Kickboxer aims for top honors

Shaw said the first part of the match felt reminiscent of his first fight ever, but after three close rounds, he had adjusted to McNamee’s style. About a minute into the fourth round, Shaw threw a right just as McNamee moved forward.

“His pressure ended up working against him, because he ran into a right hand, and I just timed it perfectly and dropped him,” Shaw said. “It was a really awkward angle, too. It was almost like an uppercut hook. It came just directly where his face was going.”

McNamee fell against the ropes, but he quickly got up for the standing eight-count. Shaw then charged in with a series of punches that had McNamee against the ropes again, which was when the referee called the fight, 1 minute, 39 seconds into the fourth round.

Shaw was ranked fourth in the International Kickboxing Federation among super lightweights, and he hoped the latest win would put him in the top 10 in the IKF’s light welterweight rankings.

Next up for Shaw is a Sept. 26 World Fighting Championships bout in Reno, where he will go for the WFC light welterweight belt. He will defend his Muay Thai Global belt in November in Sacramento.

He said he wasn’t after International Kickboxing Federation titles as much as he wanted to face ever-tougher opponents.

“The more that I do it, the more that I am proving to myself that I really am meant to be doing this, and that I will be known as one of the best fighters in the U.S.”