Spencer Brown: "I Can't Wait to Get In The Ring with Singpayak"
As the date draws nearer to May 21st, Spencer Brown is turning up the intensity with his training. The YOKKAO fighter is set to meet Singpayak for the main event at YOKKAO Next Generation Sydney. Here is an interview with Spencer as he shares openly about his training for the upcoming fight, his ambition and life at YOKKAO Training Center Bangkok:
YOKKAO (Y): How is your training coming along for YOKKAO Next Generation Sydney? How have you been preparing yourself for this fight?
Spencer Brown (S): My training has been going very well these past few weeks. I’ve been feeling very strong whilst maintaining my speed and accuracy. I’ve been training very explosively as I always do but I’ve been much smarter in my approach to training and mindset as I tend to have a 0 or 100 mindset. I can overtrain myself quite severally but thankfully I’m keeping an eye on that. My training with Kru Manop has went to the next level. He is relentless and is a Muay Thai computer, 53 years old and keeps up with all of us, it’s just ridiculous.
Y: You are one of 2 foreign fighters living and training at YOKKAO Training Center Bangkok. How has training there been for you?
S: Nothing compares to being here at the YOKKAO Training Centre in Bangkok, it’s like winning the Muay Thai lottery. Training is tough, it is by no means easy to get to this position and even harder to keep it up all day everyday in a completely alien environment, being the polar opposite of where I come from. So it definitely has its difficulties both physically but most of all mentally which is where most people tend to lose it. This is where I go to work as it is one of my strongest areas and has helped me enormously throughout the ups and downs out here as we all experience.
That being said, everyday I honestly stop and just take in where I am and who is around me, that gratitude for being able to have these experiences is one of the main driving forces that keeps me going. If it were all to stop tomorrow (hypothetically) it would have been time well spent and would do it all over again if I could. But I’m just getting started.
Y: What has been the most memorable fight for you in the YOKKAO shows so far?
S: I’d have to say both YOKKAO shows in Hong Kong. The first one I got a last minute call, being offered the fight still half asleep a few days after winning my pervious fight on another YOKKAO show in Bolton. I quickly accepted and informed my parents I wouldn’t be going on holiday with them as I am now fighting in Hong Kong. I must give them the credit for supporting me as it had all been paid for and we rarely get time all together. It was a painful decision for all, but it was one I knew I had to make and I’m glad I did. I then proceeded to fall extremely ill, being bed-ridden for a week and losing a lot of weight. I refused to pull out and fought against the Hong Kong Champion and we went to war for 3 rounds. I knocked him down twice in the last round and still lost the fight. It was a very controversial decision, even the home crowd backed me and cheered me out of the ring. That was a very special feeling even though I lost and one I still hold close today and also want the rematch.
The second show in Hong Kong was the highlight for me, with all of us from the YOKKAO Training Center fighting. We all trained like mad men, all cut weight together, traveled together and then fought side by side which meant a lot to me and was truly a special time. I was in yet another 3-round war. After dropping my opponent in the first round, he came back like the terminator and we slugged it out for the remaining two rounds. That was by far the funnest, most painful fight I’ve had to date. He was a big boy and both of us were not for letting the other get away with anything. One of my favourite experiences to date.
Y: You will be facing Singpayak in Sydney. He is a former Channel 7 Stadium champion. What do you think of your more experienced opponent?
S: Singpayak is no joke! He’s a very smart and technical fighter, with the ability to stop fights if the opportunity presents itself. I think its going to be a great clash of styles but I don’t think he has faced a foreigner quite like me. I’m training with the best of the best everyday and I’m like a sponge absorbing anything and everything I see. I don’t think he has seen it before and had to deal with outside of Thailand. I can’t wait to get in that ring with him, its going to be an amazing fight.
Y: Where do you see yourself going after this? There are talks of you competing at Lumpinee Stadium.
S: Well that is the plan. Beat Singpayak, and make a beeline straight to Lumpinee and climb the ranks there. Lumpinee and Rajadamnern is where I want to be eventually. It’s the pinnacle. I don’t just want to be a fighter that fights in these stadiums. For me that doesn’t cut it. If I am to fight in these sort of stadiums I’m going to be number one, end of story.
I am in the right place to do so, surrounded by champions, training with champions and living with champions. But not just any champions - these are the guys who have beaten all other champions, they are what people think of when someone says Muay Thai. I’m looking to be one of those names.
Y: Anything you want to say to the fans going to the show?
S: Don’t blink.
Get your tickets at www.yokkao.com/events/yokkao-next-generation-sydney-may-2018/
