Ramon Dekkers - a tayboxer from Holland, a legend man. He made a huge contribution to the development of Thai boxing. He is an eight-time world champion in Muay Thai. The first foreign fighter to be recognized as the best Thai boxer of the year in Thailand. For brilliant fights held in the ring, Dekkers earned the nickname Diamond. Many consider him the best fighter of all time.
Biography
Ramon Dekkers was born on September 4, 1969, the homeland of the boxer - a small town in Holland - Breda. In this place, the boxer lived his whole life.
Ramon began to engage in martial arts as a child, from the age of twelve. According to the athlete, the parents were very pleased with his choice, since the child with the help of sports directed his energy into a useful direction.
The first hobby of Ramon was judo, and then - boxing. The boy reached the highest level in the technique of the latter. But after a while he changed his preferences and took up Thai boxing. The boy gained his first experience in this sport under the guidance of a wonderful trainer, Kor Hemmerson, who later married the mother of his student and became his practically father.
First successes
At fifteen, Dekkers won his first fight, which he completed by knockout. By the age of sixteen, Ramon had mastered the technique of Thai boxing so much that he managed to win a brilliant victory in a battle with an older and more experienced opponent. Opponent appreciated his blow, saying that the guy hits like a heavyweight, but the young athlete weighed only 55 kilograms at that time. The first important fight in the career of Ramon Dekkers occurred in the fall of 1986, it was held according to the traditions of Thai boxing. After this event, many victories in various championships followed.
Technics
Dekkers used the Muay Thai technique (in translation "free fight") and was the best fighter in this style. This is the martial art of Thailand, which is also called Thai boxing. It differs in that it involves punches, feet, legs, knees and elbows. Muay Thai is considered the toughest of all types of contact martial arts, but also the most spectacular of all martial arts.
Thanks to its technique, Thai boxing is the most effective in the conduct of close combat, but also the most traumatic. This type of martial art is very similar to kickboxing, but it also has radical differences. If the first method of warfare originated in antiquity in a natural way, then the second is a hybrid that emerged from a combination of different techniques. Kickboxing grows good athletes, and Muay Thai - real fighters.
If a kickboxer and a tayboxer meet in a duel, the first will lose, provided that he is unable to maintain a long distance.
During the Thai boxing competition, national music is played, which is a tribute to ancient traditions and a hallmark of this type of martial arts.
Strength of character
The young man always wanted to be the first. And his work was crowned with success when in 1987 he won the professional tournament in the Netherlands in his hometown. An important role in this was played by the character of the athlete, combining the strength of mind and determination. Equally important in the victory is the desire of Ramon Dekkers by knockouts to end each battle, not recognizing the victory on points.
Dekkers in his sports biography never refused the proposed fights. He was ready to fight under any circumstances and go into battle even with injuries. There was a case when Ramona was severely dissected in the temple area during a match in Germany. The wound was sewn up without the use of anesthesia, and the fighter calmly, despite the fact that blood was filling his eyes, continued the fight, in which he also won. Even when his leg was knocked out during one of the fights, the boxer changed his stance and continued the battle.
Often, Dekkers' colleagues shy away from troubled fights. It is not a matter of fear of the opponent. It happens that an athlete prolongs the period of preparation for a fight due to injuries. But it also happens that he waits for a stronger opponent to be injured. Ramon Dekkers has never been such a cunning.
Brilliant career of Ramon Dekkers
On February 6, 1988, the guy took part in the European Championship, held in the capital of France. After the victory and a brilliant knockout, in which Dekkers sent his opponent, the name of the young athlete became known to the whole world. Competition tickets for Ramon sold out in record time.
Success and sporting achievements followed one after another. Dekkers got the opportunity to fight on the show, which was broadcast in the homeland of Thai boxing, receiving huge money for that time - 1000 guilders. Soon, for the first time in his biography, Ramon Dekkers was invited to compete in Thailand. The athlete had to fight with the absolute champion of this country Namfon.
Local fans were amazed at how a foreigner chases their fighter around the perimeter of the ring. He managed to even be knocked down. From that moment on, Ramon Dekkers was called in Thailand only as a Diamond. During the provided rematch, Namfon managed to pull himself together and win, the judges recognized that the match was equal, but awarded the victory to his fighter. After this fight, the Dutch athlete gained great popularity in the homeland of Muay Thai and around the world.
