On Saturday the 23rd March, London played host to one of the biggest international kickboxing events ever to take place in the UK. This event marked the 5th instalment of the Glory World Series which stages combat tournaments all over the world. The Glory World Series is the premier stand up fighting league, where the world’s best professional fighters compete in some of the toughest, most brutal competitions to become champions of their sport.
Previous tournaments have been held in Tokyo, Stockholm and Singapore, and for UK fans of the sport; this event at London’s Excel Arena was not to be missed. Delta Sound was ring side, supplying and facilitating the audio for the main event as well as the pre-match press conference and after party.
Delta Sound is no stranger to the Excel Arena, having designed, implemented, and facilitated the communications systems for each of the 2012 Olympic events in this venue. For this event, Project Manager Ben Milton spearheaded the system design and installation. The main PA consisted of 5 hangs of 12 L’Acoustics DV-Doscs, 4 of which were flown above each corner of the boxing ring with one centre hang, alongside 2 hangs of 5 L’Acoustics Kiva loudspeaker fills, flown adjacent to each other. The audio was then mixed on the DiGiCo SD9 console alongside the Meyer Galileo system processor which, as always, provided the team with complete control, ensuring perfect sound coverage across the four main seating areas and throughout the vast arena.
Delta facilitated a variety of separate systems, including voice amplification for the match commentary team, background and entrance music for each fighter as they entered the ring, and voice amplification for the ring announcer. In terms of lighting, Delta Sound worked alongside international lighting company PRG, who provided an impressive light show and high definition screens which, when combined with the sound, produced a thoroughly immersive event.
The event comprised of eleven enthralling matches which involved a variety of fighters from the World Series league, including lightweight competitors Jordan Watson and Steve Moxon, and middleweight fighters, Stephen Wakeling and Eddie Walker. As the crowd looked on, gripped by the intense combat on display, the evening sped towards the main event, which involved a dramatic championship title fight between current champion, Holland’s Remy Bonjasky and the fierce Surinamese-Dutch fighter, Tyrone Spong.
As the bell sounded, the noise levels from the crowd rose once again, conveying the sheer passion and intensity surrounding this match. The Excel was transformed into a crucible, teetering on the verge as the fighters struck blows to their opponent using their fists, elbows, knees and feet. After a brutal first round, the exhilarating match came to a head half way through the second, as Spong landed a crushing right hook to Bonjasky’s head, sending him tumbling onto the canvas. As Bonjasky lay dizzy on the bottom rope, Spong sensed that his opponent would not be able to continue and began celebrating his certain victory as the referee declared the all important Knock Out!
Commenting on the match, new champion Tyrone Spong mentioned, “Remy Bonjaskey is a legend in the sport. It was a hard fight and I know now why he was such a dominant champion. Now I am looking forward to my next challenge, I want to build my legacy in this sport and I am ready to take on anyone”.
Congratulations to the Delta team who once again showed their professionalism and proficiency in working with large scale, dynamic events such as this. The overwhelming excitement on display in the Excel was a testament to the success of the event, and clearly illustrated the growing appeal of kickboxing in the UK.