FILIPINO-Australian Von Badato lifted the World Kick Boxing Federation welterweight crown from Ghana’s Al Hussan ”The Ghanian Van Dam” Okine in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, recently.
Over seven gruelling rounds, Badato and Okine went toe-to-toe and refused to take a step back. In the final round, with both fighters almost dead on their feet but going for broke, the non-stop action had the crowd screaming deliriously to the final bell. The judges’ unanimous decision in favour of Badato met with the crowd’s approval.
Badato’s older brother Michael dropped a close decision to
Cheyna Rees, an Australian from Castle Hill in
Von, Michael and Cheyna are trained by another Filipino kick-boxing world champion, Reinhardt Badato, at the Full Force Gym, in the
”The Australians had great support from many Australian tourists and Filipino residents in
The last round was the best and most exciting round, according to Reinhardt.
”Both fighters had the capability to knock the other out,” he said. ”I was screaming to Von to go forward but to watch for those head-kicks and hard punches. Von was just amazing, he had the heart of a true warrior and he dug deep.
”He still had the energy to jump and give a push kick to the face, land on his feet and shower his opponent with so many punches. They went for it in the last 10 seconds. Von was so inspiring, it felt like we were watching an action movie.”
Von said he could barely walk after the match. “Hearing the final bell was the best sound in the world,” he said. ”Okine and I were so relieved to hear it.”
He made his triumphant return to