Now Dekkers spent most of his battles in Thailand and Paris. It often happened that, having completed the battle by knockout, the fighter could not go home, as he was offered the next fight in two weeks. In this case, the athlete made concessions and brought his entire family to Thailand, providing them with first-class tickets.
In 1989, Ramon Dekkers first received the title of world champion. Over the next ten years, the fighter demonstrated his skill by fighting in the ring.
In 2005, the boxer signed a contract with K-1, which surprised the whole sports world. Dekkers had no experience participating in fights without rules, and it was necessary to fight according to the rules of MMA. He lost his first Genki Sudo match, which was to be expected.
The next battle, which was organized for Dekkers, was to be held already according to the rules of K-1. The opponent was Duan Ludwig. This time, Ramon Dekkers won, despite the unbearable pain in his shoulder, the ligaments of which he damaged a few days before the competition.
Injuries
It happened that Dekkers spent more than twenty fights during the year, having only two weeks between fights for rest and training. This could not but affect the state of his health. In addition, this sport involves serious injuries, which Ramon could not avoid. This to some extent influenced the motivation of the fighter and led to some defeats. But Dekkers himself was sure that all his defeats were the result of a biased attitude of the judges, so he tried to bring all fights to a knockout. Ramon himself never lost a fight in this way.
As a result of the injuries, the athlete’s right leg was almost destroyed. He underwent six operations on it, the doctor warned Ramon about the danger and assured that the seventh operation might not be. This did not stop Boxer, he began to use his left foot for a strike, and substituted his right foot to repel an attack.
Each wound on Dekkers' body was more dangerous than the previous one, since during the receipt of a new injury, the old one could open without having time to heal.
The athlete argued that, despite all the difficulties experienced, if he had to re-choose his life path, he would not change anything in his decision and would go the same way, only reducing the frequency of fights in order to extend his sports career for several years.
Leaving the ring
Having held his farewell fight in Amsterdam in May 2006, Ramon Dekkers announced the end of his sports activities in the big ring. The athlete began to practice coaching with kickboxers and mixed-style fighters, working to improve their striking technique. Dekkers worked in two clubs at once, he also traveled to different cities and conducted seminars.
In 2011, a documentary was shot about Ramon Dekkers.
The boxer's plans were to open a sports school in order to be able to pass on his experience to the younger generation. With the money earned from the seminars, Dekkers bought a gym that served as training for the Golden Glory team.
Details about the athlete’s romantic relationship are not known, but, according to Ramon himself, he lived with a girlfriend, raised three daughters and was happy in family life.
Leaving life
On February 27, 2013, the world of big sport lost one of its best representatives - a fighter who was unrivaled and probably will not be in boxing history. Ramon Dekkers died at the age of 43. He passed away early, unfortunately, this often happens with athletes.
The tragedy occurred in his hometown. Dekkers was riding a training bike and suddenly felt unwell. He crashed while driving through a car tunnel. Random witnesses of the tragedy, rescuers and the ambulance service tried to help him, but attempts to save the life of the legendary boxer were unsuccessful. As it was established by doctors, the cause of the death of Ramon Dekkers was a heart attack.
Battle statistics
Over his entire sports career (25 years of professional activity), Dekkers took part in 210 fights, of which 185 were victories, only 20 and 5 were lost. Of course, these results are impressive. Few boxers can boast of such weighty data. Thanks to this legendary fighter, the level and rating of the Netherlands in this sport increased significantly, Dekkers made a huge contribution to the development of Thai boxing in the Netherlands.
Ramon Dekkers titles
Throughout sports activities, Dekkers has achieved a lot and earned a large number of titles. He is the first foreign fighter (and the only one among non-Asians) to be recognized as the best Thai boxer of the year in Thailand. Ramon Dekkers - two-time champion of Lumpini, the athlete received an award from the royal family for his great achievements in Thai boxing. Multiple European champion. Member of the league K-1. Multiple world champion in different versions, eight-time world champion in Muay Thai.