KUALA LUMPUR: National muaythai fighter Izat Zaki has promised that his bout with Hicham Boulahri from Morocco at the Kuala Lumpur (KL) International Fight tomorrow would be ‘a thrilling affair’.

The 23-year-old is determined to do his best during the fight scheduled at Car Park B of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

“Hicham is a great muaythai boxer, he was a friend when I trained in Bangkok a few years ago.

“This is the first time we are meeting in the ring, so it doesn’t matter that we are friends, we’re here to fight for victory,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

While this would be his first international fight since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, IZat has fought in almost 20 domestic competitions this year.

Meanwhile, the president of KL International Fight organiser, Hallo Fight Club, Mohd Hazrul Mohd Sapri said they had lined up 13 bouts for fans for the weekend.

Speaking at the event’s press conference, he said one of the top fights fans could look forward to would be between Iran’s Reza Behzad and Thailand’s Kongklai Anny.

Hallo Fight Club secretary Mohd Faizul Mat Alewi, meanwhile, said KL International Fight would be introducing the outdoor muaythai fight concept to Malaysia for fans to experience their favourite sport in a new environment.

He also expected 6,000 to 10,000 muaythai fans to watch fights between champions such as Sudsakorn Nor Klimnee and Yod Pitee from Thailand, Hossein Karami (Iran) and Thomas Van Nijnatten (France), which should commencen at 8.30 pm.

Tickets for the bouts, priced at RM30, RM50 and RM150, are available via ticket2u.com.

Winners would receive a trophy and cash prizes ranging from RM3,000 to RM60,000 depending on their status as boxers. — Bernama