Holy F@$%ing Phantom Punch in Romania
At RXF 15 heavyweight Raul Sabou lunged in at Robert Orbocea with a big left hook. It landed, and sweat flew from Orbocea’s face. Then Sabou dropped, insensate.
At RXF 15 Bucharest MMA All Stars, on 15 December 2014, in Bucharest, Romania, heavyweights Robert Orbocea and Raul Sabou squared off, for six seconds. Sabou, seen in red fight shorts, lunged in with a ferocious left hook; it landed, and sweat flew from Orbocea’s face.
Then Sabou dropped, insensate. At first view it looked like something freaky had happened in the land that inspired Dracula.
On replay, you can see that aa Sabou lunged in, Orbocea edged back, and with his left arm extended awkwardly delivered a fist to the button. What looks at first like the result of a chin made of the finest, most fragile crystal, or maybe a partisan sniper in the audience, is actually part of an Eastern European boxing technique called Casting.
The original Phantom Punch took place on May 1965 in one of the hotspots for boxing worldwide – Lewiston, Maine. Muhammad Ali had a rematch with Sonny Liston, landing a right in the first that few saw land. Ali then stood over a prone Liston screaming at him to get up. You have seen the image.
After the fight, Ali said the strike was Jack Johnson’s secret Anchor Punch, and that he learned it from actor Stepin Fetchit.
It’s a chop, so fast you can’t see it, said Ali. It’s karate. It’s got a twist to it. Just one does the job.
One does the job indeed.
Romanian Xtreme Fighting is Romania’s leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion:
https://www.youtube.com/RXFighting
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