City’s first professional muay Thai fight happens next month

　　By Zhang Dongya

　　Muay Thai enthusiasts in Beijing are holding their breath for Battlefield X1 “Supremacy,” the first professional muay Thai fight in towno be held November 11 at the China World Hotel. The event is also the first in China to be endorsed by the World Professional Muay Thai Federation (WPMF).

　　The Battlefield X series aims to present the world’s best fightersof Muay Thai. Competitors in Beijing include Thailand’s Ponsak, the reigning World Muay Thai champion; France’s Christian Macia, the Sanda Kickboxing World Cup champion; China’s top fighters froeam Aohailin; and Xu Aihui, the country’s first and only female professional muay Thai fighter.Beijing’s Black Tiger Club Hero, opened earlier this year, is the only place in town that provides professional training or muay Thai, a style of kicking. The club’s founder Vince Soberano, from the US, is an eight-time world champion who will also participate in “Supremacy.“They carefully selected the best fighters in Chinato put on the best show for this pioneering fight. I feel honored to be here with the best fighters and that’s one of the reasons I made the decision to also fight in the battle,” Soberano saidThe 45-year-old is expected to face a strong opponent who is a fellow American. “The fight will help me get ready for my big fight in Japan in January,” he says, referring to a world championship sponsored by the King of the Cage (KOTC), t top Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition that originated in southern California.