Only Six More Limbs to Go.
August 4, 2008 by nopstar
I came across an article yesterday about British Boxer Frances “Franny” Jones, a former British welterweight contender who is looking to transition into Muay Thai.
In Muay Thai we have a handful of fighters with Muay Thai backgrounds who’ve excelled in Queensbury rules boxing. Somluck Khamsing comes to mind… We’ve even got some Nak Muay’s who’ve started their life as boxers and have transitioned nicely (with lots of work) to Muay Thai. John Wayne Parr, Warren Stevelmans, Virgil Kalakoda, Albert Kraus et al.
BTW, I’m not taking the piss with the picture… it was the only one I could find of him.
I was reading the article and I was struck by his cockiness. He is a boxer of course… talking shit seems part and parcel of that game.
“My trainer, Paul Hamilton, has a lot of experience in Thai boxing and I’ve spent the last four months training with that in mind. I’ve been training at 7 in the morning and doing bits of Vale Tudo as well.”
“I can’t kick for toffee yet, but don’t worry that will come. I’ve already told Hammo (trainer Hamilton) to find out who the British champion is at my weight so I can have a go at him – and I’ll tell you what, I’ll smash his face in.
Lots of confidence for someone who’s been training for 4 months… If Jones intends to fight anytime soon I would recommend he spend the next 6 months learning to check kicks and clinch. When non-Nak Muay’s get into the clinch… they soon learn what Muay Thai is all about. I’m sure he’s got great hands but this is of course the Science of 8 Limbs. If he plans to rely just on his hands…well he’ll find out.
let him take a nice leg kick or 2. he needs to slow his roll calling out champs already. he needs to earn his keep like all noobs in the game. i would happily stand on the outside and chop him down. ive sparred with a few boxers. i remember ray mercer going into k1 taking one head kick and turning around and thinking “wtf did i get myself into?!”
I don’t think talking shit has anything to do with boxing, there’s class acts and ghetto acts. Evander Holyfield and Timothy Bradley come to mind as class acts. Zab Judah and Bernard Hopkins are as ghetto as they come.
He should try kickboxing first. He’d have a much better chance of utilizing his boxing skills to win fights.
And besides, I don’t want a big mouth like that doing our beloved sport :)
The fact that he’s already talking about beating the best in his weight class makes it seem like he’s not taking the sport seriously. It’s like he thinks he doesn’t need much beyond his awesome boxing to beat these MT bums.
I’ve always had my doubts about boxers making the switch so late in life. Many people assume it’s just a question of dedication (esp. people who believe that boxers are the best athletes because “the talent is where the money is”…) In my opinion, physical talent is rarely ‘transferable’ like that.
To use a different sport as an example: just because you’re a world class squash or badmington player doesn’t mean you can be (or could have been) a world class tennis player. I have seen countless examples of this first hand.
Having said that, good luck all the same – I’m sure he will enjoy the experience :)
I’ve got a feeling he is changing style from boxing to MT, because he thinks he will get better results in MT. Heh, like you said guys, he didn’t even have a MT fight and he’s already talking trash about beating a champ. I have a big respect for boxers, but this guy needs to be low-kicked to the point seeing a world from a horizontal position.
Nop, what is his weight class?
Didn’t know Stevelmans started as a boxer, thanks for info.
lol, while I admire the skill of boxers, I think he’s in for a big suprise. I’m sure he thinks he’s tough because he gets punched…. well getting hit with bone situated on more powerful muscle groups is a whole different ball game. Not to mention his stomach will probably fall out of his ass when he gets clinched up. It takes lots of skill and experience to neutralize a good clincher.
looks like he fights 147-160. Throw him to the dog(s) aka Yod. LOL
Love the picture- the thing with boxers going into MT is they really need to feel what the other weapons are capable of- hard kicks to other parts of the body- especially the legs, knees and the slicing elbows.
Gusnark-
For accuracy sake… now I’m not sure about Stevelmans… i thought i read it somewhere but know I can’t find it.
Maybe he was just talking cocky in hopes of getting mentioned on his favorite muay thai blog website.
Why would a boxer want to move to MT anyway? Isn’t there more money in boxing? He probably wants to get into MMA like everyone else (he mentions vale tudo…)
Who is the British MT champ at his weight? I think he would probably do ok with checking legkicks in a short period of training time but learning to defend knees and elbows from the clinch takes a while. Whoever the champ is should have a field day!
KhanomRay-
Not looking good for Francis… where ever he decides to dip his toes into the waters, he’s got crocs waiting for him.
At Junior Welterweight you’ve got Imran Khan, Welterweight – Kieran Keddle, and Junior Middleweight – Dave Pacquette.
Kalakoda comes to Mind! And I cant wait to Hear/See his realisation of the REAL World of Muay Thai!!
who the hell is Paul Hamilton?!
http://www.wmcmuaythai.org/internews/05_darlington.htm
there is more info on paul if you use google.