“The Infamous” Luis Tavares

That night, Luis showcased his skills on his way to a convincing decision victory after dropping his opponent, Stéphane Susperregui, with a vicious body shot in the first round that left Susperregui barely able to make the 10 count. That nasty body shot would leave a huge red welt on Susperregui’s right side for the remainder of the fight. This was undoubtedly a win that takes Luis one step closer to a title shot with the champion, Alex Pereira.

Growing Up

Luis Tavares was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands to Cape Verdean parents. The island country of Cape Verde is the nationality he still represents to this day.

Tavares was a highly skilled footballer with a very big reputation as a youngster. He played for Excelsior and Sparta before being recruited for the Feyenoord youth team.

Tavares’ older brother was a keen kickboxer who introduced Luis to kickboxing and football was quickly replaced. And just like that, “The Infamous” was born.

Kickboxing- The Early Years

Tavares has won a significant amount of titles in the Netherlands at light-heavyweight and heavyweight:

• 2017 Enfusion Live Heavyweight Champion +95 kg.
• 2017 Enfusion Live Light Heavyweight Champion -95 kg.
• 2015 WFL -95 kg World Tournament Champion
• 2014 IKA -95 kg World Champion
• 2012 IRO -95 kg European Muay Thai Champion

In addition to those accolades, he has wins over the likes of highly-ranked kickboxers Jahfarr Wilnis, Mohamed Boubkari, and Fatih Ulusoy before he returned to GLORY in 2018 at GLORY 62.

Returning Home

As mentioned above, Tavares returned at GLORY 62, defeating Artur Gorlov via split decision. This was followed up by a split decision loss to the Brazilian Felipe Micheletti at GLORY 66 in Paris. However, it didn’t take long for him to return to his winning ways. At GLORY 69, Tavares had a convincing decision victory over the dangerous Dutch kickboxer Michael Duut. In this fight, we saw Tavares using his speed and movement to his advantage, allowing him to pick apart his opponent.

GLORY Collision 2

This event has been labeled the biggest event in kickboxing history with the rematch between heavyweight superstars Rico Verhoeven and Badr Hari on the card. However, it was the co-main event that many feel stole the show. This co-main fight was between Luis Tavares (2) and Susperregui (5). Both of these men were looking for a win to push for a title shot with the ever-popular Alex Pereira.

It didn’t take long for Tavares to take control in the first round as he dropped his opponent with a huge short left hook to the body. It hurt Susperregui to the point of him appearing to struggle to meet the count, looking visibly shaken by the blow. Susperregui showed determination to finish the first round. Unfortunately for Susperregui, Tavares had already smelled the blood in the water and once again showcased the skills that make him a threat to the title of Pereira. He continued to use his slick movement to hit and not get hit, taking rounds two and three, ultimately winning the fight.

The Future

With a current record of 70 kickboxing fights and 62 wins, and numerous kickboxing titles to his name, Tavares has shown time again that he is championship material. Now it is time for the big one. Now is the time for us to finally get to see a stylistic masterclass between champion Alex Pereira and Luis Tavares. This fight has the potential to be up there with the greatest fights of the generation and I, for one, will be eagerly anticipating this fight being made.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments on this potential match-up!

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