Glory : [Glawr-ee, Glohr-ee]
Inked|December 2017

Big time brawlin’ under the world's most famous arena!By Matt Kaplan portraits.

Jared Ryder
Glory : [Glawr-ee, Glohr-ee]

There are certain guarantees across the combat sports spectrum. At a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament well-executed sweeps, escapes and submissions are a guarantee. A mixed martial arts event guarantees a sampler plate of wrestling, judo and Muay Thai, to name just a few. But GLORY Kickboxing? These motherfuckers are going to stand and bang, guaranteed! No chokes, no takedowns, and no ground fighting. And the fulfillment of these simple guarantees unites us in the most unlikely of ways.

On Friday, July 14, the WNBA’s New York Liberty played the Chicago Sky at Madison Square Garden, but the real action that night took place just beneath the court. Downstairs, in The Theater at MSG, the promoters behind “GLORY 43: New York” paraded out some of the most accomplished stand-and-bangers from across the world.

After improbably making my way backstage, the first face I came across belonged to Terrence Hill, a veteran New Yorker who took his fight against China’s Chenchen Li on just six days’ notice. Perhaps more remarkable than the short notice is the long layoff for the laidback, soft-spoken Hill, who hadn’t fought professionally in five years. As for advanced scouting on Li, Hill’s trainer Keith Trimble chuckled, “All we know is that he’s from China, and he’s gonna try to kick us.”

Down the frenzied hallway from Hill, I spotted six-time kickboxing world champion Bobby Campbell warming up with the man he was sending in to do battle, Lennox Chance, a dreadlocked 42-year-old from Guyana with a 48-7 record.

“This is a do-or-die fight,” Campbell said unapologetically as he and Chance drilled a right uppercut-left hook combination. Bang, BANG! “Just watch. This is what’ll win it for us.” Bang, BANG!

This story is from the December 2017 edition of Inked.

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This story is from the December 2017 edition of Inked.

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