HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.–GLORY may have just gotten the heel they’ve been looking for in Antoine Pinto (131-36-1).
Pinto, 26, picked up a split-decision victory over Richard Abraham at GLORY 38 last Friday, but the promotion’s newest welterweight showcased something else aside from his skills inside the ring: showmanship.
Illinois may have been the home state of Abraham, but Pinto took full advantage of being on the wrong side of the tracks by getting the local fans to react to him. To use professional wrestling terminology, Pinto was drawing the heat. In between rounds he would smile and raise his hands in the air to a resounding chorus of boos, which seemed to bring him villainous joy and delight. And after getting his hand raised, the French native climbed the ropes and gave the crowd a throat-slashing gesture, which garnered another negative song from the boo birds inside of Sears Centre Arena.
“It’s just fun, man,” Pinto said to MMA Plus after the fight. “It’s all fun. I’m not a serious person. I always joke around. If they are going to take it the wrong way it don’t matter to me. It’s just fair game. You give me the middle finger, I’ll give you that. That’s it.”
Coming from a traditional Muay Thai background, and having to adjust to the different rule set for GLORY, Pinto said he knew “it wasn’t going to be easy” and that Abraham was a “tough opponent,” but he was well prepared for the contest.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I got myself ready,” said Pinto, who is now ranked No.8 in the welterweight division. “I’ve been training for this for over six months. I didn’t just jump in. I knew I was ready for this, obviously, and I got the win.”
Pinto was happy with the win; however, he was quite surprised when he heard the scorecards reflect a split decision.
“I thought, where did that judge go? Was he in the bathroom during the fight or something?” said Pinto, who avoided disaster at the end of round three when referee Chris Wagner ruled he slipped to the canvas and wasn’t knocked down by Abraham. “I was surprised, but then again I can understand that the crowd and the sound might influence the judge. I said they maybe they need to wear some headphones or something and just watch the fight with their eyes and not their ears.”
The multi-title winning fighter wanted to showcase his boxing more, he says, but credited Abraham for the strategy he employed over the three-round affair.
“We planned on using the jab a lot and using my hands a lot, but, obviously, with Abraham’s foot work I couldn’t use my hands because he was jumping in and out,” Pinto explained. “His footwork was really good for protecting from the hands, so I had to use my kicks more. I knew people were expecting me to use my kicks. I was going to use my hands, but his footwork made me use my hands. It is what it is.”
After over 160 Muay Thai fights, his clinch–which is illegal in GLORY without an offensive attack and only allowed for a few seconds–is instinctual and Pinto utilized it several times for defensive purposes against Abraham.
“I have to be honest, I didn’t want to clinch,” admitted Pinto. “It was just the fact that when he was punching he wasn’t taking care of the distance, he was just rushing up to me. I just had to stand there and he was holding me himself. It’s just an instinct. It’s just the distance. For me, I’ve had a lot of experience and it just comes by itself.”
Now that he has the first win under his belt in a new promotion, how quickly does the Frenchman want to return to action?
“As soon as possible. I’m always ready. I’m always training. We will have a talk with GLORY and see what we can do next.”
For full GLORY 38: Chicago results click here.
