Dekkers Tribute: Main Page - Biography - Interview - Fights p1 - Fights p2 - Fights p3 - Fight Record
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 favorite with fight fans.
Dekkers is probably one of the best known western Thai boxers of all time. Ramon Dekkers is to kickboxing what Muhammad Ali was to boxing or Diego Maradona to soccer. He was an athlete who always pursued excellence and perfection; a fighter whose heart was greater than his bodily power. In spite of all his health problems, he showed great spirit and courage. He created kickboxing history; but in doing so he damaged his body irreversibly.
It could be said that since some fighters beat Ramon, they were better athletes. Then again, the same happened to the great Muhammad Ali. Every fighter loses eventually, but greatness in contact sports is not accomplished by any single fight but rather through a remarkable career. Most of the fights Ramon lost were lost on points or because he was not “clever” enough to avoid or cancel a fight like most professional fighters often do because of injuries.
Ramon Dekkers was born in Breda, Holland, a small rural community an hour south of Amsterdam. He was born on 4 September 1969. Ramon Dekkers was a man who enjoyed the challenge of fighting most of all. He fought for 20 years and had almost 200 fights with 175 wins, 90 by KO. He fought many fights in Thailand under Thai rules. He was 8 times World Champion in Kick Boxing and Thai Boxing.
He has fought against some of the top Thai and international fighters of his time. He has competed around the world and won several championships throughout his career. Dekkers was known as a skilled fighter with powerful punches and kicks, and had a tendency to go head -to-head with his opponents, which made him a favorite with the Thais.
Dekkers gained financially from fighting in Thailand. They paid him very well to fight in their country. He was voted as the Fighter of the Year in Thailand in 1992 so his name will go down in history.
• European Title (MTBN) from Richard Nam in France on 27-02-1988 in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam/Holland.
• European Title (NKBB) from Morris who was from England on 14th of April 1988 in Eindhoven/ Holland.
• World Title (IMTA) from Mungkordum Sitchang, World Title in 59 kg, on 2-12-1989 in Salle Lionel Terray in France. He won by decision.
• World Title against Nangpon (IMTF) for the World Muay Thai Championship, 18-02-1990 in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam/Holland 18-02-1990
Most of Ramon’s losses were on “points.” Sometimes he fought 2 fights in 1 week and that in my opinion wore him out and caused some of his losses and injuries.
One of the most influential people in Ramon’s life was his trainer Cor Hemmers! He is a legendary trainer and he was also Ramon’s stepfather.
Cor Hemmers stopped his fighting career as an A-class Thai boxing fighter – Muay Thai fighter – and started a small gym in Breda/Holland. They always ask Hemmers in interviews, “You trained Ramon Dekkers but who is your trainer?” He actually did not have a Muay Thai trainer. He worked out this system together with Ramon and must have been successful because they were able to beat other champions. Cor Hemmers is undoubtedly one of the best Dutch kickboxing trainers in the world having trained a number of world champions.
Ramon Dekkers is probably the most respected “farang” Thai boxer of all times. Dekkers had the guts to go to Thailand and kick butt directly at the famous Lumpinee stadium. He kicked butt but also got his butt kicked. But no matter what, he stood up there and showed that the Dutch fighters are a menace.
He was probably the most respected foreign fighter in Thailand – fighting like the Thais. He fought them all – he fought them on their rules, in their land, in their rings – and he beat them. He was beaten sometimes himself - mostly on points - but he never turned down a fight. The Thai fighters have always and will always respect Ramon Dekkers for one thing: he never turned down a challenge. Dekkers in turn has always respected the Thai fighters. All these guys are the true champions of the sport.
Most professional fighters often avoid some fights in order not to ruin their perfect record. That does not necessarily mean that they are afraid of their opponent; sometimes they know that they are not ready to fight a dangerous opponent because of an injury, or they want to study him more. Some even wait for the opponent to pass his prime and fight him after he has had his share of injuries and losses. Ramon was not one of these fighters. If there were a world championship as far as courage and heart are concerned, Ramon Dekkers would be the true champion.
When Ramon knocked the Thai champion Nangpon out with a good left hook, everybody in Thailand was quiet as they saw on television this small blonde guy from Holland knocking out their Lumpinee champion. Suddenly the door was open. They started to invite Ramon and his team to Thailand. And then, it got crazy. Ramon became so famous in Thailand – there were police escorts when he arrived from the airport. And he was a hero in Thailand because he fought a lot of tough Thai champions and he beat them. He lost sometimes because of his failure to win on points in the big stadium. As his trainer, Cor Hemmers had a lot of discussions with the people there but they explained to him that this was their way of judging. They claimed that they only look at who makes the best Muay Thai techniques – who makes the toughest Muay Thai techniques. And the one who makes the best Muay Thai technique – it’s always the Thai fighter when it comes to a decision. Thai-fighters have the advantage. So it was very difficult to win on points. But the fans liked Ramon and when he was fighting, everybody was watching on television. Fifty million people were watching his fights – taxicabs were stopping on the road. It’s hard to imagine actually what was going on at the time that Ramon was fighting in Thailand. The Thai people hold such reverence for him that he has a strange nickname - "The Diamond" - as Ramon is an extremely polished Thai fighter. In Thailand, great Thai boxers are referred to as "diamonds." He was the first “farang” (foreigner) in Thai history to ever win Fighter of the Year in Thailand in 1992.
Ramon was very happy and honored to have had this happen. It was a great reward after all the years of hard work and labour. He has surpassed legendary Rob Kaman and Toshio Fujiwara, both of whom were very well respected “farang” (foreigner) fighters in Thailand.
