We Speak Boxing
Irish Plumber Joshua Akingbade Wins GLORY Debut in Antwerp After Two Opponents Pull Out
Joshua Akingbade spent the build-up to his GLORY debut wondering who he would fight. On Saturday night in Antwerp, the man in the opposite corner decided he’d had enough.
Alex Fernandez didn’t get up from his stool at the end of the second round, and Akingbade had his first GLORY win at GLORY 110 — becoming the first Irish fighter ever to register a victory in the world’s biggest kickboxing promotion.
Getting there took some doing. Regy Janssen was the first opponent to pull out. Then Albert Ugrinčić got injured nine days before the event, and Fernandez got the late call for Antwerp. A short-notice replacement against a debutant with momentum is a hard job, and Fernandez lasted one round of it: Akingbade knocked him down twice in the second before his corner kept him on his stool.
The 23-year-old Dubliner didn’t arrive at GLORY cold. In July he won the SENSHI 32 middleweight Grand Prix in Varna, Bulgaria — three fights in a single night — and in August he became the first Irishman to sign a multi-fight deal with GLORY. Ranked the fifth-best middleweight in the world by Beyond Kickboxing, he now stands at 18-1 with 14 knockouts.
His story is pure Ireland. Akingbade is a third-year apprentice plumber who trains out of Smithfield in Dublin, and growing up he played GAA alongside future Republic of Ireland football international Troy Parrott. He says his goal is simple: become world champion within a year, and help pave the way for more Irish fighters to follow him into GLORY.
“I’m taking it day by day, but I want to get that belt within a year. I know I can get that,” Akingbade said ahead of his debut. “This is my life, this is all I do — I just eat, sleep, train.”
On Saturday night in Antwerp, the middleweight division found out exactly what he meant.
We Speak Boxing
GLORY COLLISION 10: Mory Kromah Defends Heavyweight Title Against Antonio Plazibat on December 12
ARNHEM, Netherlands — The stage is officially set for one of the biggest heavyweight kickboxing fights of the year, as GLORY COLLISION 10 will feature reigning GLORY Heavyweight World Champion Mory Kromah defending his title against Croatian knockout artist Antonio Plazibat.
The championship showdown takes place Saturday, December 12, inside the iconic GelreDome, one of Europe’s premier stadium venues, promising a spectacular night of elite kickboxing action. The same card also features an eight-man Welterweight Grand Prix, where champion Chico Kwasi’s belt will be defended through the tournament, and a clash between Tarik Khbabez and Mohamed Touchassie.
Kromah (38-3-1, 25 KOs) enters his second heavyweight title defense after an unforgettable performance at GLORY COLLISION 9. The champion retained his crown in spectacular fashion by knocking out Milos Cvjeticanin with a devastating flying knee that quickly became one of the year’s most viral combat sports highlights — according to GLORY, the knockout generated more than 10 million views across the promotion’s social media platforms, helping establish Kromah as one of kickboxing’s fastest-rising global stars.
The rivalry needs no selling. At a promotional staredown in Rotterdam in September, the two men had to be separated in a scuffle that left a security guard on the canvas, and they were put in the same room again at the GLORY 110 fan zone in Antwerp this past weekend.
“Plazibat thinks he is coming to take my belt. He can think again,” Kromah said. “He already had his time in GLORY. This is a new era, the Mory Kromah era. When my knee connects to his chin, he will go to sleep and only dream of becoming GLORY champion.”
Plazibat (24-5, 17 KOs) secured his opportunity by delivering an emphatic knockout victory over Anis Bouzid at GLORY COLLISION 9, immediately solidifying himself as the division’s No. 1 contender. The Croatian powerhouse made his intentions perfectly clear.
“The plan is simple. I will smash his face and beat him down until he quits,” Plazibat said. “No more playing heavyweight for Mory Kromah. He does not know the world he is entering when he is in the ring with me.”
The heavyweight title Kromah holds was made famous by Rico Verhoeven, who ruled the division for a decade before leaving GLORY for the boxing ring — where he challenged Oleksandr Usyk for a world title in Egypt in May. Verhoeven is back in the headlines this week: the Dutchman says he has accepted an offer to box former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on December 11, the night before COLLISION 10, though Wilder’s agreement and the final terms are not yet confirmed.
Tickets for GLORY COLLISION 10 are on sale now through GLORYKickboxing.com.
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