Spotlight on: Justin Greskiewicz

By Sandy Hackenmueller

Photos courtesy of Friday Night Fights Muay Thai

Greskiewicz might be a hard name to say, but once you’ve heard it announced in the ring, you won’t soon forget it.

As a Muay Thai fighter, Greskiewicz has almost 60 fighters under his belt, and with a winning record, he is highly recognizable in the fight community. In Friday Night Fights’ season opener, they are giving fans the first gift of the year – a Greskiewicz match-up against dynamic contender Chris Kwiatkowski.

Greskiewicz trains at Cool Hearts Muay Thai in Philadelphia, PA. A pro fighter since 2007, he holds a 19-12-3 record. Previous to this he doled out punches in 24 amateur fights.

The “Purple People Eater” is eager and ready to usher in the next FNFMT season with Kwiatkowski in a battle fans won’t soon forget. He explained why fans need to be ready for an exciting, seat-gripping fight.

Greskiewicz is coming off of a loss from a September fight against Eddie Martinez in a rematch bout. “It wasn’t a great fight for me,” said Greskiewicz. “I got hurt to the body early. I dropped twice to body shots in the first round, and couldn’t recover enough to turn the tides of the fight. I learned a lot in the fight though, and I’m hungry for a win.”

Always ready for a challenging fight, Greskiewicz accepted easily when asked to fight Kwiatkowski. “He’s a top notch fighter who I’ve never stepped in the ring with,” he said. “He’s a class act, and we’re friendly outside the ring.

“I respect him as a fighter and as a person, and there’s no better thing than to step in the ring with a respected opponent. I don’t like fighting opponents who I don’t have a lot of respect for or who don’t respect me. I’m excited, and I think we’ll put on a great show.”

Despite looking forward to a worthy battle, Greskiewicz knows there are obstacles. “I will be up against a hometown crowd in this fight, which is something I’m used to. Also, I think that the scoring in New York doesn’t necessarily favor my style, so that’s another obstacle. At the end of the day, there are a million obstacles to win every fight and there are even more against a high level opponent like Chris,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Friday Night Fights Muay Thai

But Greskiewicz knows his strengths. “I believe my fight experience is a great strength of mine,” he said. “I’ve been in there with some of the world’s best and I’ve done it a lot of times. I think that I have a strong traditional Thai style while keeping a dynamic high pace, and I think that will be a key to my success in this fight.”

Confidence is essential to success in any sport. What goes along with that, Greskiewicz knows, is support from family, friends and fans. “I feel like I have a lot of fans who are true followers of the sport. They respect me because they respect Muay Thai. They don’t want to just see me go in there and smash up some tomato can. They want to see me tested against the best in the biz. I’m very blessed to have fans that support me though all my toughest fights,” Greskiewicz said.

A big fight at a season opener seems to be a great way to start the new year for Greskiewicz.“I plan on going through 2014 on a terror. I’m hoping to get a lot of fights against big name opponents. I am planning on decimating every opponent in spectacular fashion and really increasing my notoriety. I will do big things this year!” he said.

With close to 60 fights, Greskiewicz has certainly made a name for himself. His career does not seem to be slowing down, and Greskiewicz is building a reputation to be proud of when all is said and done. “After I hang it up,” he said, “I want to be remembered as a fighter’s fighter. I want to be remembered as someone who would fight anyone at any time, someone who talked less and did more.

Photo courtesy of Friday Night Fights Muay Thai

“I don’t want to be remembered as someone who talked the best smack, or had the biggest fan club, but as one of the best. I want to be known as someone who put his head down and did the work, and who would always put his heart into his fights.”

You can be a part of this journey at the season opener on January 31^st at the Broad Street Ballroom, NYC. Tickets available on the website at http://www.fridaynightfights.com

BE THERE!