This man was respected around the world, except in North America where he was a well-kept secret! He was relatively unknown except by the Muay Thai hardcore fans. During his era there was nobody in North America who could beat this man, but the American Martial Arts media turned a blind eye to Muay Thai and concentrated on Full Contact Rules competition or Kickboxing competition. Dekkers was respected in Thailand and there has been not a single North American fighter who was that respected in Thailand in a similar manner. Forget the fluff that you read in magazines about fighters like Benny Urquidez meaning anything in Thailand. That was straight PR by their management and it is not the truth. Benny Urquidez was a great kickboxer and a legend but he was not ring proven in Thailand.
Thai boxers visiting the U.S. are surprised that most people have never heard of Ramon Dekkers or Sakmongkol. Instead, names like Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis, and Benny Urquidez are often associated with the best in the sport. Wallace, Lewis, and Urquidez were the best in full-contact karate or kickboxing during their time, but they were definitely not the best in what the world considers to be Thaiboxing or Muay Thai. As a matter of fact, kickboxing to most parts of the world is now known almost exclusively as Muay Thai. Holland is great at Muay Thai because they chose to compete at the global level and they chose to learn from their defeat rather than make up their own world champions in order to misrepresent the sport to their people.
Ramon was also not very well known in Holland, at least not as much as he is in Thailand and Japan. He said it was kind of strange not being very well known in his own country, but he got used to it. When he walked on the streets in Thailand, everybody recognized him – and asked for autographs and pictures - while in Holland this did not happen so often.
Ramon believed that people in Holland have a wrong image of kick boxers – they think that they are all criminals and do bad things. Ramon Dekkers knew that the athletes in the sport train very hard and it is a shame they do not get the same honors as other athletes. He often noted that kickboxers are top ‘sportsmen’ training hard, training every day, watching what they eat and how they eat, not staying out late etc. They are very serious, training harder than football players. His hope was that in the future, all the athletes in this sport get their due and will be famous in their own homeland like soccer players. Hopefully, this can be done through good promotion of the sport by all promoters.
Ramon did not really respect Full Contact Karate (without kicks to the legs). He did it once in Paris and he fought twelve rounds without leg kicks and knees. It was not his style. He fought using leg kicks, knees and elbows for many years so it was very difficult for him to fight without them.
The fighters of Holland and Thailand are very tough. However, due to the physical stature of Thai people in general, good fighters are rarely over 150 pounds. This is the reason why the Heavyweight Champions have not been Thais. Not surprisingly, the Dutch have also been successful at the higher weight class but Ramon’s domination over the Thais is truly an amazing feat because he was a light welter weight (-64 kg) like most Thai fighters.
As far as Kickboxing (allowing kicks to the legs) is concerned, Ramon felt that it was definitely closer to his style. This type of fighting was definitely easier for him than Full Contact rules fighting. How does Muay Thai differ from other forms of Kickboxing? For one, in Muay Thai, there is an effective use of knees and elbows. These attacks are the objects of fear for other Kickboxers around the world. In fact, at the time, famous kickboxing and full contact fighters had totally avoided any confrontation with Thai Boxers in Bangkok under rules which would permit the use of knees and elbows. They knew that they would not stand a chance. The supremacy of Thai boxing had nothing to do with the Thais as a race. Ramon Dekkers has beaten many Thai Champions in bouts with knees and elbows. And even when he lost, he continued to fight according to Thai rules. He deserves much more respect as an international champion than some other full contact fighters who are more famous than him. For example the series of matches between Ramon Dekkers and Coban are all-time favorites among Thai-boxing fans. The two great fighters just took turns knocking each other out convincingly. Unfortunately after the rise and fall of K-1 and even now with Glory kickboxing, elbows and knees in full clinch are not trademark techniques of modern kickboxing.
Nowadays, everyone is familiar with elbow strikes in fights because of the UFC. But during Ramon's time all fighters were afraid of getting cut by the elbows. Inexperienced fighters got cut quickly causing the fight to be stopped prematurely and leaving fans wondering what happened. There will always be full-out Muay Thai boxing which allows the elbow and produces its own champions. Full-out Muay Thai is the way Ramon had trained and it is true Muay Thai, so this is how Ramon preferred to fight.
Ramon traveled a lot through Muay Thai competition. During his career, he felt Thailand had the strongest fighters. At the same time, he also felt that Holland’s fighters were just as good as the Thais.
The sport of Thai boxing changed during Ramon’s career. It’s more professional now. In the beginning, when he started around 1988, it was more ‘everybody fights everywhere.’ Locations were smaller and there was not too much money involved. Now everything is more organized. There are bigger promoters, more fans, and more money.
The only thing that Ramon disliked in Muay Thai is the scoring system inside Thailand. He believed he won a lot of his fights in Thailand only to have them taken away due to bad decisions. After some bouts he was confident that he had won the fight only to have it changed by the judges. He believed a lot of it has to do with the gambling in Lumpinee Stadium.
Some would say that it’s always an entirely different scenario when you go to a man’s country and fight him at his own national sport. It is very difficult for a “farang” fighter in Thailand to win other than by knocking his opponent out. Losing on points can be very frustrating for a fighter trying to force a knockout, instead of being patient to wait for the right chance, but it is a very normal thing in Thailand.
Don’t get us wrong. Thailand has every right to be proud of its fighters. The fighters of Thailand are some of the best in the world. However, the Thai judges at Lumpinee Stadium and other places need to revise their scoring system and be more objective when giving a decision in a Thai vs. foreigner bout. The current scoring system gives more points for knee and elbow strikes than for punches. Because of the way they train, it just so happens that the Muay Thai fighters from Thailand are more skillful with knees and elbows, while the European fighters (who are showing tremendous success in Muay Thai) are usually more skillful in the punching range. Many times the Thai fighters still dominate regardless of the scoring system. However, there have been times when the European fighters have clearly caused more damage with their punches than the Thai fighters with their clinching arsenals. And because of the current scoring system, the decision went to the Thai fighters. The Thai judges are creating a situation in which the only way that a foreign fighter can win is if he knocks the Thai fighter out. This is not a fair scoring system. Muay Thai is the combination of punching, kicking, elbowing, kneeing, and clinching. This means that punching is as much a part of Muay Thai as kneeing and elbowing. This is a sport; you win some and you lose some. But let the games be fair and honor all the competitors for their true accomplishments. So while I want the West to give more credit to the Thai fighters, I also want Thailand to be less biased when a Thai vs. foreigner match comes down to a decision. The Muay Thai Ring of Champions started out in Thailand, but it is now a Global Ring.
