Tyrone Spong hasn’t returned to GLORY Kickboxing for three years since a horrific leg break against Gökhan Saki at GLORY 15 and in April, 2016 ruled out a return to kickboxing. Despite fan appeal for Spong to return to the sport, he remains firm in his position.
Henri Hooft is the striking coach for The Blackzilians in Florida where Spong has been training since moving to the USA. Both men have known each other for many years since their paths first crossed in the Netherlands.
@henrihooft @Tyrone_spong Let's do a rematch again because @duut1 made a huge step in his career at #Glory36
— Matazurka (@matazurka) January 8, 2017
Hooft cornered Spong against Michael Duut at GLORY 9 in what was and still is, one of the most explosive and memorable KO victories in GLORY Kickboxing history.
Duut had knocked-down Spong in the opening seconds of the first round. However, Spong was able to recover and after a count from the referee and then withstanding an onslaught from Duut, would knockout his opponent with one of the most devastating right hands witnessed to end a fight.
Although Spong has embarked on an undefeated pro boxing career in the last couple of years and Duut recently returned to the biggest stage in world kickboxing (after his own injury setbacks) at GLORY Collision, with an exciting decision win against Danyo Ilunga. Spong was blunt with his dismissive reply to any chance of a rematch with Duut.
@matazurka @henrihooft @duut1 huge step up in what? Had a war with a guy I knocked out in 16 seconds?
— TyroneSpong (@Tyrone_spong) January 8, 2017
The ’10 time world champion’ had defeated Ilunga via first round TKO at GLORY 9 in the GLORY 95kg Slam Tournament final. Although Ilunga was stopped by the referee for shielding up to unanswered strikes, the referee’s decision at the time did cause a wave of controversy about the manner of such an early stoppage.
A great deal has changed in the landscape of world kickboxing since 2014 when Spong last fought for GLORY. The emergence of other global kickboxing promotions such as: Kunlun Fight, Bellator Kickboxing and Enfusion Live have all contributed to a massive resurgence in the sport, worldwide.
Tyrone had previously admitted that the financial incentives offered to him in the past were a major stumbling block for a kickboxing return including, GLORY. However, in the current climate, surely one of the world’s leading kickboxing promotions can now afford to sign-up one of kickboxing’s modern greats?
