Liam Harrison and Andy Howson, the co-founders of the Hitman Fight League, know full well how to put on a show. With both of them being world champions multiple times, they have seen it all.

Their debut show commenced on the 15^th April at the Indigo O2, and as debut shows go, this was immense.

Throughout the event, an evolving gym located in south-east London labelled Skywalker Fight Team had their own competitors scattered across both the undercard and main card. Luke Whelan, owner of Skywalker Gym, was one half of the headlining bout, but it was Kieran Manwaring’s story who fascinating me the most.

Manwaring had been out of the game for over six years.

He fell out of love with the sport and he started working a new job, so it was difficult to ‘juggle it all around’ at such a young age of 25.

However, that spark returned a year ago, brewing a super necessary comeback.

“Where I’ve been training on and off for a year, I’ve been telling Luke Whelan I want to fight again, and then something just clicked and I wanted to give fighting another go.”

Manwaring was licking his lips at a dream return in what would be just his second A-class Muay Thai fight, but a late notice Mark May stood in his way.

So, after just three minutes back in the ring, how did he find it?

“I felt comfortable in the first round. I did. And then I went back to my corner and it was like a rabbit in the headlights sort of moment. Something in my brain told me ‘Na’. My legs felt like jelly, almost like I fell through the canvas. I looked at Luke Whelan and I just said ‘I’m tired’. He said ‘Give me one more round, you won that first round’.”

As soon as the second round started, Manwaring did not look himself. May was luring him into the clinch, his favourite position to be in, and landed a gushing knee to Manwaring’s chin which forced him to the canvas. Despite the hazardous blow, Manwaring took a few seconds to compose himself and readily got to his feet. Unfortunately, for the ring-returning Manwaring, May could already smell blood and the exact same knee landed - shortly before the corner waved the towel and the fight was stopped.

“Physically, I probably could’ve gone for the three rounds. But I told myself I was done. The goal was to try and get out with minimal damage. I gave up and that was the one thing I didn’t want to do. I look back at the first round now, it’s annoying, because I was doing alright against someone that’s on a ten-fight win streak.”

Almost everyone present wanted to see Kieran come away with a win, so you can imagine the deafening silence when the towel was raised. A friend of Kieran's, Ethan Cogger, told me how proud he was that the talented fighter ‘finally made his return’.

“Kieran returning has been a long time coming and he shouldn’t be ashamed about how the fight ended, he should be proud that he finally got back in there. Not many people are resilient enough to make it back to where they started, because it’s a long road.”

A week after Manwaring's fight, I got to speak to him once again, and during that time he said he used reflection in a 'positive' manner.

"I feel alright. My headspace is good. I don't want to give up and throw it all away."

After the loss, Manwaring is not looking back, and we can expect to see him back in action very soon.

"I'm hoping June or July. I definitely want to fight again, sooner rather than later, so I can keep the ball rolling."

Hitman Fight League is the newest promotion to enter the Muay Thai industry, and every other organisation will face top competition from them. But from the outside looking in, I wanted to know what separates Hitman Fight League from the crowd. Manwaring believes that due to Liam Harrison and Andy Howson being fighters themselves, they know how things should be run to produce a successful event.

"It ran pretty smoothly. It's fresh, it's new, and Liam and Andy both know what they have to do. Especially Liam, who's been up and down the country and across the world. They only had 10 minutes of delays, maximum. So little things like that just make a show run a whole lot smoother."

Evan Jays, a Muay Thai fighter from Essex, also appeared high up on the main card. He won by a flawless first round stoppage, and he agreed with Manwaring that the small touches Hitman Fight League gave to the fighters will make them want to return.

"Andy Howson and Liam Harrison both know how stressful it is being a fighter, so they both made the event so personal for each of us. We all got GymKing tracksuits. We all got meals put out for us on the weigh in day. We all had promotional videos. They make it so that the fighters want to come back."

The fans will definitely want to see Ben Cant and Natty Dodds return to the show, so they can face each other for a second time, as Jays described their bout as 'one of the fights of the year'.

"I know we're not even half way through the year yet, but my god that was ridiculous. Both guys are class, and I'm being a bit biased, but Natty Dodds is a friend of mine and he is a problem. He's got some vicious elbows and he has that traditional Muay Thai style. But a draw, surely a rematch will be on another show. Every person in the country wants to see that again."

There you have it. The newest and most innovative organisation there currently is in Muay Thai.

Harrison and Howson are taking the Hitman Fight League to Manchester on June 10th, so do not miss that one, as the events will only go onwards and upwards.