Some fighters often find it very difficult to motivate themselves before a fight but Ramon wanted to be the best. He just wanted to win the fight, prove his ability to everyone, especially in Thailand, so that’s how he motivated himself.
Ramon was a model professional when it came to preparing for a fight. He watched videos of his opponents and when he had studied the videos, he started training.
One important thing about Dekkers is that he used the constant repetition of the technique to develop his technique. Dekkers, being an astute student of his craft, knew how to work not only by himself, but also with that ever important training partner. If you watch videos of Ramon and Cor Hemmers training with the Thai pads you will realize that they had created a science out of this kind of training.
Another thing you see in Dekkers that is very unusual is that he could fight like a devil, but at the same time he could always train in a very precise and astute way. When he fought, he seemed relaxed, but then suddenly he attacked in a vicious manner that surprised all spectators. He was really a scientist in this respect. The only fighter who was able to be both fierce and calm in a similar manner during his prime was MMA's Fedor Emilianenko.
In Thailand all athletes are great kickers. Ramon’s kicking abilities were exceptional but his favorite fighting techniques were his punching techniques. One of his stronger weapons was his left hook usually followed by a right leg kick. He was not just some free-swinging wild man in the ring. He was a cold-blooded technician with the intention to terminate his opponents. His was also one of the few fighters who used uppercuts in his combinations.
Cor Hemmers, his trainer and step-father saw the enormous power that Dekkers possessed from his early steps as a fighter. Ramon was 63 kilograms and he fought and punched and kicked like a heavier fighter. It was really incredible.
He was fighting just like a Thai, trapping the leg, delivering kicks to the body, kicks to the leg. His kicks were like swinging a baseball bat. Dekkers was renowned – not only for those devastating punches but also those hammers below the waist, those shins of steel which he would occasionally set up with the punches. He was really becoming feared for that power and his relentless kicking of his opponents legs.
He would actually try to kick through his opponent. And, the opponent’s legs definitely fell prey to that. He would crack guys open time after time. This caused fighters to shiver when they saw the name Ramon Dekkers – thinking that they had to go in the ring with this ‘demonstration of destruction.’
It had gotten to the point where Dekkers’ opponents were so afraid of him that they fought merely to survive. But this presented a new problem for Ramon. Rather than to try and shoot it out with his opponent in the middle of the ring, he had to drive them to the corner and to finish them off with his punches and kicks.
Ramon Dekkers, of course, was one of the most superbly prepared fighters ever – a man who never let go. He was always very dedicated in training, always strong, always powerful, always with lots of stamina. He needed that because some of his opponents were so afraid of him that they ran away. They tried to hide but they couldn’t hide. The ring was just too small and Dekkers did exactly what he wanted – exactly what he set out to do – and that was to create a knock out. Usually a devastating KO.
At some point Thai fighters were starting to fight differently in order to be able to fight him. In the beginning, it was only kicking and kneeing but then, they started being more complete. More boxing, elbows, kicking – they were even trying to deliver punches to the body, liver punches. They looked at a lot of videos of Ramon to study his fights and they were trying to imitate him. Because the Thais are very proud people and were also very proud of their Muay Thai, they actually called in trainers to instruct the fighters who would fight Dekkers, just to make sure the Thai fighter would win.
When Dekkers found out that they were bringing in trainers, this only reaffirmed his own commitment to getting back into the gym, to hammering out not only the tried and tested techniques that had gotten him to the top of the world of kick-boxing and Muay Thai, but also to get through with some furious new combinations under the tutelage of his trainer and mentor Cor Hemmers. Dekkers was really determined – more than ever – to not only be at the center of the stage, but also to be the stage itself.
Cor thinks the most important thing was that because they were so close, one could make a move and the other would feel it. When they were working together, whether with pads or with gloves, Cor says they were like a well-oiled machine. They learned a lot from each other. And later on, when Hemmers visited some camps in Thailand, he saw that they had started to duplicate their system. He saw his bag combinations. He saw the things that Ramon did. They started to go a little more to the boxing techniques because in the beginning, the Thai were only kicking and kneeing. So it seems that Ramon had a lot to do with the evolution of the style of the Muay Thai fighters.
After 2 months in the hospital, Ramon started training. He worked hard for 3 months and it was tough. But after 2 years, he was fighting at the same level as before the surgeries. At that point he started changing and developing new techniques to be more like a ‘southpaw’ and he trained for other combinations as well. He didn’t kick with his right leg anymore – only with the left. Even his punches were different because he couldn’t stand and walk and move on his feet like he had done before.
Though his injuries were always an obstacle in his training, as soon as Dekkers was well, he was back in the gym, working like a madman on the heavy bag, doing the repetitions necessary to develop his power. He also worked many drills with partners. After every injury Ramon had a special schedule for his training program. He and Hemmers trained in a special way to get him back to the fighting level. He knew that because of his injuries he had weaknesses and he tried to strengthen other weapons and work more on his defense techniques so that he would not be handicapped.
At some point before his injuries Ramon had taken his kicking to the next level and, as many people thought, he was starting to kick just like a Thai. It was both power and commitment that made him great. And with that power and commitment, sometimes came the injuries because Dekkers always trained with the intensity of a madman, doing everything – including those kicks – with full power. There was no holding back, just like he was always punching with the intention of knocking somebody out.
