20 year old Connor Long who fights out of Tony Cunninghams millenium martial arts will fight on Duel 4 at the NE6 suite in his hometown of Newcastle this weekend. He will face current bantamweight champion Fred “the joker” Cordeiro from Portugal who has an impressive record of 9-1 for the international Duel K1 bantamweight title.
Long turned professional at the young age of 17 and has an impressive record of 12-4-1 and has fought some very stiff competition including a very short notice fight with Myk Estlick in which he went the distance but lost on the score cards in a thai rules matchup after 5 hard rounds. Long expresses that he’d like a rematch with Estlick to see where the two great fighters stand now. His only losses have came when he’s fought at 63-65kg, and he’ll be fighting at 58kg this time. His accomplishments include a junior title on Eiko and professional ISKA northern area champion, impressive for anyone let alone someone who is only 20 years of age.
Tony Cunningham his coach said this about Connor: “Connor is different to any other fighter in my gym! He doesn’t watch fighting, he isn’t a fight fan! If I was to say who is Rammon Dekkers or Ernesto Hoost he wouldn’t have a clue! He dosnt have a active Facebook or Twitter account! He basically works (as a roofer) trains, sleeps and spends time with his very supportive girlfriend. Connor has trained physically and mentally the best he ever has for the fight with Cordeiro. It’s the lightest Connor has had to weigh for a fight and has managed comfortably with the weight. Cordeiro is a tricky and dangerous opponent and we’re lucky we have a fast 56kg fighter Ross Laidlaw in our gym, who has studied Cordeiro and mimicked his style. We are looking forward to fighting another international opponent and you never know we might get a re-match in Portugal.”
This will no doubt be one of the toughest tests of the young Connor Longs career, but it’s nothing he hasn’t prepared for and with the support of Newcastle behind him and his skillset he could well bring the title belt back to Blyth!
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