by Tania Presutti
‘I have Sittichai as winner of the tournament’, says a very disappointed Niclas Larsen. The Danish lightweight contender had to opt out of Glory’s four man tournament after he was hospitalized with a serious bacterial infection Sunday night.
Larsen had envisioned himself standing opposite Sittichai (and winning) in the finale of the tournament but after being sidelined by doctors orders, the Dane still believes the Thai will prevail after a hard fight against Davit Kiria. In Niclas Larsen’s own bracket is French fighter Crice Boussoukou set to face Canadian Josh Jauncey in his place. ’I think it’s going to be a very even fight between the two and it’s hard to say whos the favorite’ says Larsen, but pushed to name one, he says picks Jauncey in the finale with Sittichai.
‘I believe Sittichai will be too much for any of them. I think he will win. He has all this experience from Muay Thai, but adjusted his pace and goes full out all rounds under Glory rules. It’s like he only knows one pace and one direction – full speed ahead. So yeah, I see him as the winner, now that I’m out’, says Niclas.
The Dane is naturally devastated about the situation, but it’s out of his hands. His blood showed infections numbers on 340, where the normal number is 6 for the specific bacteria. Until Sunday the fighter had shown up at the emergency room twice with pain in his foot, only to be told by the staff, that it might be a small sprain and he should go home and rest it.
Now being sidelined in the hospital, Niclas Larsen tries to take the set back as an obstacle that have to be overcome. ‘You really find out, how much you want it, when something like this happens’, the 25 year old Dane says and adds he will be back stronger and more hungry for wins. But first he has to fight off the infection and on Friday when the four men in the tournament will battle it out in the ring, Larsen will have his own battle. He’ll be undergoing a procedure that will show the doctors if the infection has spread to his heart and vital organs. We hope for good results of the test and wish him best.
