“I promised my wife, my mother, if I win, I have to retire [fighting]. I think this will be my last fight for sure,” said Zatout.
The pair got into a scuffle early on as Ten Pow pushed the veteran and threw an overhand right. Zatout used his experience to counter the blow with damage of his own, gaining momentum with jumping knees and a series of punches. “The American Ninja” failed to answer the bell for the second round, giving Zatout a TKO victory.
“It’s amazing, you know, the martial arts has given me 27+ years of hard work and discipline and I’ve learned a lot that has made me who I am. I want to thank martial arts because martial arts have given me everything for my life, my children’s education, everything,” said Zatout.
“I give credit to all the athletes and you know I worked a lot and made a lot of sacrifices to make this camp. I’m so happy, thank God Alhamdulillah, I won today,” he said, thanking Malaysia and the fans at the stadium.
With 120 fights, Zatout has won multiple kickboxing and muay thai championships around the world.
Zatout, co-owner of Venum Training Camp Thailand in Pattaya, began training Muay Thai at the age of 10 through a group of school friends who worked at a local gym in his hometown of Noisy-le-Sec, an eastern suburb of Paris, France. learned .
He challenged adversity and the untimely death of his father and beloved coach in 1998 when Zatout was just 14 years old. Following his passion for martial arts, he first opened a boxing shop before teaching at a gym in Thailand.
Although he enjoyed training, he wanted to be the center of attention in the ring.
“I had to give up my passion for teaching to return to fighting,” he told ONE Championship.
After defeating Ten Pow, Zatout hung up his gloves after a career that saw him crowned champion in 2013 French Muay Thai, European Muay Thai, ISKA Championship, Victory Kickboxing Championship and WBC World Championship.
