PENZANCE'S Julie Kitchen is flying to Bangkok this week after accepting an invitation from the King of Thailand to defend her WPMF (World Pro MuayThai) world title.

The fight, which will take place on the King's birthday, will be held in a stadium built purposely on the palace grounds, and comes just 10 days after Julie's latest win against Italian number one K1 rules fighter, Michela Mancini, in Bolognia, Italy, where Julie gained a unanimous points victory in a non-title bout.

Much to her surprise, Julie was met by a huge Italian fan club and was approached by fans for photos and autographs throughout the evening, even supporting the Cornish fighter during the bout and promoters were delighted to have Julie in the show.

Julie, ranked World number one will bring home her 10th World title if she wins in Thailand and will become the only 10 times World Champion, male or female, ever to represent England in Muaythai/kickboxing.

Earlier this year, Julie featured on the covers of fighter and combat magazines, with international press stories in America, Australia and Italy.

Sombre

The success story of next week's invite also carries sombre memories for Julie, whose father and Penzance builder, Ivor Barrett died four years ago this week, coincidentally, on the week Julie became European Champion.

Her father's memory has always played a massive part in Julie's ambition to succeed in her chosen sport, as was her grandfather, former West of England welterweight boxing champion Tommy Barrett, who retained his title for three years running from 1935 to 1937.

Despite carrying an injury from her last fight, Julie intends to train hard for her fight at Bangkok's famous Sasiprapa Gym.

Julie told The Cornishman: "This is a massive honour for me. Not only do I get to defend a World title, in a country where the sport originated to use on the battlefields, and a country that was never conquered, but to achieve this on the King's birthday show is amazing.

"It has always been said in the history books of fighting sports that a true champion will always defend their titles and this will be my third World title defence in two years.

She added: "This fight will be my 11th this year, so I look forward to a break with my family for Christmas, as it has been a hard year for me and my legs are getting sore now.

"This will be my first fight without my trainer Nathan in the corner, who expertly examines my opponent's tactics and it's also the anniversary of my dad's death, so my emotions are running high at the moment. I hope this won't affect my performance."

Funding

Julie expressed her thanks to the financial support of her main sponsor, Barry Hogarth, from In the Skin tattoo studio in Penzance.

She said: "Barry has covered the cost of my flight and training and without the support of Barry and his partner Dee, I simply would not be going. "They are a shining example of what community spirit is all about. I would also like to thank my sparring partners, Zac Orr and Carl Thomas, for taking the time out of their busy schedule to assist in my training."

Julie's career is set to escalate in 2010 and she has already been offered exciting bouts for March, May and June.

In the meantime, Julie will continue to teach at the Touchgloves gym at Branwells Mill, Penzance, where she undertakes daytime private lessons and assists with the evening classes run by Nathan Kitchen, Gemma Mitchell and Lucy Payne.

For further details e-mail info@touchgloves.co.uk, call 07974333489 or visit www.touchgloves.co.uk