Stephan Fox (born 1963 in Germany) is a German sporting figure. He is the current General Secretary of
International Federation of Muaythai Amateur
The International Federation of Muaythai Associations, or IFMA, called the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur until 27 July 2019, is the sole recognised sport governing body of amateur and professional Muay Thai and Muay boran consist ...
[IFMA](_blank)
International Federation of Muaythai Amateur and vice-president of the
World Muaythai Council
The World Muaythai Council (WMC) is one of the oldest and the largest professional sanctioning organizations of Muaythai in the world for the sport. The organization was set up in 1995 by parliament resolution, and is incorporated by the Royal T ...
.
[WMC](_blank)
World Muaythai Council Fox is also the Vice-president
SportAccord
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
and the President of the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS) representing 23 international federations.
Early life
Stephan has been involved in ring sports and
Muaythai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
in the late 70s. He won titles such as the South Pacific, Intercontinental and World titles. Stephan won the Australian Martial Art award and has been presented with the Thai equivalent. He has also won the North QLD Sports Personality Award and has represented both
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
throughout his fighting career.
IFMA and WMC
Fox retired in 1995, was asked by the late General Vorayudh Mesommonta to join the WMC and
IFMA to help with international affairs. He is an advocate of Thailand's national sport and combat art. His educational background is rooted both in both Germany and Australia, however he now resides in Thailand where he oversees the growth of both Amateur (
IFMA) and Professional (
WMC) Muaythai.
Fox holds the position of General Secretary of IFMA and the vice-president of the WMC and in the last few years, he has helped to lead Muaythai to its current world status being recognized by SportAccord,
IWGA
The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...
,
FISU
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, en, International University Sports Federation) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 2 ...
and being included in many Olympic and non-Olympic multi-sport events.
TV appearances
![Contender](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Contender.jpg)
Fox has been a part of more than a hundred TV shows as host commentator and TV celebrity. He has been seen as the mentor / host of
The Contender Asia
''The Contender Asia'' (known as The Contender: Kickboxer in the United Kingdom, and The Contender: Muay Thai in the United States) was a reality-based television series that follows 16 Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries as they ...
, a celebrity trainer on
The Biggest Loser Asia
''The Biggest Loser Asia'' is the Asian version of the competitive reality television series ''The Biggest Loser''. It had two seasons:
* ''The Biggest Loser Asia'' (season 1), the first season of ''The Biggest Loser Asia'', aired on Hallmark Cha ...
, a mentor and host on
AXN
AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Funded th ...
number one rated,
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominated show The Challenger Muaythai, and has been the host of many
Muaythai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
TV Shows such as Muaythai Fight Night shown on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
,
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
and
TrueVisions
TrueVisions is a cable and satellite television operator in Thailand. TrueVisions is owned by the True Corporation. Until February 2007, it was called the United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), or UBC-True.
History International Broadcasting C ...
. Stephan Fox has also been featured on the cover of a number of international martial art magazines such as Blitz, International Kick-boxer, Martial Arts World and Muaythai World.
Charitable works
Fox has been involved in
youth development
Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...
programs through the Muaythai Against Drugs (MAD) program established by
Privy Councillor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
to HM the
King of Thailand
The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...
, General Pichitr Kullavanijaya. Under the patronage of the
Peace and Sport
Peace and Sport, also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport" is a neutral and independent organization based in the Principality of Monaco and under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Peace and Sport work in areas across ...
and
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, Fox helped found the 'Sport is your Gang' campaign, to motivate, change and raise awareness of the danger of gang affiliation in youths and''Do Good Feel Good'' campaign in which the world's leading Muaythai celebrities do charity and work with troubled youths to help them find the right path in life. He also has been involved in projects run in conjunctions with
Fox has been one of the main driving forces behind the collaboration between the
UN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...
and Muaythai's UNiTE to End
Violence Against Women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
campaign; a joint campaign in which an MoU was signed in April 2013. Later on in 2014, the "Sport is Your Gang" campaign was awarded the "Spirit of Sport" award, the most prestigious award for using the power of sport to make a difference, at the 2014
SportAccord
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
Convention in Belek, Turkey.
Speaker and advocate
As a leader of SportAccord Martial Arts Group, Fox oversees 15 Olympic and non-Olympic combat sports. He was a guest speaker the World Cultural Martial Art Forum in Beijing (World Combat Games 2010) during the
1st SportAccord Combat Games as well as numerous editions of the annual IF Forum hosted by SportAccord Convention in conjunction with SportAccord, ASOIF and AIOWF. Fox was also nominated to oversee all ring sports for the 2013 games, held in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has also been one of the main persons in the organization of over 10 World Championship events held in Thailand, Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia and other countries around the world. Fox often promotes Muaythai by holding official seminars, workshops.
Muaythai – Arab Emirates
Muaythai Sessions in the UAE
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Stephan
1963 births
Living people
Australian Muay Thai practitioners
German Muay Thai practitioners
Muay Thai trainers