Julie Kitchen talks Germaine de Randamie world title fight June 20th

If you can’t handle the heat, don’t enter the kitchen—Julie is living evidence of this old proverb, you only need to inspect her list of victims. She is absolutely, undoubtedly, wholeheartedly Iron chef UK when it comes to Muay Thai and winning.

Four weeks from now, she confronts arguably her toughest challenge to date as a double world title fight is on the menu with Holland’s Germaine de Randamie. If you thought Gordon Ramsey was tough, wait till you see this fight. Ramsey, whilst being mostly an actor- these girls aren’t and Julie is pumped for the occasion. It is as real as it gets when the best of the best clash at the highest level.

Heading home just days before from Fairtex camp in Thailand, she is back at home base which is touch gloves gym in UK. In her own admittance this is her ultimate test against whom “everybody” considers the best and No.1. The respect for Germaine is obvious but she intends to fight her own fight and out point the Dutch star in Jamaica.

The fight which is for both IKKC Muay Thai & WIKBA titles could very well end up coming to England: Julie is very positive and happy with her preparation. It can only get better and will be the requirement. She is under no illussions about who and what lies ahead for her in Jamaica.

Julie took a short break from her training to catch up with ROGUE insider for a brief interview about the fight and her thoughts going into it…

Q. What’s your prperation for your fight in Jamaica against germaine de randarmie been like so far?
A. everything has gone great for the preparation for the fight,i am feeling very strong at the moment and with three weeks to go i am expecting a lot more of myself before my training schedule is complete. So yeah it’s been great so far…
 
Q. Jamaica is an interesting venue, unless you have fought there before what are your thoughts on fighting there?
A. Jamaica is going to be amazing for me,my late father served military time in jamaica and always talked about it to me as a child,i feel he will be with me in spirit for this fight- I am looking forward to this fight, it’s exciting…

Q. Do you think Germaine will be the toughest opponent you have fought so far in your career?
A. Germaine is the toughest opponent for anyone.full stop.everyone male or female including myself rate her as their no1 female fighter.when I beat her they will have to say the same about me,wont they?

Q. How do you see this fight going and what do you expect, any hints of a game plan or two?
A. I have a general game plan,but every fight is different-perhaps i will hit her with everything,then run like hell.!

Q. What’s the rest of the year like for Julie Kitchen- much fights planned and a busy one I guess?
A. if I win this fight,I have no-one else to beat.I have officially retired twice,but an offer such as this always comes along and ropes me back in.I am 31 now and my twin girls need a mum,i am not sure how long I can keep focused for. So let’s see how it goes…

Q. Female MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is on the rise- will you ever consider doing it yourself maybe?
A. if i was younger,I have no doubt I would,this is where the money is and i like the thrill of a dangerous fight.

Q. Will we see Julie Kitchen travel away to Australiasia anytime soon to fight anyone over here?
A. I would like to fight Angie Parr or Stephanie Bouquet as they are great fighters,if the money was right,a trip to oz sounds really good if I can bring the girls as an extra cornerteam.

Q. So honestly- what is your prediction for this fight, people get very excited when fighters make predictions, so please feel free to make one, you win by KO?
A. realistically no-one will KO Germaine,but I intend to win this fight otherwise I would not have accepted it.

Q. Any final thoughts or message to the fans out there please?
A. Thanks for the support everyone has shown,i will do my best and bring the title back to England, also don’t forget to check out www.roguemag.com, very cool read!

Pictures courtsey of Touchgloves & Nathan Kitchen, UK- (C) www.touchgloves.co.uk