Chazz Walton is confident that hard work and the great team at KnuckleUp will lead him to victory this Saturday.

This Saturday night at Center Stage in Atlanta, KnuckleUp Kickboxing instructor and professional fighter Chazz Walton will face off against Shawn Stoffer of Orlando, Florida. When I spoke to him, he had just finished his final day of training at KnuckleUp and was focusing on resting his body and cutting the last little bit of weight.

My weight cut has been kind of rough.  Because of my other job, I had to be out of the gym for about three months and when I came back I was close to 200 pounds.  My opponent and I are both natural lightweights but we are fighting at 170 lbs. (because the fight was made on short notice) so the weight cut isn’t as bad as it could have been.

He’s confident that, even at the higher weight he’ll be able to win the fight in dominating fashion.

I plan on staying undefeated. In my training I don’t focus on just one area.  I try to be great at everything. That way I can be dominant in whatever situation we get in once the fight starts.  I feel like if the fight stays on the feet, I’ll knock him out and if it goes to the ground I’ll end up submitting him. I’m confident in all aspects of my game right now.

Chazz Walton credits a productive, if short, training camp with his team at KnuckleUp for getting him ready to fight. Among his primary training partners are fellow KnuckleUp instructors Dave Vitkay and Quentin Rosenzweig, both of whom are high-level fighters in their own right.

Dave and Quentin are good for me to train with because they are both very skilled on the ground but it’s also good for me to have to deal with their strength.  I’m tall and lanky and my opponent might be a little stronger than me but he’ll be nothing like those two.   Both Dave and Quentin are bigger than I am and working with them gets me used to a high level of resistance and forces me to really concentrate on technique. 

Chazz says although both David and Quentin have similarly dominant records on the local scene and are primarily ground fighters, that’s where the similarities end, in the sparring at least.

Quentin likes to play the leg game and is extremely technical.   Dave is technical but he’s also like a wrecking ball.  Dave uses his size and strength against you more than Quentin does. Plus Dave is a little more unorthodox. Whenever I’m training with either of them, I have to be very technical and move a lot.  I can’t stall or keep my back flat on the mat or stay in one place.  Dave has been especially good to work with.  He’s going to be in my corner too.

But what is Chazz Walton’s secret weapon? What has allowed him to build an unbroken win record as both a pro and an amateur?

 My wife, Megan, is going to be in my corner along with Stephen Upchurch.  She’s been in my corner for my last two fights and I won both by knockout.   I figure as long as she’s in my corner I’ll keep winning.  I’m not going to let somebody beat me up in front of my wife.

To find out about how KnuckleUp uses the power of martial arts to make the fitness classes at our gym fun, exciting, and effective contact us here.