Two bouts have been finalized for the GLORY 68 event taking place on 28 September at the James L Knight Center in Miami, Florida.
Sources informed Kickboxing Z that two welterweight bouts are set, with GLORY Kickboxing poised to announce the matches in the next couple of days.
Both matches will take place in the welterweight division (77 kg), and the contests feature four of America’s top talents in the welterweight category.
The finalized bouts are:
Mike Lemaire vs Richard Abraham
Omari Boyd vs Charles Rodriguez
Fighting out of San Diego by way of France, Mike “The French Rock” Lemaire is unbeaten in two bouts at welterweight since the veteran moved down from middleweight last year. Last September, Lemaire outpointed Omar Moreno over three rounds, and then won a close decision against hard-punching Arian Sadikovic at GLORY 64 in March. Lemaire seems close to breaking into the welterweight top ten, but first he’ll have to get past the sturdy Abraham.
Chicago native Abraham is one of GLORY’s most popular American fighters. He’s a big ticket seller in his hometown and also a solid fighter, as evidenced by his 7-4 record in GLORY competition. Abraham halted a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous points verdict against Charles Rodriguez at GLORY 63 in Houston in February. Three of his losses in GLORY have been by split decision, and Abraham, like Lemaire, could find himself in the top 10 with a victory.
Boyd was unbeaten in five GLORY bouts prior to a unanimous decision loss to phenom Troy Jones at GLORY 63. “The Bodysnatcher” has been out of commission since he was injured in a car accident in the spring. The Tennessee native is currently the seventh-ranked GLORY welterweight, and will look to get back on track with a win against Rodriguez.
Like Boyd, Rodriguez is coming off his first GLORY loss. He went 3-0 in GLORY before the loss to Abraham in February. He’s an accomplished competitor in Muay Thai, and won a WBC Muay Thai title.