Kickboxer Kicks for Top Honors

A year after winning his first international title, Michael Shaw of Tracy continues to build his fighting résumé in pursuit of ever-bigger goals.

The Tracy kickboxer went up a weight class for his latest fight— a five-round win on a fourth-round technical knockout against Rob McNamee of Eugene, Ore., on July 18 in Sacramento — and he knew it would be his biggest challenge yet.

Shaw, 22, said he had been training hard since he won the International Kickboxing Federation Muay Thai amateur super lightweight title in July 2014. This summer, with a 5-0 record, he looked for a fight to match his abilities and ambition. He found it at the Muay Thai Global title fights this month at Sacramento’s Red Lion Woodlake Hotel.

“I kept training hard and pushing for a fight, and I knew this was coming up,” Shaw said.

He had trouble finding a match, because other fighters in his weight class had conflicting commitments, but he knew that McNamee, with a 6-2-1 record, would be a strong opponent.

“He was on my radar, because he had just won a state title, so he had just won a belt,” Shaw said. “He was legit and I brought his name up.”

They fought for the Muay Thai Global light-welterweight title belt. Muay Thai Global, a kickboxing promoter based in Elk Grove, draws top fighters from around the western U.S.

“It was my biggest test yet,” Shaw said.

Shaw’s trainer, Patrick Rivera, owner of Valor Training Center in Stockton, said the win was a big step forward for the Tracy fighter.

“This particular card was one of the most prestigious promotions in the U.S. right now,” Rivera said. “He fought a very tough opponent from a very good fight gym. This really helps solidify his place in the Muay Thai community.”

Rivera added that to be a champion in Northern California would move Shaw toward international recognition.

“The concentration and level of competition here is very high,” Rivera said. “People recognize that he is the real deal.”

Shaw expected that the move up to the 142-pound light welterweight class would put him up against bigger and stronger fighters. Previously, as a 137-pound, 5-foot-10 super-lightweight, he felt he had a height advantage against his opponents. He didn’t have that edge against McNamee.

“With my style, I like to keep the distance and try to pick the guy apart, but he didn’t back off,” Shaw said. “He had fought guys just as strong if not stronger than me before, so it was hard to adjust to that, just how much he would push forward.

“I was doing my best to stay calm, but I was fighting this dude who’s had twice as many fights as me and I’m fighting for my first belt, so it’s a super big deal for me.”

Shaw said the first part of the match felt reminiscent of his first fight ever, but after three close rounds, he had adjusted to McNamee’s style. About a minute into the fourth round, Shaw threw a right just as McNamee moved forward.

“His pressure ended up working against him, because he ran into a right hand, and I just timed it perfectly and dropped him,” Shaw said. “It was a really awkward angle, too. It was almost like an uppercut hook. It came just directly where his face was going.”

McNamee fell against the ropes, but he quickly got up for the standing eight-count. Shaw then charged in with a series of punches that had McNamee against the ropes again, which was when the referee called the fight, 1 minute, 39 seconds into the fourth round.

Shaw was ranked fourth in the International Kickboxing Federation among super lightweights, and he hoped the latest win would put him in the top 10 in the IKF’s light welterweight rankings.

Next up for Shaw is a Sept. 26 World Fighting Championships bout in Reno, where he will go for the WFC light welterweight belt. He will defend his Muay Thai Global belt in November in Sacramento.

He said he wasn’t after International Kickboxing Federation titles as much as he wanted to face ever-tougher opponents.

“The more that I do it, the more that I am proving to myself that I really am meant to be doing this, and that I will be known as one of the best fighters in the U.S.”