The word Pahlavan may not be familiar to many here in the United States but we are familiar with the concept. Pahlavan, the Persian word, means merciful and kind hero, a champion of champions. This word borrowed from the Persian language was selected as part of the new name for the FFC located in Pinellas Park, Florida. The newly renamed FFC Promotions is now called the Pahlavan Promotions.
The owner, Ali Tareh, shared his reasons for this change. Ali said that for a fighter to be called Pahlavon in the Persian culture is the highest honor an athlete can obtain.
“It refers to the greatness of the athlete physically and spiritually. He or she represents the highest ideals in terms of fairness, good sportsmanship, courtesy and genuine humility. An example of such an attitude was a Persian wrestler who when he saw his opponents right arm was injured refused to use his own right arm when fighting him. I care very much about working with schools and fighters who care about sportsmanship, respect, manners and the fundamentals of fighting.”
Ali Tareh was born on February 26th, 1973 in Tehran – the capital city of Iran. Ali’s story as a fighter began at the age of 9 with gymnastics and two years later with tae kwon do and karate. Then Ali was introduced to Kung-Fu-TOA and knew it was “in his soul and was he was destined to pursue it.” He pursued Kung-Fu-TOA for the next 8 years acquiring a 7th degree Black belt.
Ali’s continued his martial arts training and at the age of 21 he became a certified trainer and opened his own academy. Proudly this became one of the most successful academies in his home country. Ali while, teaching had continued his own training and became interested in San Shou. It would not be long before he was training to compete in this fighting style. Ali took first place in the National Iranian Competition held in the capital city of Tehran. This victory earned Ali a place on the Iranian National Team. It was within four years that Ali Tareh decided to move to the United States and test his fighting skill. A list of Ali’s accomplishments shows how successful this fighter and trainer has become.
- 1996 - Participated in an International Competition in the Philippines, with competitors from 23 countries, in which he fought 8 fights in two days and ending the competition as the 6th place winner.
- 1998 - Ali acquired a second degree black belt in kickboxing while in Germany.
- 1999 - Ali arrived in the USA fighting 3 times and earned the Southeast Championship Belt
- 2001 - Ali switched from a professional martial arts fighter to a professional boxer.
- 2005 - Ali opened his own gym in the U.S.
When asked about how he started teaching in the U.S. Ali explained that he had been working a full time job and that at the time and he was training for his own upcoming fights. He was training a few friends who wanted him to teach them boxing and kickboxing. They used his garage and some equipment that he already had. Later a few co-workers who wanted to get in better shape joined them. Six months later he had 17 students and he made the decision to quit his job and open his own gym.
Today Ali “The Panther” Tareh continues to run his gym the Fight Fitness Center and run his fight promotion company Pahlavan Promotions. The most recent event was held on January 28th 2012, at the Police Athletic League in St. Petersburg, and included 10 bouts, 6 muay Thai and 4 MMA. The main event of the night was the fight between Victor Kulakovski (whom holds 3 title belts) against Mike Stripling the Fl. State Champion. It was a very close match and resulted in Victor winning by decision. The next event to be held by Pahlavan Promotions is scheduled for March 31st 2012 in St. Petersburg at the Vinoy Renaissance Hotel.
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