Wanliss fighting for the 'best' tag

Ainsley Walters, Gleaner Writer

COACH Claude Chin is backing Jamaica's World Cup champion, Alrick Wanliss, to stake his claim as the world's best microweight, during the Busta World Team Fighting Championship for the International Sports Karate Association Gold Cup, at the National Indoor Sports Centre on July 4.

Wanliss created local martial arts history in October 2008, when he became the first Jamaican to win a black belt International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) world gold medal, by landing the microweight division at the third World Cup in Riva Del Garda, Italy.

The 22-year-old Montegonian beat the world's top microweights, including experienced New Zealander Mark Trotter and Ukraine's Maxim Tkachenko, before his bruising battle in the final with Poland's Amit Batra, who he beat in overtime.

Chin, however, said Wanliss can solidify himself as the ITF's best should he face and beat Canada's Maxime Bujold on local soil on July 4.

"The Polish guy was very good," Chin added. "I'm not taking anything away from him because it was a draw after two rounds and the fight was decided in overtime."

Bujold, Chin said, is one of the most prized scalps in taé kwon do.

Bujold's resume reads like a movie script; rising from junior star to world champion to taé kwon do ambassador and assistant to ITF president, GrandMaster Tran Trieu Quan, before the latter's untimely death in the earthquake which ravished Haiti on January 12.

The Canadian retired after winning the microweight world title on home soil in Quebec in 2007, where he was also awarded the title of Best Senior Male competititor.

Wanliss first faced Bujold in his maiden international tournament, at the 2006 World Cup in Spain, where he won a bronze, beaten by the Canadian in the semi-finals.

Bujold not only went on to win his second consecutive World Cup sparring title, but a notch further to land the fourth-degree patterns - a rank up from the third degree he won in 2004 when also completing a double.

crossing paths

Their paths next crossed in Quebec at the World Championship, but Wanliss lost in the first round to a Ukranian opponent. He watched as Bujold went on to take the microweight crown and top honours from the tournament as Best Senior male.

This time around, Wanliss said the ball is in his court on home soil and he intends to lower Bujold's colours.

Bujold also has a point to prove as he was inactive when the Jamaican won the title in Italy.

However, Wanliss said the Canadian is in for a surprise.

"When I fought him in Spain, 2006, I started off late. I wasn't really aggressive. It was in the latter part of the fight that I started gaining on him and he started running.

"I figured if I had more time I would have beaten him. I never had the confidence but now I am ready. In 2006, it was my ITF international debut. That was when I was inexperienced and didn't have much knowledge. Now I have much more experience and it should be a good fight," he added.

very impressive

Wanliss, however, knows better than to take Bujold lightly. His YouTube fight scenes speak for themselves.

"I've studied some of his methods of fighting and he's very impressive," he said.

"Basically, he's coming out of retirement for me. Canada needs the best in order to win, so they have to draw for the best," he pointed out.

Wanliss is light on his feet and is arguable Jamaica's most improved fighter since joining the combined martial arts team in 2006.

He won individual bronze at the US Open in 2007 on debut and two golds last year, continuous and points sparring.

He has also been the lead-off man for the combined team in their three World Team Fighting Championship titles.