Jack Osbourne begins Thai boxing career
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, whose family shot to fame on the reality television series The Osbournes, were in Thailand to watch their son Jack fight in his first Thai kickboxing match, a newspaper reported today.
The only son of rock star Ozzy and his wife donned boxing gloves and a traditional headband before knocking out a veteran Thai fighter known as The Man in just eight seconds last night at a stadium in the seaside resort town of Pattaya, The Nation newspaper said.
The celebrity couple cheered from ringside during the bout, held after Jack spent about three weeks training at the Fairtex Muaythai Fitness Camp near the capital Bangkok, the report said.
Muaythai is the Thai form of kickboxing, immensely popular in the country.
The young Osbourne took up the sport after deciding to give up alcohol and drugs and get healthy, an endeavour supported by his father, who also gave up drinking last year, the newspaper said.
“At first mum and dad were a little concerned,” Jack was quoted as saying. “But once they came here and saw the training programs – and saw for themselves that I was mentally and physically well prepared – they were very cool about it all.”
He said he had taken part in a detox program on the Thai island of Koh Phangan to cleanse his body and lose weight.
Jack Osbourne, who is on his first trip to Thailand, said he also enjoys rock climbing and other sports that test mind, body and spirit.
“But, yeah, I’d have to say that muaythai is something special. It’s really demanding and it’s becoming popular all around the world,” he said, adding that his family appreciated the Thai people because “no matter what happens they don’t let stress get them down.”
Jack, 19, owes his fame to the MTV reality show The Osbournes, which is in its final season.
Pattaya is about 68 miles southeast of Bangkok.