One of the reasons why he had so many injuries on his shins and ankles in his later years was because of these kicks. There was always full power behind them and he didn’t care if somebody blocked. Of course, those kicks were so fast that they usually could not be blocked. But when they were blocked, then of course, the injuries were really quite significant. But that did not deter Ramon Dekkers. He kicked anyway.
As the years went by, it became clear that Ramon was becoming more and more susceptible to cuts. Of course, fighting a very difficult martial art like Muay Thai where you can use hard contact like the elbows and the knees, Ramon knew that he would get cut in fights. This was of course almost unavoidable. But the cuts became more and more of a factor. All the scar tissue that Ramon had developed during all his fights became a big problem for him. Sometimes an elbow would open up a huge cut on the side of his head, which would finally result in his losing the fight.
Dekkers was never deterred by the blood. He would always come back and try to go for the knockout. But it was becoming more and more as if the Thais were starting to figure him out and use their own techniques (using those elbows in the clinches) against him. It was starting to frustrate the man from Holland. But that frustration only led him to be that much more determined to not only re-establish himself in the hearts of Thailand but also in the hearts of the fans around the world – with that punching and kicking style that had made him famous throughout the universe of fighting. Even under those typically Thai techniques like elbow, he outclassed some of his Thai opponents. He cut a man like Sangtienoi with an elbow, which is really amazing. No other foreigner had been able to do that. No other “farang” foreigner had been able to cut the Thais with the elbows – to fight like Thais. And he was out-gaming them, beating them at their own game. They sometimes made him bleed; but he also in return made them bleed.
Of course, the wear and tear on Ramon was becoming more and more clear. Hundreds of fights, years of wars – that takes a toll. But still, everytime, it was again Ramon Dekkers who was fighting for his life, fighting for his fans, fighting for his career because he did not want to give up. He did not want to stop a career that was going so strong – even though he had all the injuries and had had all the operations. And actually he was at this stage of his career, already sort of a handicapped fighter, a man who could actually only kick with one leg. The surgeon who had operated on him so many times would have been shocked and surprised to know that he was still fighting, still using that leg to kick.
And, it was an interesting thing because Dekkers fought, in some ways, not only for himself, for the armor of his legacy. But he fought for the fans. He felt a huge obligation to keep the fans happy. Because it was the fans after all, that had led him through such an illustrious career, had paid his bills for him, had paid him the great purses he’d made in his many fights. So, he did feel that obligation and he felt the obligation to those who had supported him. He kept trying to support them by continuing in this miraculous career with win after win, with another crushing devastating knockout over another very tough Thai fighter.
You could see this in the way he fought. He never gave up and usually went, once again for a total knockout – a devastating and a finishing blow.
In some ways, Ramon Dekkers had reached a stage in his career in which winning or losing didn’t really matter so much anymore. He had perfected the art of Muay Thai, using the elbows, the knees, the kicks, the punches, all exactly the way it should be used.It was his defensive ability, along with his offense, that made him the complete package.
On Sunday, 18 March 2001, Ramon Dekkers fought his farewell fight against Marino de Florin in Rotterdam. Holland's legendary "Golden Glory" team took on the rest of the world in a night of non-stop thrills and spills and high octane ring action. In a bid to witness this historic occasion, tickets were sold out months in advance and the 10,000 fans were not to be disappointed.
This was to be the last fight in an unbelievable career for "the Diamond", and as Dekkers came out in a blaze of lights, the video screens projected many of the Dutchman's bone crushing knockouts to the sell-out crowd. Bringing an unbelievable record of 175 wins(90 by KO) into the ring, Ramon made sure the Swiss fighter had his work cut out for him.The fight went the distance with Dekkers clearly in the driver’s seat, displaying the style and aggression that kept him at the top for so long.
After the fight ended in a KO in round 4, Ramon joined the "Golden Glory" team members center stage for a thrilling finale. Rob Kaman came down the rampart, Golden Glory torch in hand, presenting it to Dekker, who in turn passed it to each team member, as video clips of his victories were shown on the display screens - an unforgettable moment in the history of Dutch Thai Boxing and Kickboxing.
There’s no doubt that Ramon Dekkers has etched a place in history as one of the greatest fighters of all time. If ever there was a fighter who epitomized, from head to toe, what you need to know about stand-up fighting in the ring against Thais, against Americans, against people from around the world, it was Ramon Dekkers – the great one.
This biography was original posted on my former website Fightingmaster.com and was based on my interview with Ramon, on information provided by Dirk Stal (We are kickboxers) and the DVD by Nikko Toshogu Press: Ramon Dekkers - The man behind the knockouts. This article is provided in memory of Ramon Dekkers and is not intended to generate income for myself or anybody else. All photos are from the "We are kickboxers", and "Ramon Dekkers: In memoriam" Facebook pages and are used here under the guidelines of the Fair Use provisions of United States Copyright Law. If you are the copyright owner of a photo and you would like me to remove it or add a copyright caption please e-mail me. Also, If you own photos of Ramon I would be more than happy to post them here.
STATS
Name: Ramon Dekkers
Nickname: “The Diamond”
Date of birth: 1969
Birthplace: Breda, Holland
Fights: 200 (approx) W 175 KOs 90
8 times World Champion in Kick Boxing and Thai Boxing
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 favorite with fight fans.
Dekkers is probably one of the best known western Thai boxers of all time. Ramon Dekkers is to kickboxing what Muhammad Ali was to boxing or Diego Maradona to soccer. He was an athlete who always pursued excellence and perfection; a fighter whose heart was greater than his bodily power. In spite of all his health problems, he showed great spirit and courage. He created kickboxing history; but in doing so he damaged his body irreversibly.
It could be said that since some fighters beat Ramon, they were better athletes. Then again, the same happened to the great Muhammad Ali. Every fighter loses eventually, but greatness in contact sports is not accomplished by any single fight but rather through a remarkable career. Most of the fights Ramon lost were lost on points or because he was not “clever” enough to avoid or cancel a fight like most professional fighters often do because of injuries.
