Ramon Dekkers
| Ramon Dekkers | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Ramon Dekkers 4 September 1969 Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Died | 27 February 2013 (aged 43) Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Other names | The Diamond, Turbine from Hell |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st) |
| Division |
Featherweight Super featherweight Lightweight Super lightweight Welterweight Super welterweight |
| Team | Maeng Ho Gym Team Dekkers Golden Glory |
| Trainer | Cor Hemmers |
| Years active | 20 (1986 – 2006) |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 223 |
| Wins | 186 |
| By knockout | 95 |
| Losses | 35 |
| Draws | 2 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 1 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
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Ramon "The Diamond" Dekkers (4 September 1969 – 27 February 2013) was a Dutch kickboxer and an eight time Muay Thai world champion. Dekkers had a tendency to go head-to-head with his opponents, which made him a favourite with fight fans.
Dekkers was born on 4 September 1969 in Breda, Netherlands. He began learning martial arts at age 12, studying judo for a few months. He then switched to boxing. After half a year Dekkers started practicing Muay Thai under Cor Hemmers. After finishing his baker education Dekkers joined Maeng Ho Breda Gym. During Dekkers early days of training his mother was at the gym every day and eventually she and Hemmers fell in love and got married.
In the beginning of his career Dekkers' manager was Clovis Depretz, the manager of legendary Rob Kaman. This was the reason why Kaman was at ringside during many of Dekkers' matches, including his farewell fight. They often trained together and became good friends. Dekkers and Kaman were dubbed by fight fans in Thailand as "The Double Dutch duo".
In his first fight at 16 years of age, Dekkers won in a spectacular knockout against a well-established older boxer. Although, only weighing about 55 kg, his opponents found out sooner rather than later he was much stronger than he looked. As Dekkers kept on winning his matches by knockout, his reputation of an as up-and-coming fighter spread in the Muay Thai community. He was awarded his first title at age 18, when he won the MTBN Dutch Championship on 15 November 1987. Dekkers defeated Ramkisoen by knockout with a high kick. Previous to this fight the Dutchman had his first international contest against the reigning European champion, Richard Nam of France. Dekkers lost the fight on points. They would rematch each other a year later for the EMTA European Championship. This time Dekkers won the fight by knockout with a left hook, cross to body combination in the fourth round.
Dekkers challenged for the NKBB European Super featherweight Championship against Kevin Morris on 14 April 1988. He defeated his overmatched English opponent by unanimous decision. Over the next year the Dutchman would win a number of fights before defeating Mungkordum Sitchang for the IMTA World Lightweight title. Towards the end of 1988 he faced Gilbert Ballantine from the respected Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dekkers lost by decision after being outworked by Ballantine over five rounds. This match would spark the beginning of a fierce rivalry between the two men – they would fight two more times with both of them splitting wins.
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Wikipedia