|
Interview
with
World
Champion Muay Thai fighter, Ilonka
"Killer Queen" Elmont.
* Photo by Carin Verbruggen for
Esquire Magazine
1. What made you take up
fighting?
A: By co-incidence a friend brought me to the gym, and it took my
heart
2. So how long have you been training now?
A: 4 years
3. What is your training schedule like?
A: 90 min in the morning, 90 min in de evening, 5 times a week
4. When was your first fight? And how old were you?
A: In 1999, I was 24
5. What do you remember most about that fight?
A: I was nervous and determined to win.
follow up: and what would you do differently in that fight if you
could do it over?
A: nothing, it was the perfect start. I won by KO
6. You've fought Oriental rules, international rules, and Muay Thai
rules. which do you prefer?
A: I fight under only Muay Thai rules, and I also prefer that.
7. What is your favorite technique?
A: I like to fight complete.
8. You have some pretty spectacular KOs to your credit. Do you really
enjoy Knocking out an opponent? Or do you prefer to simply slowly
dismantle them and showcase your skills over the course of the fight?
A: It depends how I woke up that morning
9. I am going to mention a few names, and I want you to tell me the
first thing that comes into your mind, when you think of these persons?
a. Lisa Houghton-Smith?
A: The best of 3
(Follow up: meaning a third tie breaker "rubber match"?
A: Yes
b. Mary Hart?
A: nice techniques
c. Lisa Howarth?
A: she was a substitute fight, no opinion
d. Jussy Lowe?
A: My first English experience
e. Borpit Kinrum ? (Lek .com)
A: sweet and sympathetic
f. Lolita Candel?
A: fought her twice, both wins
g. Michelle Sutcliffe?
A: I am still waiting.....
h. Erin Linley?
A: I would like to fight her
i. Karen Harding?
A: I hope she enjoys her belt.
10. Is there any particular female fighter that you especially admire?
If so, who and why?
A:I admire every female fighter who fights on top level
gets my respect
11. Who would you like to fight next? And under what set of rules?
A: Lisa Houghton-Smith, under Muay Thai rules.
follow up: Lisa is expecting now, so she won't be fighting for
more than a year. Do you have a second choice?
A: First, congrats to Lisa & Richard! Great news
& I wish them all the best. My next "realistic" choice
would be somebody in my weight class. To be honest, I can't think of
someone here in Europe at this point. All would be fine. Unfortunately, Naoko
Kumagai, and Laura Skinner are both
living at the other side of the world.
It would however be great if some promoter would make it possible to
realize a fight vs. them.
Maybe nowadays with dropping airfares etc. it will be possible. I do
certainly hope so.
12. So what do you think about a fight with Laura Skinner in Australia?
A: I have Never
seen her fight, but heard a lot about her. Seems to have a very strong
punch, and what I've heard a great fighter. I would really like to fight
her some day soon.
Follow up: And
Naoko Kumagai in Japan?
A: Bit of the same answer as Laura Skinner. I would also like to
fight her. I was however a bit surprised over her latest
unexpected loss
It's been a longtime dream of me to fight in Japan, and I've heard she
is one of the best. So for me, it's a challenge to fight her.
13. Who would you say was your toughest opponent to date? What made her
so tough?
A: Kalliope Geitsidou from Greece. She was a strong fighter, with
a hard punch.
14. who do you think is the next best fighter to you, in Holland?
A: To be honest, nobody special. In my weight class maybe Linda
Ooms. Let's see how she develops herself. And for MMA, Marloes
Coenen.
15. So who are some
good up and coming Dutch fighters to watch for?
A:Linda Ooms.
Marloes Coenen. (MMA)
16. You are fighting Jeri Sitzes of the
USA in Arruba. What can you tell us about Sitzes? She apparently
outweighs you. How do you feel when you are facing someone in the ring
who outweighs you? do you fight differently when your opponent is a lot
heavier than you?
A: I don't know Sitzes, and I don't know her style. I am more
precautious and then again more aggressive when somebody outweighs me.
17. There were rumors some time ago that you might fight Michelle Aboro.
Were you planning on fighting Aboro? and if so at what weight?
A: I was scheduled to fight her on -52kg.Unfortunately she
couldn't make the weight we agreed.
18. Which fight was your most satisfying win, and why?
A: The fight against Sordao sor Jamsai (Thai) for the WMTC World
Title
19. what fight was your biggest disappointment and why?
A: My fight against Lisa Howarth. I had an argument with my
trainer shortly before, which made it very difficult to focus during the
fight.
20. is there anyone you would really like to rematch?
A: Lisa Houghton-Smith and if possible Lisa Howard if she can
make the of -52kg
21. Michelle Sutcliffe has said she is keen on rematching do you have
any plans for a rematch with Michelle Sutcliffe?
