of the area was already apparent. Bucci was seen to be taking the weight off the front leg when she returned to the corner at the end of the 2nd.
Round three started with Kerry putting her opponent on the seat of her pants early on.
Heavy shots soon had the Italian holding on, to avoid taking any more punishment. The Italian was issued with a warning for breaking the rules towards the end of the round, by bending Kerry-Louise double over the ropes which could have resulted in serious injury.
In the fourth round, Bucci put in more effort and came forward, but she was continuously countered well by Kerry who cleverly used a reverse step before she went in for the counter whilst Bucci was off footed which was totally frustrating her.
By this point, Kerry was starting to use her knees very effectively, when the unthinkable happened. A clash, saw Kerry suffer a deep cut to the top of her head, an illegal target area apart from the use of an axe kick. The medic took time to examine the wound and made the decision to call off the fight.
As the fight was beyond the second round, which is the governing round, the result went to the judges score cards as per the rules. The scores were read out individually and it was announced that Kerry Louise, had gained a unanimous decision by a very wide points margin, to win the WFKKO K1 World Title. Bucci had not won one round as expected.
Kerry was clearly elated to have won the title against such an experienced and awkward opponent.
Immediately after the fight, Kerry apologised to her fans for not completing the full five rounds, but they answered "You were way in front, you had delivered a perfect school lesson to the Italian! It was clear to see victory was going to be yours anyway! Rules are there for just this reason and rules you both agreed to. Be proud in what was an awesome win. You actually took the shine away from the Italians!"
Kerry, told Postcode Gazette at ringside, "I knew she would take a lot of punishment, as she is a tough fighter. I thought it was over when I hit her with a massive right hand which rattled my own bicep!" I took her down to the floor off a caught kick and then her body kicks diminished as she knew that's what I would do every time she kicked, because of this I took away one of her main lines of attacks. She then just didn't throw enough hands or feet to contend for this title or to answer my attacks."
Kerry also added "It was a hard fight, but I worked hard to show the fans what I had."
After the fight, Kerry Louise personally went and thanked each and every one of the fans who had travelled to the North East for her fight. She even took time out to have photograghs taken with her fans.
This lady just oozes pure class!
Her coach and manager, Cris Janson Piers, the owner of the gym where Kerry-Louise trains, Falcon Fight Academy in Dinnington told me that her next fight will almost definitely be a Muay Thai bout as they now want variation for her.
On the day Cris' other fighter World Champion, Wesley Fagan also took on an Italian in Davide Guarino who he fought in a prestige battle over 7 rounds. This was an electric full contact bout in which Fagan won on a unanimous points decision.
Although both Italian fighters were very polite and professional, on a bit of a sour note the Italian coach was not happy. Way back from previous fights it has always been witnessed that he is happy to talk highly of his fighters whilst they are winning but always cannot accept defeat and then verbally attacks organisations, officials and fighters, even when it is quiet clear.
Our reports are usually written from a major sporting angle whether our fighters win or lose but this time, unfounded comments have angered us. The Italian coach knew the rules and had agreed to all circumstances months before the fights. one of the fights was stopped after the governing round because of an illegal blow to the head which caused a cut. The fight was stopped and the score cards completed as per the rules of which he was well aware was the correct procedure.
The video will serve as witness to an outstanding performance off both our fighters and that his complaints are totally unfounded.
Result England 2 Italy 0 FACT! Kerry-Louise World Pro K1 Champion.
Message from Master Cris Janson-Piers....The last 3 paragraphs would not have appeared should the Italian coach have accepted defeat gracefully! I have been in this game for over 30 years, I am an honest sportsman and work within many groups. Losses are hard to swallow, but it's a better person who can do that and then work on mistakes to make themselves and their fighters better.
