Middleweight champion Simon Marcus on beating Levin, facing Jacoby at GL...

Middleweight champion Simon Marcus feels he has mentally broken Artem 'The Lion' Levin and, now 3-0 over the Russian, doesn't see the point in a fourth fight with him.

Their GLORY 27 CHICAGO fight in February ended in controversy. Levin, having been docked two points and given an eight-count by the referee, walked out of the ring and refused to continue the fight. He was disqualified, making Marcus the winner.

“I believe both point deductions were justified. The referee warned Levin multiple times before each deduction but he continued to hold as a means of defending himself regardless of the warnings and even after the first point deduction,” says the new champion.

“Levin and his camp have tried to make the argument that we were both clinching, which is accurate, but the key difference is I am trying to fight in the clinch and Levin is trying to stall the fight.

“Also there were multiple times where I tried to break away to keep fighting but Levin would simply hug on until the referee broke it up. We were all specifically warned about this in the rules meeting.”

As for the knockdown count, which came when Levin clinched with Marcus and was summarily thrown through the ropes by the Canadian-Jamaican, Marcus says this was also legitimate. “I knocked Levin down with a knee after turning him [in the clinch],” he says. “You can see that from the slow motion angle at the end of the [TV] show.”

The final scenes of the fight disappointed some fans but Marcus personally says he couldn't have been happier as he watched Levin walk out of the ring. Not because it made him champion, but rather because he felt it made his win emphatic.

“It was a feeling of satisfaction as I watched Levin walk away from the ring. I knew he had no more tricks up his sleeve and chose to walk away than to have to fight me like a man. He still had the option to win by knockout but he knew in himself he was beaten and chose not even try,” he says.

Marcus now looks forward to making his first defense of the title. He will face Dustin Jacoby in the main event of GLORY 30 LOS ANGELES on Friday, May 13. The match is all North American affair, a Canadian versus an American, and both are predicting big things for it.

“I'm looking forward to the match up. I think he and I will make for a exciting fight but regardless of who's stepping up to the plate, I've gone through a lot to get to be GLORY champion. Anybody that has their eyes on my belt will have a different vision when they step in the ring with me.”

GLORY 30 LOS ANGELES takes place at the Citizens Business Bank Arena , Ontario, Los Angeles, CA on Friday, May 13. Additional bouts for GLORY 30 LOS ANGELES and GLORY 30 SUPERFIGHT SERIES, including the participants in a one-night, four-man Light Heavyweight Contender Tournament, will be announced soon.

Tickets for GLORY 30 LOS ANGELES and GLORY 30 SUPERFIGHT SERIES go on sale Monday, March 28 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $152, $97, $77, $62 and $37. Tickets will be available for purchase via AXS.com and at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office.