Barrhead has a new champion as a Muaythai boxer battles his way to a gold medal for Team Scotland in the WBC Muay Thai Youth World Championships in Calgary Canada.
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The Scottish Thai boxer defeated the Canadian number one in the semi-final before winning on points in the finals against his Mexican counterpart.
Stephen Simmons Clancy, from Barrhead, brought home the gold medal for team Scotland after training endlessly for the tournament at a higher-level MMA gym in Bathgate.
The 15-year-old got into the sport through his family with his dad, Sean, participating in MMA, followed by his older brothers Logan and Sean who all took part in MMA too and trained in Bathgate. This inspiration is what got Stephen into the sport and helped set him on his path to being a gold medalist.
Speaking about his son's training, dad, Sean, said that he is proud of Stephen’s confidence and determination in succeeding in the sport: “Growing up Stephen tried many different sports to see what he liked, we didn't want to force anything on him.
“He always liked the physical side of sports such as ice hockey, boxing and MMA and this is where he chose to take a path into Thai boxing.
“He travels to Bathgate six times per week, which is roughly a 60+ mile round trip to train at the Higher Level MMA gym.
“When he isn’t at school, Stephen stays at the gym.”
Stephen defeated his Mexican counterpart in the final on a points decision that was unanimous. The Scottish boxer started off the strongest as he looked to have nearly won the fight in the third round, however, his opponent fought back and showed good determination to grab a hold of the fight, but ultimately Stephen showed to have the upper hand as he came out on top in the fight.
The semi-final and final were Stephen’s first real fights in Muay Thai boxing which proved to be a great start in his career with the 15-year-old already being a gold medalist. Although he has trained at the MMA gym in Bathgate, his dad said he was still nervous going into the fights: “Going into the first fight over in Canada, Stephen was nervous but also really confident as he had trained hard for it. This was his first real fight in the sport, although he had fought his brother.
“After winning the semi-final and going into the final, Stephen was more confident in himself as he knew what he could do.
“The Mexican opponent had already 15 amateur fights before going into the fight, so he had more experience. I am over the moon with the result and the way he conducts himself in a fight.”
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