Ramon Dekkers was born in Breda, Holland, a small rural community an hour south of Amsterdam. He was born on 4 September 1969. Ramon Dekkers was a man who enjoyed the challenge of fighting most of all. He fought for 20 years and had almost 200 fights with 175 wins, 90 by KO. He fought many fights in Thailand under Thai rules. He was 8 times World Champion in Kick Boxing and Thai Boxing.
He has fought against some of the top Thai and international fighters of his time. He has competed around the world and won several championships throughout his career. Dekkers was known as a skilled fighter with powerful punches and kicks, and had a tendency to go head -to-head with his opponents, which made him a favorite with the Thais.
Dekkers gained financially from fighting in Thailand. They paid him very well to fight in their country. He was voted as the Fighter of the Year in Thailand in 1992 so his name will go down in history.
Here are some of the first titles he won:
• Dutch Title at 18 years of age against Ramkisoen from the Chakuriki Gym on 15-11-1987 in Breda/Holland. He won on KO in the 2nd round• European Title (MTBN) from Richard Nam in France on 27-02-1988 in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam/Holland.
• European Title (NKBB) from Morris who was from England on 14th of April 1988 in Eindhoven/ Holland.
• World Title (IMTA) from Mungkordum Sitchang, World Title in 59 kg, on 2-12-1989 in Salle Lionel Terray in France. He won by decision.
• World Title against Nangpon (IMTF) for the World Muay Thai Championship, 18-02-1990 in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam/Holland 18-02-1990
Most of Ramon’s losses were on “points.” Sometimes he fought 2 fights in 1 week and that in my opinion wore him out and caused some of his losses and injuries.
Ramon Dekkers and Cor Hemmers
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| Ramon Dekkers and Cor Hemmers |
Cor Hemmers stopped his fighting career as an A-class Thai boxing fighter – Muay Thai fighter – and started a small gym in Breda/Holland. They always ask Hemmers in interviews, “You trained Ramon Dekkers but who is your trainer?” He actually did not have a Muay Thai trainer. He worked out this system together with Ramon and must have been successful because they were able to beat other champions. Cor Hemmers is undoubtedly one of the best Dutch kickboxing trainers in the world having trained a number of world champions.
Ramon Dekkers: Fame And Glory In Thailand
Even if you can speak no other words of the Thai language, most European and American visitors to Thailand will quickly become familiar with the Thai word “farang” (often mispronounced even by Thais) as “falang” –“farang” with a slightly trilled 'r' is the correct pronunciation.) It's basically used to describe Caucasians. It is not a racist thing.Ramon Dekkers is probably the most respected “farang” Thai boxer of all times. Dekkers had the guts to go to Thailand and kick butt directly at the famous Lumpinee stadium. He kicked butt but also got his butt kicked. But no matter what, he stood up there and showed that the Dutch fighters are a menace.
Most professional fighters often avoid some fights in order not to ruin their perfect record. That does not necessarily mean that they are afraid of their opponent; sometimes they know that they are not ready to fight a dangerous opponent because of an injury, or they want to study him more. Some even wait for the opponent to pass his prime and fight him after he has had his share of injuries and losses. Ramon was not one of these fighters. If there were a world championship as far as courage and heart are concerned, Ramon Dekkers would be the true champion.
When Ramon knocked the Thai champion Nangpon out with a good left hook, everybody in Thailand was quiet as they saw on television this small blonde guy from Holland knocking out their Lumpinee champion. Suddenly the door was open. They started to invite Ramon and his team to Thailand. And then, it got crazy. Ramon became so famous in Thailand – there were police escorts when he arrived from the airport. And he was a hero in Thailand because he fought a lot of tough Thai champions and he beat them. He lost sometimes because of his failure to win on points in the big stadium. As his trainer, Cor Hemmers had a lot of discussions with the people there but they explained to him that this was their way of judging. They claimed that they only look at who makes the best Muay Thai techniques – who makes the toughest Muay Thai techniques. And the one who makes the best Muay Thai technique – it’s always the Thai fighter when it comes to a decision. Thai-fighters have the advantage. So it was very difficult to win on points. But the fans liked Ramon and when he was fighting, everybody was watching on television. Fifty million people were watching his fights – taxicabs were stopping on the road. It’s hard to imagine actually what was going on at the time that Ramon was fighting in Thailand. The Thai people hold such reverence for him that he has a strange nickname - "The Diamond" - as Ramon is an extremely polished Thai fighter. In Thailand, great Thai boxers are referred to as "diamonds." He was the first “farang” (foreigner) in Thai history to ever win Fighter of the Year in Thailand in 1992.
Ramon was very happy and honored to have had this happen. It was a great reward after all the years of hard work and labour. He has surpassed legendary Rob Kaman and Toshio Fujiwara, both of whom were very well respected “farang” (foreigner) fighters in Thailand.
This man was respected around the world, except in North America where he was a well-kept secret! He was relatively unknown except by the Muay Thai hardcore fans. During his era there was nobody in North America who could beat this man, but the American Martial Arts media turned a blind eye to Muay Thai and concentrated on Full Contact Rules competition or Kickboxing competition. Dekkers was respected in Thailand and there has been not a single North American fighter who was that respected in Thailand in a similar manner. Forget the fluff that you read in magazines about fighters like Benny Urquidez meaning anything in Thailand. That was straight PR by their management and it is not the truth. Benny Urquidez was a great kickboxer and a legend but he was not ring proven in Thailand.
