WBC Champ Joe Schilling signs multi-fight muay thai contract with Lion Fight Promotions

LAS VEGAS(Jan. 9, 2012) – WBC Interim World Light Heavyweight Muay Thai Champion Joe Schilling (12-1 (10 KO’s), one of America’s premiere American combatants, has signed a new multi-fight agreement with leading Las Vegas-based Muay Thai fight organization, Lion Fight Promotions.

The 27 year-old Los Angeles resident will kick off his new contract when he squares off with top contender Simon Marcus (42-2-2 (24 KO’s) of Toronto, Ontario Canada in the main event of Lion Fight Promotions: Battle In The Desert 5, Live from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sat., Feb. 25.

Ticket on-sale information for Battle In The Desert 5, Live from The Joint will be announced soon as will the remainder of the fight card.
“Lion Fight Promotions is taking the bull by the horns as far as bringing the sport of Muay Thai to mainstream America and making it a major sport here, so it’s the perfect home for me because Muay Thai is my life and I want to fight the best fighters out there on a big stage,” said the 6-foot-3 Schilling, who has been referred to as “Muay Thai’s version of Mike Tyson” for his merciless style of fighting in the ring.

“Joe Schilling is one of the best talents in the sport of Muay Thai today,” said Lion Fight Promotions President Scott Kent.  “He’s explosive, brutal and he has a burning desire to become one of the all-time greats in our incredible sport.  We’re excited to have him on board with Lion Fight Promotions for the long run and we’re looking forward to putting on some great shows with him.”

Schilling is coming off a stunning first round KO of former K-1 World Grand Prix tournament champion and decorated Muay Thai champion Kaoklai Kaennorsing of Bangkok, Thailand on Oct 21 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.  Schilling put Kaennorsing down for the first time just 25 seconds into the matchup with a powerful right hook to the head and, a second time with a straight right hand 42 seconds into the fight.

After recovering from the second knockdown, Kaennorsing did his best to tie up the aggressive Schilling, who found his mark once again at 2:46 of the first round, crumbling Kaennorsing with another hard right hand that prompted the referee to stop the fight and award Schilling his greatest victory to date.

The Feb. 25 fight with Marcus will mark Schilling’s second career fight with Lion Fight Promotions.  Last Aug. 20, Schilling captured the WBC USA light heavyweight title by scoring a brutal first round (2:38) KO on Brandon Banda with a straight left knee strike to the jaw that rendered Banda unconscious on the canvas.

“I’m not going to outpoint (Marcus).  I’m going to knock him out.  That’s what I do,” said Schilling.
Schilling, a native of Dayton, Ohio, comes from the school of hard knocks.  Raised by a single mother, Schilling, the youngest of three boys, was expelled from four different schools before reaching high school when he suddenly discovered his passion that would give him direction and focus – martial arts, namely Muay Thai style kickboxing.

Not long after being kicked out of his home at age 17, Schilling acted on his dream of relocating to California.  He touched down in Los Angeles where he found a Muay Thai trainer in Mark Komuro.

Together, Schilling and Komuro eventually converted a former jail in Lincoln Heights, a lower income section of Los Angeles, into a Muay Thai gym and named their training camp “The Yard,” after the outdoor location in jailhouses where prisoners do assigned work.