by John Wolcott, World Muaythai Magazine (2009-04-08)
Interview with Fairtex’s Eric “The Hooligan” Utsch
Amongst the unforgiving crowd that makes up what is New York City’s clamorous Muaythai following, 29 year old Eric Utsch has become a fan favorite. The Hooligan, known for his “swing for the fences” style, thrives off of the crowds energy. Trained under the legendary Jongsanan Fairtex, Utsch is steadily making a name for himself as he stamps his mark across America.
It is not just the tattoos or the emotionally fueled style of fighting that makes Utsch such an intriguing character. I had come to realize that his straightforward and honest opinions about Muaythai are just reflections of his passion for the sport. A sport that converted him from an underground MMA brawler to a disciplined Muaythai fighter who would eventually see himself in the hands of the powers that be at Fairtex, San Francisco.
When we mention Muaythai and what the sport embodies, two words usually come to mind; dedication and humbleness. Two qualities that Anthony Lin of Fairtex saw in Utsch, solidifying their choice to bring in Eric as one of their own. “His dedication to the sport, his training, his team, especially to Jongsanan, and also to his mother and wife says a lot about Eric…he is a character with positive attitude, humor, and more importantly humbleness. Fairtex is proud to have Eric wear our colors.”Lin said.
I had a chance to catch up with Eric while training for his next fight. Here is what went down.
Tell everyone how you got started in Muaythai.
I started Martial Arts around 1993. I started doing Jiu-Jitsu with Renzo Gracie. A bunch of his guys were fighting in underground MMA events with no weight brackets, no gloves, they were these illegal fights. I wanted to try it out. So I went down and I fought and I arm-barred this guy real quick. A few weeks later they were having another show so I tried it out again. I fought a guy who out-weighed me by about 60 pounds. He was a real tough guy and I took a lot of punches before I was able to take him to the ground. I won the fight but I was banged up. I told Renzo that I wanted to get my stand up a little better and that I wanted to do some Muaythai. With that I contacted this guy Melchor Menor. He was a world champion at the time at 135 pounds and he was a K-1 Max competitor. Melchor taught me for a couple of days and he helped me develop a basic skill and told me to work on it. A month later Melchor called me on the phone and said he needed a fighter. He asked me if I would mind going out to Los Angeles to fight. I told him I was really an MMA guy but I’ll try out Muaythai. I flew out to San Diego and trained with Melchor at his gym for two weeks. Then I went to LA to fight and me and my opponent slugged it out. It wasn’t a very technical fight but I wound up knocking him out in the second round. I looked over to Melchor and told him that I really loved this Muaythai stuff and I don’t want to go back to MMA. That was my first Muaythai fight. I stuck with Muaythai ever since. I am 16-3 as an amateur and my pro record at the moment is 4-0.
How did you go from training under Melchor to training under Jongsanan Fairtex?
Since Melchor was so far away I started training with Coban at his camp in upstate New York. Coban was a fighter who would take everything and return with power shots. His style was to never back down. I wasn’t really enjoying it because these guys would kick and punch me and it would hurt pretty good. Then, I seen a fighter named Jongsanan Fairtex. Jongsanan was really slick and he used his boxing well. Everything was slick, clean, crisp Muaythai. I went to Coban and told him that I respected his style but I’d like to learn from Jongsanan. Jongsanan and Coban were friends so Coban called up Jongsanan and asked him if I could go out there and train with them. Jongsanan said “Yeah, a friend of yours is always welcomed at Fairtex.” So I flew out there an trained with Jongsanan and he changed my style. Through training with Jongsanan I’ve become a slicker fighter instead of – you hit me and I hit you and the barbarians going to win. Being with Fairtex I was able to fight for the King of Thailand twice on His Birthday.
What was that experience like?
