Contributor: Lucas Bourdon
July 2nd 2005, Palais des sports de Bercy, Paris. Two of the best kickboxers of their generation, both boasting over a hundred wins, are about to meet in what will become one of the best rivalries in French kickboxing. Both men have over hundred fights. The similarities stop there.
Samir “Petit Prince” Mohamed comes from Full Contact, was undefeated in 105 fights (75 KOs) and was a tall outside fighter renowned for his spectacular kicks. However, despite his immaculate record and fan friendly style, he was criticized for the strength of his competition, his best win at that point coming in the form of a controversial decision over Jean-Charles Skarbowski (who MMA fans might remember as the crazy striking coach brought on by GSP on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter) in a great fight. The 2005 goal of the 24 year-old was to establish himself as a name and he was facing the perfect opponent for that.
At 31 years old and sporting a 105-7 record (81 KOs), Kamel Jemel might not be undefeated but there was no way to knock his level of competition and his willingness to face the best anytime, anywhere. At that point the short Nak Muay, known for his devastating left hooks and low kicks, had already faced Attachai (ranked #1 at the LumpineeSstadium at the time) twice, had brutally knocked out former Savate world champion Johnny Catherine (RIP) and faced Thai legend and 1996 boxing Olympic gold medalist Somluck Khamsing on ten days notice in just his second fight in Thailand.
Kamel Jemel vs Samir Mohamed 1:
Uncharacteristically for a Muay Thai fighter but very characteristically for him, Jemel opened the fight with a furious pace, backing up the southpaw Mohamed with boxing combinations set up by his left hooks to the head and body and punishing every kick attempt by the “Petit Price” with brutal low kicks for most of the first three rounds.
Mohamed would land cleanly with his signature spinning back kick for the first time in the third round but Jemel immediately came back at him with punches to take back a great round. However, Kamel slightly slowed down after 3 rounds of non-stop pressure, allowing Mohamed to take advantage of counter punching opportunities and to open up his kicking game, landing once agin with his spinning back kick in the fourth.
Going into the seventh and last round, the fighters were tied in the opinion of most observers with Jemel winning the first half of the fight with his relentless aggression and Mohamed taking the later rounds with his counter punching. The last round would be the most closely contested of the fight, both fighters leaving everything in the ring.
Ultimately, like the previous year against Skarbowski, the “Petit Prince” took a close and contested decision after a fantastic fight.
Such an amazing fight with such a close result warranted a rematch and the two fighters were scheduled to meet once again in Bercy a year later as the co-main event on a card headlined by K-1 legend Buakaw Por Pramuk, this time at Jemel’s preferred weight of 63 kg (138 lbs) instead of 67 kg (147 lbs) like in the first fight. Would the rematch live up to the expectations following the first fight?
-Lucas Bourdon can be reached @lucas_bourdon or [email protected]
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