Naoufal Benazzouz
Encyclopedia
Naoufal " Iron Leg" Benazzouz (born May 25, 1979) is a French
-Moroccan
kickboxer training at Siam Gym in Valkenswaard
, Netherlands
.
in 1979. In 1988 he started practicing Full-contact Kickboxing at Achbal Rif club in Al-Hoceima. He won his first Moroccan title in 1996. After he got his Baccalaureate degree in Economics
, he moved to Tangier
to resume his studies.
Naoufal’s first fight outside of Morocco was in Bangkok
, Thailand
at the Amateur World Muay Thai Championships. He finished fourth place under (86 kg) weight class. He was trained by his father Mohamed Benazouz who was then the Moroccan full-contact national team’s coach.
In 2000, the “Iron Leg” participated in the International Championships of Kickboxing in Czech Republic
. He won the world championship title in the weight 91 kg weight class. That was his last participation with the Moroccan national team. After that he moved to France
, Italy
and finally settled in Netherlands
.
His road to fame came at K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Paris. After German
fighter Chalid Arrab
had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury, Iron Leg stepped in as his last minute replacement. With a wins over Aziz Khattou and Noburu Uchida, he met a future 2005 K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt
in tournament finals. He lost the fight but gained a lot of new fans because of his strong performance throughout the tournament.
He is a professional bodyguard/security.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
kickboxer training at Siam Gym in Valkenswaard
Valkenswaard
Valkenswaard is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality had 30,871 citizens and spans an area of 56,50 square kilometers ....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Biography and career
The “Iron Leg” was born in Al-Hoceima, MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 1979. In 1988 he started practicing Full-contact Kickboxing at Achbal Rif club in Al-Hoceima. He won his first Moroccan title in 1996. After he got his Baccalaureate degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, he moved to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
to resume his studies.
Naoufal’s first fight outside of Morocco was in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
at the Amateur World Muay Thai Championships. He finished fourth place under (86 kg) weight class. He was trained by his father Mohamed Benazouz who was then the Moroccan full-contact national team’s coach.
In 2000, the “Iron Leg” participated in the International Championships of Kickboxing in Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. He won the world championship title in the weight 91 kg weight class. That was his last participation with the Moroccan national team. After that he moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and finally settled in Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
His road to fame came at K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Paris. After German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fighter Chalid Arrab
Chalid Arrab
Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab is a German kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Moroccan descent. He trains at Team Golden Glory in Breda under Cor Hemmers.-Biography and career:...
had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury, Iron Leg stepped in as his last minute replacement. With a wins over Aziz Khattou and Noburu Uchida, he met a future 2005 K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt , also known as Sem Schilt, is a Dutch Ashihara karateka, kickboxer, mixed martial artist and four time K-1 World GP champion. He is the first and only fighter in K-1 history to win the championship three times in a row, and also shares the record with Ernesto Hoost for most GPs won,...
in tournament finals. He lost the fight but gained a lot of new fans because of his strong performance throughout the tournament.
He is a professional bodyguard/security.
Titles
- 2006 K-1 World Grand Prix in Amsterdam 3rd place.
- 2005 K-1 World Grand Prix in Paris runner up
- 2002 Full Contact European Kickboxing Champion.
- 1999 Amateur World Muay Thai Championship in Thailand.
- 4 times Moroccan Kickboxing Champion.
See also
- K-1K-1K-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...
- Muay thaiMuay ThaiMuay 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...
- List of K-1 events
- List of male kickboxers
- List of kickboxing organizations