Liam Harrison: “I’m looking forward to going to war”
YOKKAO World Champion -65kg Liam Harrison will be fighting again to defend his title at YOKKAO 27 on 15th October at the Bolton Macron Stadium in UK. This time, Harrison will face a young and formidable foe: German kickboxer, Kevin Burmester.
Here is an interview with him on the upcoming fight and an inquiry into the fighter mind. Hi Liam, hope everything going well. We would like to ask you some questions before the upcoming event:
Q. How is your training going for YOKKAO 27? How have you been preparing yourself for the upcoming fight?
LIAM HARRISON: I've been training very hard as always. My preparation doesn't change, I train hard for every fight. The only thing that changes in the gym is working on a different game plan. On October 15th I'll be in the best shape possible ready to put on a show.
Q. You have spent some time training in Thailand. Do you do that for the coming fight or is it full-time at Bad Company?
LIAM HARRISON: To be honest, I prefer to train here at Bad Company now. I spent a lot of time in Thailand when I was younger which was fun and I learned a lot, but I've got such a strong team around me here at Bad Company that I feel I don't need to go anywhere else.
Q. What has been the most memorable fight for you in the YOKKAO shows so far?
LIAM HARRISON: Either the crazy war I had with Houcine Bennoui (YOKKAO 8) or winning the YOKKAO title vs Tetsuya Yamato (YOKKAO 17).
Q. You will be facing 24 year-old Kevin Burmester at YOKKAO 27 who has a solid record of 64 wins out of 72 fights with 31 KOs. What do you think of your younger opponent?
LIAM HARRISON: Burmester is a fit strong young fighter, he's aggressive and likes to press forward, however I don't think he's fought anyone at my level. I'm looking forward to going to war with him.
Q. You are widely regarded as one of the best foreign Muay Thai fighters today. You have won the WMC title, the WBC titles and you are now the YOKKAO World Champion at 65kg. What/who do you attribute to your success in Muay Thai?
LIAM HARRISON: My success is down to having a great team behind me, Richard is a great coach and my main training partner is Jordan Watson (YOKKAO World Champion -70kg) who's one of the best fighters on the planet, we've also lots of other strong fighters who I train with.
Q. In your opinion, who do you feel is the best Muay Thai fighter right now?
LIAM HARRISON: I'm not sure who's actually the best but my favourites to watch at the moment are Superlek, Non Takrit and Rittewada. Also Youssef Boughanem, and Fabio Pinca.
Q. Where do you see yourself going after this - Do you have any plans in mind for the future?
LIAM HARRISON: No, not really. I just want to enjoy my training and fighting for the next 3-4 years before I retire. I also love teaching seminars and private training so just want to do this for as long as I possibly can.
Q: Thank you and all the best for your fight! Tickets for YOKKAO 27-28 are almost sold out at asia.yokkao.com/events
