They will rock you.
A husband-and-wife duo who brought Muay Thai kickboxing to Rockaway claim the sport is becoming so popular that they plan on holding five more bouts before the year is over.
More than 500 people attended BattleRock on Saturday, the first-ever sanctioned Muay Thai fight in Rockaway, stealing away some viewers who would have otherwise watched Floyd Mayweather Jr. defend his undefeated boxing record on TV.
“It was a huge success,” crowed trainer Chris Romulo, 39, who operates the CROM Martial Training Fitness Center on Rockaway Beach Blvd. alongside his wife, Sarah Romulo.
The Romulos say they are working to organize more Muay Thai fights in the area, known more for basketball and surfing than the somewhat obscure Thai martial arts discipline.
“Rockaway was not educated to what the sport was so I think we gave them a thorough lesson this Saturday,” said Romulo.
Saturday’s fight featured 12 matchups in three classes, with two upper-tier New York fighters — Greg Rowe and Joey Hernandez — duking it out for a light middleweight title.
Rowe, a marketing manager by day and one of the top-ranked Muay Thai fighters in the city, walked away with the belt.
“Everyone was so focused there,” said Rowe, 34, a Brooklyn resident who now boasts a 17-5 record with the Thai Boxing Association. “But the energy was really there.”
The Romulos hope to hold an outdoor bout near the beach at the end of the summer — and maybe even a larger venue, like Brooklyn’s Aviator Sports and Events Center, later on.
While boxing has declined in popularity, other styles have grown to fill the void, like the mixed martial arts fights popularized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Rumolo says Muay Thai, the national sport in Thailand, has been catching some of that wave in New York City.
“U.F.C has definitely helped as far as getting people to understand different ranges of combat,” he said. “People are seeking different forms of entertainment and everybody knows that Muay Thai is a super exciting sport to watch.”
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