According to a Feb. 10 post from RingsideReport.com, Mike Lemaire captured the Road to Glory USA middleweight tournament championship at Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 9, taking out three consecutive opponents in a single night of fights.
Lemaire was awarded a tournament grand prize of $20,000 and a one-year development contract with GLORY, the world’s new premiere kickboxing league.
“For me, this tournament was all about the contract with GLORY; Money is just money, but the contract is a tremendous opportunity,” said the 26-year-old, 6-foot-1 Lemaire, a protégé of former world Muay Thai champion Melchor Menor. “I’ll fight anyone (GLORY) puts in front of me now – anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’ve got a lot to work on and a lot to learn, but I’m here to stay.”
Lemaire earned a third round (2:26) KO of Eddie “Showtime” Walker (11-2-1, 9 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia, in the championship round of the ROAD TO GLORY USA eight-man middleweight (187 pounds/85 kilograms) tournament.
In the quarterfinal round of the tournament, Lemaire destroyed Russian import Evgeny “The Beast From The East” Zotov (5-3, 3 KOs) of Sevierville, Tenn., by delivering a thunderous head kick in the second round (:48) of the fight.
Lemaire defeated fellow prospect Andrew Kapel (12-4, 10 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minn. in the tournament’s semifinal stage.
The tremendous night by the 26-year-old earned him a $20,000 grand prize and a one-year deal with the promotion.
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