Amir Zeyada
Encyclopedia
Amir "The Sphinx" Zeyada (born February 15, 1984) is an Egyptian-Dutch
cruiserweight
Muay Thai
kickboxer currently fighting out of the Chakuriki Gym
in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he is trained by Thom Harinck
. He is a former Dutch national champion who originally started fighting as a middleweight
. Zeyada holds two notable knockout victories over the highly rated Tyrone Spong
.
in 2002, defeating the young Spong in somewhat bizarre fashion, with Spong knocking himself out after slamming Zeyada to the floor after a clinch. In 2005 Amir would win his first title, defeating Abder Bechiri in Zaandam
to win the W.K.N.
Dutch title by knockout
in the first round.
As Dutch champion, Zeyada was signed to the newly created SuperLeague
, a European based promotion which aimed to bring highly competitive fights to the continent, potentially rivaling K-1
, which would give Amir the chance to fight some of the top kickboxers in the world. He won his first match with the organization outclassing French champion Karim Aliouane on his debut at SuperLeague Portugal 2005 to win via decision. Despite the promising opening, Zeyada would have limited success within SuperLeague, finishing with a losing record of two wins and three defeats by the time of the organizations demise in 2006.
After the demise of SuperLeague, Amir made his debut with the blossoming It's Showtime
organization at the start of 2007, taking part in an eight man preliminary tournament in Zwolle
, where he made the semi finals only to lose to eventual winner Karapet Papijan. The next month he had a long awaited rematch against Tyrone Spong
at a Rings event in Utrecht
. Amir had defeated Spong back in 2002 at B-Klass level but Spong was now far more experienced fighter, and a European and world champion to boot. Tyrone dominated Amir for the first two rounds of their match getting a knockdown in the second and being far the superior fighter. However, Amir came back in the third knocking Spong down with a huge left hand and swarmed the pre-match favourite, knocking him down again on route to a TKO victory.
Since the second Spong victory Amir's career has failed to really take off, losing a Dutch title fight on his K-1
debut and making an unsuccessful bid for the W.F.C.A. European title against holder Imro Main in 2008 as he has moved up through the divisions. In 2010 he had a shot at the vacant E.M.T.A. European title, losing to Murthel Groenhart
by TKO. In 2011 he had arguably his biggest fight to date, showing great heart but ultimately coming up short in a five round battle against Sahak Parparyan
for the vacant It's Showtime 85MAX world title.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
cruiserweight
Cruiserweight
Cruiserweight is a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom....
Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
kickboxer currently fighting out of the Chakuriki Gym
Chakuriki Gym
Chakuriki Gym is a kickboxing gym, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1972, it is one of the oldest kickboxing gyms in the Netherlands.-History:...
in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he is trained by Thom Harinck
Thom Harinck
Thom Harinck is a Dutch kickboxing trainer and founder of the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam.Harinck began learning martial arts at the age of seventeen while working on a cruise ship, and also started boxing while serving in the military...
. He is a former Dutch national champion who originally started fighting as a middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
. Zeyada holds two notable knockout victories over the highly rated Tyrone Spong
Tyrone Spong
Tyrone "King of The Ring" Spong is a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer. He is the reigning WFCA Cruiserweight Muay Thai and the former It's Showtime 95MAX World champion, fighting out of Fighting Factory Carbin in Amsterdam, Netherlands....
.
Biography/Career
Amir started off fighting at C and B-Klass level in the Netherlands. He got his first major victory when he faced fellow prospect (and future multiple world champion) Tyrone SpongTyrone Spong
Tyrone "King of The Ring" Spong is a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer. He is the reigning WFCA Cruiserweight Muay Thai and the former It's Showtime 95MAX World champion, fighting out of Fighting Factory Carbin in Amsterdam, Netherlands....
in 2002, defeating the young Spong in somewhat bizarre fashion, with Spong knocking himself out after slamming Zeyada to the floor after a clinch. In 2005 Amir would win his first title, defeating Abder Bechiri in Zaandam
Zaandam
Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...
to win the W.K.N.
World Kickboxing Network
The World Kickboxing Network is a professional kick boxing and thai boxing organization and is one of the largest professional sanctioning organizations in the world, represented in more than 100 countries....
Dutch title by knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in the first round.
As Dutch champion, Zeyada was signed to the newly created SuperLeague
Thai & Kickbox SuperLeague
Thai & Kickbox SuperLeague, commonly known as SuperLeague, was a former kickboxing organization that was based in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Austrian businessmen Marcus Bauer and Willi Wokurka in 2003 with the aim to bring together champion fighters from across the world into a single...
, a European based promotion which aimed to bring highly competitive fights to the continent, potentially rivaling K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
, which would give Amir the chance to fight some of the top kickboxers in the world. He won his first match with the organization outclassing French champion Karim Aliouane on his debut at SuperLeague Portugal 2005 to win via decision. Despite the promising opening, Zeyada would have limited success within SuperLeague, finishing with a losing record of two wins and three defeats by the time of the organizations demise in 2006.
After the demise of SuperLeague, Amir made his debut with the blossoming It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
organization at the start of 2007, taking part in an eight man preliminary tournament in Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
, where he made the semi finals only to lose to eventual winner Karapet Papijan. The next month he had a long awaited rematch against Tyrone Spong
Tyrone Spong
Tyrone "King of The Ring" Spong is a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer. He is the reigning WFCA Cruiserweight Muay Thai and the former It's Showtime 95MAX World champion, fighting out of Fighting Factory Carbin in Amsterdam, Netherlands....
at a Rings event in Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
. Amir had defeated Spong back in 2002 at B-Klass level but Spong was now far more experienced fighter, and a European and world champion to boot. Tyrone dominated Amir for the first two rounds of their match getting a knockdown in the second and being far the superior fighter. However, Amir came back in the third knocking Spong down with a huge left hand and swarmed the pre-match favourite, knocking him down again on route to a TKO victory.
Since the second Spong victory Amir's career has failed to really take off, losing a Dutch title fight on his K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
debut and making an unsuccessful bid for the W.F.C.A. European title against holder Imro Main in 2008 as he has moved up through the divisions. In 2010 he had a shot at the vacant E.M.T.A. European title, losing to Murthel Groenhart
Murthel Groenhart
Murthel "The Predator" Groenhart is a Dutch based Surinamese super middleweight Muay Thai kickboxer fighting out of Amsterdam, Netherlands for Mike's Gym, where he is trained by Mike Passenier...
by TKO. In 2011 he had arguably his biggest fight to date, showing great heart but ultimately coming up short in a five round battle against Sahak Parparyan
Sahak Parparyan
Sahak "Hak" Parparyan is an Armenian heavyweight-cruiserweight Muay Thai kickboxer, who is sometimes referred to as Sahak "Hak" Avetisyan. He is currently fighting out of the Van Os Gym in Alkmaar, Netherlands where he trains with fellow Armenian fighter and K-1 MAX stalwart Gago Drago. Sahak is...
for the vacant It's Showtime 85MAX world title.
Kickboxing record
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