Thai boxers visiting the U.S. are surprised that most people have never heard of Ramon Dekkers or Sakmongkol. Instead, names like Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis, and Benny Urquidez are often associated with the best in the sport. Wallace, Lewis, and Urquidez were the best in full-contact karate or kickboxing during their time, but they were definitely not the best in what the world considers to be Thaiboxing or Muay Thai. As a matter of fact, kickboxing to most parts of the world is now known almost exclusively as Muay Thai. Holland is great at Muay Thai because they chose to compete at the global level and they chose to learn from their defeat rather than make up their own world champions in order to misrepresent the sport to their people.
Ramon was also not very well known in Holland, at least not as much as he is in Thailand and Japan. He said it was kind of strange not being very well known in his own country, but he got used to it. When he walked on the streets in Thailand, everybody recognized him – and asked for autographs and pictures - while in Holland this did not happen so often.
Ramon believed that people in Holland have a wrong image of kick boxers – they think that they are all criminals and do bad things. Ramon Dekkers knew that the athletes in the sport train very hard and it is a shame they do not get the same honors as other athletes. He often noted that kickboxers are top ‘sportsmen’ training hard, training every day, watching what they eat and how they eat, not staying out late etc. They are very serious, training harder than football players. His hope was that in the future, all the athletes in this sport get their due and will be famous in their own homeland like soccer players. Hopefully, this can be done through good promotion of the sport by all promoters.
Full Contact Karate vs Muay Thai
Ramon did not practice in any other styles before he started training in Muay Thai. He believed it is the best and the most realistic of the Martial Arts. The other Martial Arts seemed to be a fantasy (like a movie) to him.Ramon did not really respect Full Contact Karate (without kicks to the legs). He did it once in Paris and he fought twelve rounds without leg kicks and knees. It was not his style. He fought using leg kicks, knees and elbows for many years so it was very difficult for him to fight without them.
The fighters of Holland and Thailand are very tough. However, due to the physical stature of Thai people in general, good fighters are rarely over 150 pounds. This is the reason why the Heavyweight Champions have not been Thais. Not surprisingly, the Dutch have also been successful at the higher weight class but Ramon’s domination over the Thais is truly an amazing feat because he was a light welter weight (-64 kg) like most Thai fighters.
As far as Kickboxing (allowing kicks to the legs) is concerned, Ramon felt that it was definitely closer to his style. This type of fighting was definitely easier for him than Full Contact rules fighting. How does Muay Thai differ from other forms of Kickboxing? For one, in Muay Thai, there is an effective use of knees and elbows. These attacks are the objects of fear for other Kickboxers around the world. In fact, at the time, famous kickboxing and full contact fighters had totally avoided any confrontation with Thai Boxers in Bangkok under rules which would permit the use of knees and elbows. They knew that they would not stand a chance. The supremacy of Thai boxing had nothing to do with the Thais as a race. Ramon Dekkers has beaten many Thai Champions in bouts with knees and elbows. And even when he lost, he continued to fight according to Thai rules. He deserves much more respect as an international champion than some other full contact fighters who are more famous than him. For example the series of matches between Ramon Dekkers and Coban are all-time favorites among Thai-boxing fans. The two great fighters just took turns knocking each other out convincingly. Unfortunately after the rise and fall of K-1 and even now with Glory kickboxing, elbows and knees in full clinch are not trademark techniques of modern kickboxing.
Nowadays, everyone is familiar with elbow strikes in fights because of the UFC. But during Ramon's time all fighters were afraid of getting cut by the elbows. Inexperienced fighters got cut quickly causing the fight to be stopped prematurely and leaving fans wondering what happened. There will always be full-out Muay Thai boxing which allows the elbow and produces its own champions. Full-out Muay Thai is the way Ramon had trained and it is true Muay Thai, so this is how Ramon preferred to fight.
Ramon traveled a lot through Muay Thai competition. During his career, he felt Thailand had the strongest fighters. At the same time, he also felt that Holland’s fighters were just as good as the Thais.
The sport of Thai boxing changed during Ramon’s career. It’s more professional now. In the beginning, when he started around 1988, it was more ‘everybody fights everywhere.’ Locations were smaller and there was not too much money involved. Now everything is more organized. There are bigger promoters, more fans, and more money.
The only thing that Ramon disliked in Muay Thai is the scoring system inside Thailand. He believed he won a lot of his fights in Thailand only to have them taken away due to bad decisions. After some bouts he was confident that he had won the fight only to have it changed by the judges. He believed a lot of it has to do with the gambling in Lumpinee Stadium.
Some would say that it’s always an entirely different scenario when you go to a man’s country and fight him at his own national sport. It is very difficult for a “farang” fighter in Thailand to win other than by knocking his opponent out. Losing on points can be very frustrating for a fighter trying to force a knockout, instead of being patient to wait for the right chance, but it is a very normal thing in Thailand.
Don’t get us wrong. Thailand has every right to be proud of its fighters. The fighters of Thailand are some of the best in the world. However, the Thai judges at Lumpinee Stadium and other places need to revise their scoring system and be more objective when giving a decision in a Thai vs. foreigner bout. The current scoring system gives more points for knee and elbow strikes than for punches. Because of the way they train, it just so happens that the Muay Thai fighters from Thailand are more skillful with knees and elbows, while the European fighters (who are showing tremendous success in Muay Thai) are usually more skillful in the punching range. Many times the Thai fighters still dominate regardless of the scoring system. However, there have been times when the European fighters have clearly caused more damage with their punches than the Thai fighters with their clinching arsenals. And because of the current scoring system, the decision went to the Thai fighters. The Thai judges are creating a situation in which the only way that a foreign fighter can win is if he knocks the Thai fighter out. This is not a fair scoring system. Muay Thai is the combination of punching, kicking, elbowing, kneeing, and clinching. This means that punching is as much a part of Muay Thai as kneeing and elbowing. This is a sport; you win some and you lose some. But let the games be fair and honor all the competitors for their true accomplishments. So while I want the West to give more credit to the Thai fighters, I also want Thailand to be less biased when a Thai vs. foreigner match comes down to a decision. The Muay Thai Ring of Champions started out in Thailand, but it is now a Global Ring.
