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Page 3 of 8 Grand Champion Male
OK on to the BIG ONE. This is without question the hardest fighting division in the world and most prestigious open title in existence ever. This year 223 of the worlds best fighters from 27 different countries entered one division to see who is the ultimate champion. This event was run on four areas over three hours, with the finalists of each area going forward to the semi finals in the night time show.
 Semi Final one saw Raymond Daniels, USA fight Stella Neri from Italy over two by two minute rounds, the Italian fighter never got his rhythm and Daniels clearly emerged the victor. Semi final two was between Irelands Robbie Mc Menamey and Germanys Harold Smith. This was a rematch of the semi finals in the WAKO European championships where Smith emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins. Again like the previous bout this was an amazing fight off, both fighters not giving an inch, but this time mc Menamey getting the edge and emerging victorious.
The night time final was electric, with only two points between the fighters after the first round. It was absolutely down to the wire wit equal points with 5 seconds to go. Daniels however stretched out and caught Mc Menamey just before the bell to take the converted title. When interviewed, Raymond was very pleased with himself. “ I am delighted to take this title once again, it was very disappointing for me last year when I was unable to make it over, as I had been at the previous three events and it is the number one tournament on my calendar. This is the fourth time I have won the grand champion title. This is one of my greatest achievements, the Irish Open really brings the best out in me.
Team Event
Forty two teams made up of four men and one woman entered the 2007 team challenge for the largest Cash prize in the world. Four areas ran for two hours to come down to a final four teams. All areas had epic battles on them, one of note was between Team Top Ten and team Best fighter, italy. This really was an amazing match off, with both teams having several world champions on their side. On this day it was team Best fighter who emerged victorious to go to the semi finals against team SAP Europe. De march Italy agains Robbie Hughes, UK, really was a battle of battles.
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