GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing organization, have announced that Lightweight Champion Tyjani Beztati will defend his Title against reigning Featherweight Champion Petch in the main event of GLORY 84 on March 11 at the Topsportcentrum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
GLORY 84 Main Event
Beztati successfully defended his Lightweight Belt twice in 2022 and will look to continue his momentum against Petch, who aims to become GLORY’s second-ever simultaneous two-division champion after Alex Pereira completed the feat in 2019.
Tyjani Beztati
Born and raised in East Amsterdam, Beztati is a reflection of the city’s history as a major global metropolis and cultural melting pot. Moroccan on his father’s side, Surinamese on his mother’s side, Beztati is first and foremost an Amsterdammer.
The east side of the city has some mean streets, though. Beztati cites his neighbourhood as being a key factor in imbuing him with the drive and focusing on succeeding in his formative years.
“I saw a lot of people around me slip and fall,” he says. “I saw guys mess up and drop out, going down the wrong road, ending up in jail. But I had my plan and I stuck to it,” he says.
“To talk to me, you wouldn’t think I am a professional fighter. But I have a competitive spirit, a sort of killer instinct, which comes out in the ring. My mentality is to never quit, never give up. When I start something, I always finish it.”
Beztati initially trained with Dutch kickboxing pioneer Thom Harinck at the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam, as well as with Ali Amrani, brother of GLORY veteran Mosab Amrani. He remains close to both coaches to this day.
In recent years Beztati has fought out of The Colosseum Gym, where his teammates include former GLORY middleweight champion Jason Wilnis
Petch
Petchpanomrung comes from a small village called Kiat, in the rural and impoverished province of Buriram. It’s a poor area; life is hard. Families frequently apprentice their young boys to a Muay Thai camp and the boy’s earnings will then supplement the family income.
That was the route which brought Petchpanomrung into the sport. Born as Aiamsiri Pansang, his family apprenticed him to the ‘Kiatmookao’ camp when he was seven years old; he had his first fight a couple of years later.
In the Muay Thai tradition, fighters do not compete under their birth names but are instead assigned a ring name. The first part of the name is chosen for the fighter by his team; the latter half is the name of the team itself.
‘Petch’ is a word for diamond. And so the ring name translates as ‘The Diamond of Panom Rung’. For the second half of his fight name, Petchpanomrung uses the name of his team, as is the custom.
‘Kiat’ is the name of the village, ‘Moo’ means ‘street’ and ‘Kao’ is the number nine.
It’s a simple name – Kiat Street 9 – but there’s nothing mundane about the gym. For over two decades it has produced champion after champion, taking local boys and turning them into world-beaters.
On arriving in GLORY, he made an impression immediately. Victory in a Contender Tournament led to a challenge against then-champion Robin van Roosmalen, with Petchpanomrung losing by way of a controversial decision.
Several more wins followed, including victories over top contenders such as Zakaria Zougarry and Abdellah Ezbiri, before Petchpanomrung got a rematch with Van Roosmalen at GLORY 59.
This time there were no gray areas, Petchpanomrung dominated all five rounds of the fight to take the world featherweight championship from Van Roosmalen and become the second Thai champion in GLORY history.
Announced Bouts
Also featured on the card is a welterweight bout between Jay Overmeer and Jamie Bates, plus a light heavyweight matchup between Nordine Mahieddine and Felipe Micheletti.
Additionally, former Middleweight Title Challenger Ertugrul Bayrak will meet Michael Boapeah, and light heavyweight Imad Hadar will welcome Brice Kombou to the GLORY ring.
GLORY 84 will also include the promotional debuts of David Tuitupou and Strahinja Mitric, who will square off against one another in a heavyweight bout.
Full fight card information will be announced in the coming weeks.
GLORY 84 Fight Card
Tyjani Beztati vs Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao
Jay Overmeer vs Jamie Bates
Nordine Mahieddine vs Felipe Micheletti
Ertugrul Bayrak vs Michael Boapeah
Imad Hadar vs Brice Kombou
David Tuitupou vs Strahinja Mitric
Image Credit GLORY
