That 6’10” corner man
Ronny Turiaf
by rick olivares
Perhaps one of the most surprising corner men in
fight history since pro wrestler Rey Mysterio sat in the corner of Oscar dela
Hoya during the Golden Boy’s fight with Manny Pacquiao, 6’10” Ronny Turiaf cut
an imposing figure behind one-time WBO/IBA boxing champion, Ana Julaton in her
Mixed Martial Arts debut at ONE FC: Rise to Heroes last Friday night at the
Mall of Asia Arena.
Julaton defeated Egyptian Aya Saeid Saber by TKO (due
to strikes) at the 4:01 mark the third round of the flyweight bout. After the
referee called a stop to the fight, Turiaf raced onto the cage to lift Julaton
in celebration.
“It’s an amazing win,” softly said Turiaf following
Julaton’s victory. “I am glad to have witnessed it personally. It’s a boost for
Ana’s career and no doubt will lead to bigger things. I am happy for her.”
Turiaf currently for the Minnesota Timberwolves that
finished 40-42 for the 2013-14 season missing the playoffs. The Frenchman
normed 2.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 31 outings for Timberwolves, his seventh
team in eight NBA seasons since graduating from Gonzaga University with a
degree in sports management (and a minor in communications). He has a
championship ring from his stint with the Miami Heat during the 2011-12 season.
“He (Turiaf) is good friend,” cooed Julaton of Turiaf
while giving him an appreciative look during the post-fight press conference.
“He’s got my back.”
“Now that it’s the off-season for us (the
Timberwolves), I wanted to do some off-season workouts and working out with Ana
in preparation for this fight helps because you need to be superbly fit and
conditioned to be in a MMA fight,” added Turiaf about his standing behind
Julaton.
Turiaf was heard offering words of encouragement to Julaton
during the fight especially when Saber tried to force the Fil-Am boxer-turned
MMA fighter to tap out following a chokehold. Julaton slipped free and began to
whale away at Saber to take control of the match.
“She’s an amazing person,” Turiaf concluded about
Julaton. “Definitely an inspiration and hopefully for many more people. Be
proud!”
When I asked if he’d do corner work again for Julaton
or maybe even Filipino phenom Manny Pacquiao, Turiaf’s eyes lit up. “Now that
would be something.”
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