Morales to defend world title

Vivianne Morales, 17, of Fernandina Beach is heading to Turkey, where she will defend her world muay thai title. Morales was selected for Team USA on July 26, marking her second year on the team. She and her teammates will compete in the 2023 World International Federation of Muaythai Association Championships Sept. 29 through Oct. 7 in Antalya, Turkey.

Morales is thrilled to join Team USA again.

“It’s such an honor to be chosen again,” she said.

Morales beat opponents from Vietnam and Iran en route to the final against her Belgium foe last year in Malaysia. She lost her first round, but rallied for the win to clinch the world crown.

Finding opponents has been a challenge for Morales and her coach, Doug Lane, who has been training Morales the last four years at North Florida Muay Thai on South 14th Street.

“I had to sign up for nationals first, and there was no one there to fight,” Morales said. “They picked me to go straight to worlds.”

Morales competed in the Thai Boxing Association National in Des Moines in June.

“I fought adults,” she said. “That was new for me that year.”

She was unopposed as a junior, so fought in the adult division. She beat two opponents, advancing to the final, where she narrowly lost to a 27-year-old.

“She had trained in Thailand and fought in Thailand, so she was a tough opponent,” Morales said. “It was close.”

She had to compete as an adult last month during the Siam Fights of Daytona Beach. She beat the 25-year-old.

“They were looking through 10 different states and willing to fly people in to fight her,” Lane said. “They didn’t want to. It makes it really hard.

“The sport lends itself to a lot of young men who want to get out their aggression or didn’t fit into team sports. So, with young ladies, it’s interesting. As she amasses more fights, no one wants to fight her anymore. She has too much experience. The other side of it is she’s too young.

“You have these very experienced 27- and 26-year-olds who’ve already been through that. So she kind of has to stay and hang out and wait at these bigger competitions to compete against international opponents.”

Morales turns 18 three days after the competition in Turkey.

“This will be my last youth competition,” she said. “I hope to end my junior year strong.”

In addition to 10 days in Turkey, Morales will spend two weeks in Thailand beforehand training.

“Of course, it helps to go to the motherland,” Lane said. “Going to Thailand.”

Morales said she tried other sports, including martial arts, but muay thai piqued her interest.

“I love fighting in general, just seeing how much I’ve progressed when I fight,” she said. “I think it’s really satisfying.”

Her mother wasn’t so sure.

“When I first started, my mom was like, ‘You know that’s a striking sport,’” Morales said. “She sees how much I love it, so she really pushes me to keep on.”

Morales is in intense fight camp at the Fernandina Beach school as she prepares to defend her crown.

“When I’m in fight camp, I train twice a day,” she said. “I really try to stay focused on muay thai when I have a really big fight coming up. I’m really working on my explosiveness and weightlifting.”

Her coach has seen her progress from last year.

“I think the biggest thing is she’s settled into her physique,” Lane said. “As a 16- and 17-year-old. She’s still growing taller. Now, it feels she’s settled into a nice body weight. She understands how to prepare for it.

“She’s gotten so much quicker and so much stronger that she’s able to handle her opponents.”

When she’s not tackling schoolwork or honing her muay thai skills, Morales focuses on obtaining her pilot’s license through the high school.

“I passed my written exam, and that’s half of it,” she said. “I have to complete the second half. I’m halfway through it.”

The high school senior juggles dual enrollment classes through Florida State College at Jacksonville and her honors high school classes.

“This girl would wake up at dark 30, go run, come home, shower, drive herself to St. Augustine, go to school, back, come to muay thai. And do it all over again,” Lane said.

Wherever the sport takes her, Morales said it’s a lifetime commitment.

“I think I’ll always do muay thai at some point,” she said. “Maybe I’ll go to Thailand eventually. I plan to get my commercial pilot’s license. Maybe I could do muay thai on the side.”

Members of Team USA must pay their own travel expenses. Anyone interested in supporting Morales may donate to her Go Fund Me account at Vivianne Morales-Muay Thai 23’ USA travel support.