A: Right after the fight we already agreed to that....so...Any
place, Any where...
22. Are there any foreign countries where you would be especially
interested in going to fight?
A: Yes Japan, USA, Thailand, Australia and New Zeeland
23 . What do you think can be done to get women's kickboxing and Muay
Thai more popular?
A: I would try to involve a lot of media and publicity as a
promotion on the females.
Publicity like i.e. Lisa Houghton-Smith BBC Sportswoman of the year
Award generates the kind of exposure we need.
Over here in Holland I try to involve the media as much as possible to
get their attention
24 What do you think about three minute rounds for women as well as men?
A: I think it's a shame it's not already...
25. Do you think women are physically capable fighting three minute
rounds?
A: Yes, I know so and I am sure of that
26. Then, do you think that doing the same five three minute rounds as
the men, would increase respect for Women fighters?
A: Yes of course. The time difference underlines the prejudice
thoughts of what ignorant people thinks towards female fighters
27. do you think refs are too quick to stop a women's fight?
A: Yes I had that experience a lot. Most referees are
overprotective..
28. why should promoters book women fighters? And YOU in particular??
A: Because the female fights are an extra on the show. It is
common that men are fighters,
So if you put a women's bout on the card, you get more variation in
public.
Why me? I don't see this only as fighting but also as entertainment,
I like to enjoy the crowd, give them a good fight, show and satisfying
feeling that they came to watch me.
I think a fighter should be willing to give more that only his/her fight
to his/her fans.
29. what would you like to say to your fans?
A: I'd like to thank my fans for their support and their believe
in me, which gives me strength and motivation to continue.
Also special thanks to you Dan for all your efforts to promote this
sport.
Epilogue: After the interview we found out that Ilonka's scheduled
fight with Jeri Sitzes had to be cancelled. So, we asked Ilonka about a
future match-up with Sitzes...
Follow up question:
Will you be fighting Jeri Sitzes at a later date?
A: I 'm very sorry for Jeri Sitzes as well, and promise I'll be
happy to fight her
Many Thanks to Ilonka
Elmont for taking her valuable time to talk with us.
Ilonka
holds the following titles:
World W.P.K.L Champion (50.8kg)
- Two times Champion of the World W.P.K.L. (-52.16kg)
- Champion of the World W.M.T.C (-51,5 Kg)
- IMKO
World Flyweight champion(51kgs)
Fan
Follow-up questions:
10-4-2003:
A fan asks: I would like to know when her next fight is going to
be? Also, will she have a rematch with Michelle Sutcliffe and did she
have any trouble with Lolita Candel when she had the rematch with her?
Ilonka's
reply:
1. my next match will be in
the beginning of 2004, I don't
have an exact date but as soon as I know I will inform you.
2. the re match was already agreed
right after the fight in
April, we are still for an official reaction of Sutcliffe's
side. Anyway the re match will go on, probably next year.
3. I didn't have difficulties with Lolita, I won in the first
half minute of the first round on technical KO. For unknown
reasons the fight continued. Before the game the official
time was 5 x 2 minutes. This time was neglected by the
referee and the officials so we fought at the end a total
time of 18 minutes and 15 seconds. The referee and the
officials of the union were not neutral. After the game we
asked for the tape so we could check the game for an
official protest for the time. Until now, for unknown
reason, we still didn't get the tape to check everything.
fan follow up :
2-20-2004
I WOULD LOVE YOU TO ASK ILONKA ELMONT WHY SHE WOULD NOT EXCEPT A REMATCH
WITH LISA HOWARTH OR FIGHT MARY HART OVER HERE IN ENGLAND?
Ilonka's
reply:
To
answer the fan question:
First
off all, there was never an invitation of a rematch to fight Lisa Howard
or we never received it (strange?). I have heard people talked about it,
but was never realised by any promoter.
About
Mary Hart, I fought Mary Hart twice, I think Dan Green wanted to match
us up. The reason why we didn’t
fight
the 3rd time, is that I have switched from management and
coach and wasn’t in training.
Another
reason was the weight: My weight is 49.3kg –
50 kg
. Last year I fought up to over 9 Kg’s above my own weight, and
frankly am fed-up with it.
I
‘always’ give away a lot of kilos, my opponents are way heavier,
sometimes as said (4kg -10kg), and after a fight, nobody speaks about
that and it’s almost never published in any fight report even though
it’s a big handicap for any fighter. So sometimes I am thinking “and
what is this worth”.
I
do think Mary Hart is a great fighter, I can say that because we fought
twice.
And
don’t forget that there are other girls in my weight class with good
names I haven’t fought yet and same goes for Mary.
Best
Regards
Ilonka Elmont
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