gloryglorygloryglory

Newsletter

Be the first to receive priority access tickets, exclusive offers and the latest news about GLORY events and fighters.

Date of Birth

By subscribing to the newsletter you agree to receive marketing emails from GLORY Kickboxing in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

I have read and agree with the GLORY Terms & Conditions.

Sign up
Back to news

‘Maximus’ dominates Malik Watson-Smith in Chicago co-main

  • News
  • Feb 16, 2018

Richard ‘Maximus’ Abraham won a landslide decision victory over Malik Watson-Smith in the co-main event of GLORY 50 CHICAGO.

His performance in the fight would have earned him a unanimous decision win anyway, but the emphatic nature of his victory was compounded by Watson-Smith having been deducted two points over the course of the fight.

The deductions came in the second and third round and both were for excessive clinching. Watson-Smith 

The first round was a blood and guts affair: blood from a cut over Abraham’s eye, caused by a clash of heads in the middle of the round, guts because from that point on, the fight became a war.

As soon as he felt his own blood running down his face, Abraham clicked things up several gears, crowding Watson-Smith with barrages of punches and forcing him onto the back foot. 

Watson-Smith spent nearly six years living in Thailand and competing as often as once a week in Muay Thai, in which the clinch is a core part of the fight. Under Abraham’s pressure he continually resorted to clinching, which is prohibited under GLORY rules, and soon attracted the ire of the referee. 

A verbal warning did nothing to stop him employing these tactics so in the middle of the second round the referee stated his position more forcefully by deducting Watson-Smith a point for excessive holding. 

Abraham likes to use his hands but usually tends to box in technical fashion. But by this point he was in bar-fight mode, constantly swarming Watson-Smith with flurry after flurry of punches from all angles.

Whatever hopes Watson-Smith had of winning the fight evaporated in the third round when, again at the mid-point of the round, he was once again deducted a point for excessive clinching. 

Two point deductions meant he had absolutely no chance of winning a decision. Neither did he look anywhere near being able to secure a knockout, his offensive capabilities being shut down by Abraham’s tactics. 

Even without the point deductions, Abraham would have won a clear decision. The deductions just skewed the scoreline even more heavily. He now rises to 2-0 in his last two and 6-2 in GLORY overall, a solid record in a turbulent division. 

The next test for Abraham now will be perhaps to fight on a European card against a European opponent. He did appeal for GLORY to bring him overseas for his next fight. 

Richard ‘Maximus’ Abraham def. Malik Watson-Smith, Unanimous Decision (30-25, 29-26, 29-26, 29-26, 29-26)

Related newsRelated news