Ramon’s Technique
Some fighters often find it very difficult to motivate themselves before a fight but Ramon wanted to be the best. He just wanted to win the fight, prove his ability to everyone, especially in Thailand, so that’s how he motivated himself.
Ramon was a model professional when it came to preparing for a fight. He watched videos of his opponents and when he had studied the videos, he started training.
One important thing about Dekkers is that he used the constant repetition of the technique to develop his technique. Dekkers, being an astute student of his craft, knew how to work not only by himself, but also with that ever important training partner. If you watch videos of Ramon and Cor Hemmers training with the Thai pads you will realize that they had created a science out of this kind of training.
Another thing you see in Dekkers that is very unusual is that he could fight like a devil, but at the same time he could always train in a very precise and astute way. When he fought, he seemed relaxed, but then suddenly he attacked in a vicious manner that surprised all spectators. He was really a scientist in this respect. The only fighter who was able to be both fierce and calm in a similar manner during his prime was MMA's Fedor Emilianenko.
In Thailand all athletes are great kickers. Ramon’s kicking abilities were exceptional but his favorite fighting techniques were his punching techniques. One of his stronger weapons was his left hook usually followed by a right leg kick. He was not just some free-swinging wild man in the ring. He was a cold-blooded technician with the intention to terminate his opponents. His was also one of the few fighters who used uppercuts in his combinations.
Cor Hemmers, his trainer and step-father saw the enormous power that Dekkers possessed from his early steps as a fighter. Ramon was 63 kilograms and he fought and punched and kicked like a heavier fighter. It was really incredible.
He was fighting just like a Thai, trapping the leg, delivering kicks to the body, kicks to the leg. His kicks were like swinging a baseball bat. Dekkers was renowned – not only for those devastating punches but also those hammers below the waist, those shins of steel which he would occasionally set up with the punches. He was really becoming feared for that power and his relentless kicking of his opponents legs.
He would actually try to kick through his opponent. And, the opponent’s legs definitely fell prey to that. He would crack guys open time after time. This caused fighters to shiver when they saw the name Ramon Dekkers – thinking that they had to go in the ring with this ‘demonstration of destruction.’
It had gotten to the point where Dekkers’ opponents were so afraid of him that they fought merely to survive. But this presented a new problem for Ramon. Rather than to try and shoot it out with his opponent in the middle of the ring, he had to drive them to the corner and to finish them off with his punches and kicks.
Ramon Dekkers, of course, was one of the most superbly prepared fighters ever – a man who never let go. He was always very dedicated in training, always strong, always powerful, always with lots of stamina. He needed that because some of his opponents were so afraid of him that they ran away. They tried to hide but they couldn’t hide. The ring was just too small and Dekkers did exactly what he wanted – exactly what he set out to do – and that was to create a knock out. Usually a devastating KO.
At some point Thai fighters were starting to fight differently in order to be able to fight him. In the beginning, it was only kicking and kneeing but then, they started being more complete. More boxing, elbows, kicking – they were even trying to deliver punches to the body, liver punches. They looked at a lot of videos of Ramon to study his fights and they were trying to imitate him. Because the Thais are very proud people and were also very proud of their Muay Thai, they actually called in trainers to instruct the fighters who would fight Dekkers, just to make sure the Thai fighter would win.
When Dekkers found out that they were bringing in trainers, this only reaffirmed his own commitment to getting back into the gym, to hammering out not only the tried and tested techniques that had gotten him to the top of the world of kick-boxing and Muay Thai, but also to get through with some furious new combinations under the tutelage of his trainer and mentor Cor Hemmers. Dekkers was really determined – more than ever – to not only be at the center of the stage, but also to be the stage itself.
Cor thinks the most important thing was that because they were so close, one could make a move and the other would feel it. When they were working together, whether with pads or with gloves, Cor says they were like a well-oiled machine. They learned a lot from each other. And later on, when Hemmers visited some camps in Thailand, he saw that they had started to duplicate their system. He saw his bag combinations. He saw the things that Ramon did. They started to go a little more to the boxing techniques because in the beginning, the Thai were only kicking and kneeing. So it seems that Ramon had a lot to do with the evolution of the style of the Muay Thai fighters.
Coach Greg Nelson demoing the Ramon Dekkers 15 count focus mitt drill.
Ramon's Injuries
While Dekkers fought his way to the top, a lot of injuries set in and set him back for a time, before he eventually came back to the top. After almost 200 fights, his ankle was finished. He had 6 operations in 2 years on the same leg. And even his doctor said, “It’s over. You can’t fight anymore.” But Ramon had to fight. He wanted to fight.After 2 months in the hospital, Ramon started training. He worked hard for 3 months and it was tough. But after 2 years, he was fighting at the same level as before the surgeries. At that point he started changing and developing new techniques to be more like a ‘southpaw’ and he trained for other combinations as well. He didn’t kick with his right leg anymore – only with the left. Even his punches were different because he couldn’t stand and walk and move on his feet like he had done before.
Though his injuries were always an obstacle in his training, as soon as Dekkers was well, he was back in the gym, working like a madman on the heavy bag, doing the repetitions necessary to develop his power. He also worked many drills with partners. After every injury Ramon had a special schedule for his training program. He and Hemmers trained in a special way to get him back to the fighting level. He knew that because of his injuries he had weaknesses and he tried to strengthen other weapons and work more on his defense techniques so that he would not be handicapped.
At some point before his injuries Ramon had taken his kicking to the next level and, as many people thought, he was starting to kick just like a Thai. It was both power and commitment that made him great. And with that power and commitment, sometimes came the injuries because Dekkers always trained with the intensity of a madman, doing everything – including those kicks – with full power. There was no holding back, just like he was always punching with the intention of knocking somebody out.
