As many of us in the North American Muay Thai community know, the fallout from the highly anticipated Joe Schilling vs. Simon Marcus match up at Battle in the Desert 5 has not been pretty. Fans of both parties have been engaged in an all out war of words to protect the integrity of their fighters reputation. Some have said Simon Marcus’ Muay Thai takedown that eventually set Schilling up for the KO that would end his night, was illegal, while others contend that it was a completely legitimate Muay Thai technique.

Some of the sports biggest stars have come out defending the technique, stating that while the technique may have appeared illegal it was in fact legitimate or simply fell into a gray area in the sport where sometimes borderline illegal techniques are allowed to slide. However, the consensus among many of the sports finest is that the sport of Muay Thai is about ultimately inflicting damage on your opponent. And when in a fight, anything, even an unfortunate incident such as getting hurt from a fall can ultimately cost you your purse and also your interim title.

According to a recent article in Thailand’s Bangkok Post, Schillings loss to Simon Marcus, will now give Marcus the opportunity to challenge Artem “The Lion” Levin for the WBC Light Heavyweight World Title. The event which is tentatively set for June 9th, 2012 in Thailand will feature Jomthong Chuwattana, Saenchai Sor Kingstar and Thai Fight superstar Kem Sitpongseenong. Also rumored to be on the fight card are Big Ben Chor Praram, Sittichai Sitsongpeenong, Steve McKinnon, and Ramazan Ramazanov. According to the promoters the event will have the more World Title belts on the line than any other event in the history. Thus, the preliminary name of the event is “Battle of the Belts”. While many of these details may change as time progresses, it is an interesting turn of events and demonstrates how much was really on the line for both Schilling and Marcus when they faced off at Battle in the Desert 5 this past February 25th. However, due to the controversy surrounding Marcus’ win over Schilling, Marcus has obliged the Los Angeles based fighter with an eventual rematch. One has to wonder what a possible Schilling victory in the rematch could do to the plans currently being made in Thailand.

Source: http://www.muaythaiislife.com