Francois Ambang Wins the Road to Glory 77 kg Tournament

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 March 2013 00:52 Saturday, 23 March 2013 00:05

Written by Chad Sanderson

The Road to Glory NYC tournament was stacked. It was, far and away, the most talent packed Road to Glory show put on thus far. So it comes as a large surprise then, that the tournament winner- Francois Ambang- was given virtually no chance before decimating the competition and bringing home the $20,000 prize. 

Ambang began the night with a vicious first round KO over Jeremy Carper. In the second round of the tournament he then faced one of the tournament : Marcus Fisher. Francois brutalized Fisher for the first two rounds, earning a 10-8 score after a knockdown in the first, and a solid 10-9 after handily dominating the second en route to a unanimous decision victory. The final saw Ambang meet one of the most well known Americans at 77 kg, Brett Hlavaceck. Brett was also featured on Liverkick's "Top 8 North American Fighters to Watch Out For," (So you know he was legit.) After a close first round, Hlavaceck got injured in the second. Ambang seized the oppurtunity and finished the fight with a flurry to become the next Road to Glory Champion. This goes to show that even though a fighter may be a Muay Thai monster on the American scene, kickboxing is a completely different ballgame. 

Full Tournament Results

Quarterfinal 1: Marcus Fisher def. Anthony Nieves by Decision

Quarterfinal 2: Francois Ambang def. by KO Jeremy Carper in Rd. 2

Quarterfinal 3: Brett Hlavaceck def. by KO Ryan Parker in Rd. 1

Quarterfinal 4: Eric Utsch def. Tarek Rached by KO in Rd. 1

Semifinal 1: Francois Ambang def. Marcus Fisher by Decision

Semifinal 2: Brett Hlavaceck def. Eric Utsch by Decision

Final: Francois Ambang def. Brett Hlavaceck by TKO in Rd. 2

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