When I fought in the King’s Cup we went to Bangplee one month ahead of time. That’s where Jongsanan and all the other trainers that are out of Fairtex come from. It’s the original Fairtex camp that was opened in 1971. The Bangplee camp is for all the hard nose fighters. It’s in the middle of a rice patty so there’s no distractions. You can run for thirty minutes in the morning and all your hitting is rice. So it’s really good for a fighter. My first fight in 2005 I fought the guy who went on to win the whole thing. We brawled it out for 4 rounds and he won the decision. In 2006 I won in the first round with an elbow. I had the flu at the time and I couldn’t continue. I was really sick and I only got worse as the week went on. Team USA pulled me for my safety. They really didn’t want to see me cut weight and not eat or drink. They wanted me to eat so I could get better. As a team we said “Hey, I won one time and I represented the USA.”
Has Jongsanan Fairtex been the most influential person in your career?
Jongsanan is the reason I am where I am today and it shows by my record. Since I’ve been with Fairtex my record has been 8-0 now. Before I was with Jongsanan and Fairtex I was losing decisions a lot. I was a slugger and I didn’t know how to knee. Coban was a real short guy for his weight bracket so he never clinched. He was really a strong kicker and puncher from the inside. Jongsanan was a really good clincher in Thailand and his style was to make the guy miss. He has been more effective as a coach for me. He knows what I can and can’t do and how he can adapt his style to work for me. Jongsanan is an old style Thai boxer who didn’t become Americanized. He is still screaming at you, smacking you in the face. If you look at all the guys he’s coached they’ve all become champions. It’s just a matter of time before I get to the next level.
What draws you to Muaythai?
It is how we go out there and give it our all. You use all you weapons and then afterward you’re great friends and you respect each other. I love the respect for the whole sport amongst the fighters. Muaythai has been around for thousands of years and I think that there is a core of respect that other sports don’t have. It’s really open. When you train with the Thais, if you ask them a question they’re going to show you. I’ve been in the room with people who’ve had 300 fights and they’re the nicest guys you could possibly meet. They don’t have a chip on their shoulder at all, they’re always willing to help you, they’re always willing to teach you whatever they know. I think being humble is the best thing about Muaythai. What sticks to me the most is what Coban, my first Muaythai coach said. “Eric, you’re never going to understand Muaythai. You’re fighting for a plastic trophy, I’m fighting for my mother to eat. You understand?” They put their hearts and souls into it and there is so much more at stake. I am never going to understand it because I am fighting for a plastic trophy. I might get a couple of dollars but it’s not like if I loose my little sister doesn’t get her medicine. A Muaythai fighter never does it for the money. If you are doing it for the money you are in the wrong sport. I believe all that stuff matters, I really do.
What advice can you give to the new guys coming into the sport?
Find the best possible camp. Get with a good coach and look into where you train. You definitely have to be a tough guy. You’re gonna have to put up with getting yelled at by your coach every now and then. You have to really want it. Muaythai is a demanding sport. You’re going to have to train with sprained ankles and sore knuckles. You might spar and get your knee banged up but your going to have to work through it. That’s where you need to be mentally and physically tough. You have to be mentally prepared to deal with some of this pain and push yourself. I believe that if you have that mentality then you have the right tools. You’re only going to get out of the sport what you put into it.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I’m going to keep focusing on my Muaythai and fight as much as I can. I would love to fight internationally, England, Australia, any of those places are great. I’m trying to fight outside of the US as much as possible. I’m estimating maybe three or four more years in the sport and then I’m going to retire and teach Muaythai. I’ve accomplished more in this sport than I ever thought I could. I came in as a MMA guy that was going to try out Muaythai to help my friend Melchor and I fell in love with it. When I retire I want people to say I came, I tried my best, I won some and I lost some but I’ve never had a bad showing and you always got your money’s worth when you seen me fight.
Is there anyone you would like to thank?
The first person I want to thank in Renzo Gracie. He’s the one that got me into fighting. The next guy I’d like to thank is Melchor Menor. Melchor got me started in Muaythai. He got me my first six fights and introduced me to Coban. And I would also like to thank Fairtex in general for the effort they put into me the last couple of years. I try to give back to them the best I can. Thanks to Anthony Lin and Jongsanan Fairtex for helping me every time I’m there. I would also like to thank all the other fighters who have time to clinch with me and hold pads for me while training.
http://www.worldmuaythaimagazine.com
by Nissa Zbiczak (2009-04-28)
Fairtex News 