Finally getting around to catching up with the events of the past week. As I've already mentioned, last week ended up being as crazy as any that I've had for a long time as I jetted south to Jamaica to do post-fight interviews on RISARC Consulting's "Champions of Champions 2" Muay Thai event.

I first received an e-mail asking me to work on the event on June 21, and after spending a couple of days negotiating (it was a charity event to provide computers for Jamaican schools, so my rate came down in light of that) I was confirmed for the job. However, difficulties in arranging my travel left me in doubt that I'd be going right up until Thursday, the day that my flight was to leave. But with only hours to go before my midnight flight, the wrinkles were ironed out and I was on my way.

However, a six-and-a-half hour delay during my layover in Toronto saw me arrive in Montego Bay, Jamaica ten minutes after the show's scheduled start time, and so after a seventeen-and-a-half hour trip I was hustled straight from the airport to the venue. Luckily, the show started late, so I arrived just in time for the first fight. Many thanks to Cubby (forget his last name), a member of the American production crew who made it his personal mission to ensure that I was picked up on time, even though that wasn't in his job description.

The event itself was bizarrely a half fight card-half fashion show, but the in-ring action was AMAZING--my jaw literally dropped as I leafed through the ten-bout schedule and saw names like Yodsinklai Fairtex, K-1 Korea tournament champion Kaoklai Kaennorseng (who had one of the fights of the night against Toronto's Clifton Brown) and a dream matchup of Australian legend John Wayne Parr vs. 2 time K-1 MAX champion Buakaw Por Pramuk. And there was an equal amount of big names in attendance, including Peter "Robocop/Buckaroo Banzai" Weller, Richard "Shaft" Roundtree, K-1 stars "Mr. Perfect" Ernesto Hoost and "Sugar" Ray Sefo, and the always-entertaining "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge.

Play-by-play commentary was provided by Australia's Michael Schiavello, about whose performances I've had some less-than-complimentary things to say on this site. I still hold those opinions, but if I'm going to be fair then I do have to add that the man takes his information-gathering very seriously. While my opinion on his commentary style is what it is, I also found that his pre-fight comments provided me with a very valuable source of information about the few fighters on the card with whom I was unfamiliar.

Unfortunately, organizational difficulties led to the show running a staggering seven hours in length (many thanks to crew member Max who repeatedly brought me water and energy bars when I began losing my handicap match against jet-lag and hunger), and by the time Cubby drove me to the designated hotel I was just about out on my feet.

To say that the accommodations at the Iberostar resort were opulent would be an understatement--I've had the good fortune to stay at high-end resorts in the past, and the Iberostar either matched or surpassed all of them. Hats off to RISARC for really rolling out the red carpet (although I don't think that an all-inclusive resort with 24-hour room service is the best place for me to be if I want to stay on the right side of 250 pounds!).

RISARC has already expressed an interest in having me take part in their next event in Las Vegas, and I want to thank everyone involved in the Jamaica show and express my sincere hopes that we end up working together again very soon.