The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lyall aims to bow out on high
Perth fighter will call time on career after bid for third world championship
Perth’s Ryan Lyall is looking to bow out of kickboxing by winning a third world championship in front of a bumper crowd next month.
The vacant WKMA world lightmiddleweight championship will be on the line when the 29-year-old meets Ben Heap in Milton Keynes on September 29.
Promoters All-Star are hoping for a crowd of 3,000 for a show that features eight world title fights.
Lyall says the show is the biggest he’s fought on, but insists that win or lose, the 90th fight of his brilliant career will be his last.
“To win a third world title would be a nice way to go out,” he said. “Win or lose, I’ve had a great career and achieved a lot.
“I’ve got a gym of fighters, three children and I just haven’t got the time to train for the sort of fights that motivate me.
“I think kickboxing is harder than boxing and MMA. How many people can hold down a full-time job and then get in the ring and punch and kick for 12 rounds?
“Kickboxing is a fantastic sport, but the truth is, there’s not enough funding for the sport for the fighters to fight fulltime.
“The money you get is just a bit of pocket money, that’s all. We fight because we love it.”
Lyall intends to enjoy the occasion next month.
“This will definitely be one of the biggest shows I have competed on,” he said. “I have fought in front of 2,000 people in France before, but this should be bigger. I’m looking forward to it.
“People take kickboxing too seriously. I try not to. I like to have a laugh, smile and showboat. I’m hoping the crowd boo me. I like interacting with the crowd.”
Lyall’s children have inherited his love of kickboxing.
Eleven-year-old Rhys trains with his father at Style Combat Fitness and three-year-old twins Ellie-Rose Shearer and Riley Shearer are also keen to take up the sport.
“Rhys has a punch bag in his bedroom,” said Lyall, “and Ellie-Rose and Riley are forever in there hitting it. They are itching to get down the gym.”
Lyall started karate at just four before making the switch to kickboxing at 12.
His fondest memory of 17 years in the sport is his first world amateur title, earned with victory over a French opponent in Wishaw in 2009.
“I drew with an American when I fought for the world title before,” he recalled. “And to win it was such a great feeling. After that, my career snowballed.”