One of the reasons why he had so many injuries on his shins and ankles in his later years was because of these kicks. There was always full power behind them and he didn’t care if somebody blocked. Of course, those kicks were so fast that they usually could not be blocked. But when they were blocked, then of course, the injuries were really quite significant. But that did not deter Ramon Dekkers. He kicked anyway.
As the years went by, it became clear that Ramon was becoming more and more susceptible to cuts. Of course, fighting a very difficult martial art like Muay Thai where you can use hard contact like the elbows and the knees, Ramon knew that he would get cut in fights. This was of course almost unavoidable. But the cuts became more and more of a factor. All the scar tissue that Ramon had developed during all his fights became a big problem for him. Sometimes an elbow would open up a huge cut on the side of his head, which would finally result in his losing the fight.
Dekkers was never deterred by the blood. He would always come back and try to go for the knockout. But it was becoming more and more as if the Thais were starting to figure him out and use their own techniques (using those elbows in the clinches) against him. It was starting to frustrate the man from Holland. But that frustration only led him to be that much more determined to not only re-establish himself in the hearts of Thailand but also in the hearts of the fans around the world – with that punching and kicking style that had made him famous throughout the universe of fighting. Even under those typically Thai techniques like elbow, he outclassed some of his Thai opponents. He cut a man like Sangtienoi with an elbow, which is really amazing. No other foreigner had been able to do that. No other “farang” foreigner had been able to cut the Thais with the elbows – to fight like Thais. And he was out-gaming them, beating them at their own game. They sometimes made him bleed; but he also in return made them bleed.
Royal recognition
On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the King of Thailand, Dekkers received a royal award from the Thai Royal Family for his services to the sport. The Dutchman was also appointed ambassador of all foreign fighters in Thailand. "This is very important to me. It is the greatest recognition that I can get for what I have achieved in this sport," said Dekkers, after the presentation by the Thai princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, the eldest daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.End of a Great Career - Farewell Fight
Later in his career Dekkers’ visits to Thailand became less frequent but nonetheless, the Thais sometimes would go to him and seek him out in his home turf and this created sort of a thing where Ramon and his team had to rise up and figure out a way to win.Of course, the wear and tear on Ramon was becoming more and more clear. Hundreds of fights, years of wars – that takes a toll. But still, everytime, it was again Ramon Dekkers who was fighting for his life, fighting for his fans, fighting for his career because he did not want to give up. He did not want to stop a career that was going so strong – even though he had all the injuries and had had all the operations. And actually he was at this stage of his career, already sort of a handicapped fighter, a man who could actually only kick with one leg. The surgeon who had operated on him so many times would have been shocked and surprised to know that he was still fighting, still using that leg to kick.
And, it was an interesting thing because Dekkers fought, in some ways, not only for himself, for the armor of his legacy. But he fought for the fans. He felt a huge obligation to keep the fans happy. Because it was the fans after all, that had led him through such an illustrious career, had paid his bills for him, had paid him the great purses he’d made in his many fights. So, he did feel that obligation and he felt the obligation to those who had supported him. He kept trying to support them by continuing in this miraculous career with win after win, with another crushing devastating knockout over another very tough Thai fighter.
You could see this in the way he fought. He never gave up and usually went, once again for a total knockout – a devastating and a finishing blow.
In some ways, Ramon Dekkers had reached a stage in his career in which winning or losing didn’t really matter so much anymore. He had perfected the art of Muay Thai, using the elbows, the knees, the kicks, the punches, all exactly the way it should be used.It was his defensive ability, along with his offense, that made him the complete package.
On Sunday, 18 March 2001, Ramon Dekkers fought his farewell fight against Marino de Florin in Rotterdam. Holland's legendary "Golden Glory" team took on the rest of the world in a night of non-stop thrills and spills and high octane ring action. In a bid to witness this historic occasion, tickets were sold out months in advance and the 10,000 fans were not to be disappointed.
This was to be the last fight in an unbelievable career for "the Diamond", and as Dekkers came out in a blaze of lights, the video screens projected many of the Dutchman's bone crushing knockouts to the sell-out crowd. Bringing an unbelievable record of 175 wins(90 by KO) into the ring, Ramon made sure the Swiss fighter had his work cut out for him.The fight went the distance with Dekkers clearly in the driver’s seat, displaying the style and aggression that kept him at the top for so long.
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| Bas Rutten, Rob Kaman and the "Golden Glory" team. |
After the fight ended in a KO in round 4, Ramon joined the "Golden Glory" team members center stage for a thrilling finale. Rob Kaman came down the rampart, Golden Glory torch in hand, presenting it to Dekker, who in turn passed it to each team member, as video clips of his victories were shown on the display screens - an unforgettable moment in the history of Dutch Thai Boxing and Kickboxing.
There’s no doubt that Ramon Dekkers has etched a place in history as one of the greatest fighters of all time. If ever there was a fighter who epitomized, from head to toe, what you need to know about stand-up fighting in the ring against Thais, against Americans, against people from around the world, it was Ramon Dekkers – the great one.
Death
On 27 February 2013, Dekkers died at the age of 43, after reportedly feeling light headed while training in his hometown Breda. He was riding his bike when he collapsed. A few bystanders attempted to assist him before emergency services arrived and attempted to revive him to no avail. It was reported that myocardial infarction (heart attack) was the cause of death. Hundreds of family members and friends farewelled Dekkers at his funeral at the Zuylen cemetery. The funeral procession was accompanied by dozens of members of the Motorbike Club Satudarah, while an airplane with a banner reading "The Diamond 4Ever, rest in peace" circled above the town.
The kickboxing community will never be the same...
On 27 February 2013, old friends, sparring partners, opponents and Ramon his fighters joined together, to meet each-other and to say goodbye to Ramon.. Here are some pictures of the meeting by Ben Pontier on Facebook.
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