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Interview with Mappella
Lehtonen 1. Tell us something about yourself, and how you got started with Muay Thai.
A:: I am .21 year old. will be 22 years on 13th of june, 2003 2.Who are some your
heroes? 3. What are your
immediate goals? My long time goal is to be one of the best in world with all the hard ones. 4. .Have you ever been forced to use your fighting skills in self defense? Gladly I haven't had to face a situation where I would have been forced to use my fighting skills on the street. But if someone would attack my love one, seriously I wouldn't care how many years of hard work I would have behind me as a fighter, I wouldn't be a bystander and even a fighter has a right to defend herself by using her common sense. If you are protecting yourself no one should have the right to question that, much less punish you from wanting to stay untouched. 5. What made you take up fighting? A:
I trained about one and a half year before I even started
to think about fighting. But once my coach told me there was coming a
women’s Finish championships and I should go and try what I can do –
I lost my first trial : ) but it gave me a strong will to try again… 6. So how long have you been training now? A:
I’ve been training since 1998, but first years I also played football
and it was my number one sport until 2000 7. What is your training schedule like? A:
Monday to Saturday morning run and trainings from 17 to 20. on Sundays I
just rest. 8. When was your first fight? And how old were you? A:
It was 24.02.2001 and I was 20 years old.
A: I made lot of push kicks and my opponent got a nosebleed. 10. What would you do differently in that fight if
you could do it over? A: Nothing, it
was a great fight to be the first one! A: Elbows,
though I’m maybe even too keen trying to use them at every turn… A: Now after 7months fighting break – had a knee operation – I just can’t dream of top fights for a while. Now I just need a lot of fights to get the routine back. A: Julia
Khalturina (Russian) at the World championships final in March 2003.
In that fight I injured my knee and even without that it was one of the
hardest fight I’ve had - - though we had the paddings on (it was
a tournament). A: Julia is very
experienced fighter! She was a good puncher and also was strong in A: That fight was
over a year ago, and it is only a one fight among the others. But it was
really good fight, in the ring there was two strong-willed fighters who
did their best that day. I think it’s one of the best women’s
amateur fights ever, there was no mercy. 16. Was Laura a hard fight for you,? Or was it
easier than you expected? A: Well, she
wasn’t too hard for me – I did beat her. I didn’t wait anything
for that fight - actually when I prepared for the fight, I didn’t know
anything about Laura. Not until much later did I learn that she is very
hard fighter. A: Sure, I’d like to
fight her again, because I still think she is one of the best women
fighters in the world. So lets see, when I’m in a good form again, we
could take a rematch – and of course with pro rules, without pads!
Pads are ok in tournaments, but in Muay Thai there is only one way to
see who is the best and it’s when you are fighting without pads, using
also your strongest weapons: knees and elbows.. 18. Which fight was your most satisfying win,
and why? A: It was the fight in
last World Championships (amateur) - the same fight where my knee broke
down. I really was fighting for winning and it was a big disappointment
for me to lose that fight. I was there to win that tournament and
because I couldn’t do that then, I gotta go there again, until I
get the gold one. 20. is there anyone you would really like to
rematch? A: I’d like to rematch all
I’ve ones lost. A: I haven’t seen
so many women’s fight in Thailand, but last December/January when I
was training in Koh Samui, I saw Amy Birch
fighting some Thai girls – and those fights were just enjoyable to
watch. Amy is also one of the hardest girl fighters I’ve seen. She
trains hard and that really shows when she is in the ring. Her technique
is so versatile. A: Let’s not hurry…
sure I want to fight for a world title some day, but like I said I still
have to work a lot to get my self strong again, have some good fights in
Finland first, then get back to the international rings. A: I’m training every day with the best
boys and girls from Finn and we train with three minutes rounds, so it
would fit for me as well, maybe even better – I’m well-known for
getting going kind of slowly – I’m such a diesel engine.
A: I haven’t seen they have been different in between women’s
than men’s – at least not here in Finn in our fight nights, we have
great refs who doesn’t see the difference between women or men. (
Though in 26.
why should promoters book women fighters? And YOU in particular?? 27. what would you like to say to your fans? A: remember this: when you are not training some one else is training to kick your ass! (No arguing with that.)
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