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MAY 2002



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FRIDAY, May 31st 2002, AT 11:50 AM, PT

"Walkin The Walk"
In Memphis Tennessee This Weekend!
38 Fighters Register For South Central Regional!

This Saturday, June 1st IKF South Central Regional Regional Director and Promoter Jeff Mullen is all set to host his 4th IKF South Central Regional Tournament this Saturday at the New Daisy Theater on Historic Beale Street in downtown Memphis Tennessee. Mullen was the first IKF Promoter to host an IKF Regional Amateur Tournament. That first Tournament was held back on April 2nd and 3rd at the State Tech Gym in Memphis Tennessee, USA. Mullen's event this weekend will feature fighters from Central and Western Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

The event will feature all rule styles and although there were 38 registered fighters for the region, there will be 7 tournament fights. (Registered fighters must match up in weight and rule styles.) Adding to the 7 tournament bouts Mullen will add in 3 non tournament fights and one Mixed Martial Arts (ISCF) fight. There will also be a grappling exhibition between Pride star, Quintin "Rampage" Jackson and UFC vet David Roberts. Event doors open at 7:00 PM and the fights start at 8:00 PM. Event Tickets are $15 & $20.

For more info on this event, please contact Mr. Jeff Mullen at (901) 757-0985 or by e-mail at jmullen@memphis.edu

Rob Zbilski

Rob Zbilski (Right) and Z Promotions are happy to host the 2002 Mid-West Regional Tournament for the 3rd year. The pre-registration process has already brought in more than 20 fighters. "We look forward to giving every amateur in our 7 states the opportunity to showcase their skills." Says Zbilski.

Every fighter that registers, attends and makes weight at the official weigh-ins on Friday, June 21st will have the opportunity to advance their seeding at the National Tournament this fall. Here's more info on the event:

• WHO CAN ATTEND
  • All AMATEUR Full Contact fighters, Women and Juniors (ages 8 – 17) in the following states:
    • Northern Illinois (Alton North)
    • Iowa
    • Minnesota
    • Wisconsin
    • Michigan
    • Indiana
    • Eastern Nebraska
      
      
• REGISTRATION
  • This is a "Pre-registration Only" event. Click Here for the official IKF Regional Fighter Registration form.
    • All registration forms and payments must be submitted by June 17th to: Rob Zbilski, 166 North Randall Road, Lake in the Hills, Illinois, 60156 (847) 458-8333.
      
      
• WEIGH-INS
  • The official weigh-ins as well as the competition itself will be held at:
    • Jimmy's Ringside Fitness, 410 East Main Street, Lake Zurich, Illinois, 60047 (847) 550-8333.
      
      
• HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
  • We have blocked rooms at a rate of $ 69.00 per night, simply tell them you are with the Kickboxing event on June 21st.
    • Holiday Inn, 1550 East Dundee, Palatine, Illinois, 60074 (847) 934-4900.
      
      
• ITINERARY
  • Official Weigh-ins: Friday, June 21st 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Jimmy's Ringside Fitness located at 410 East Main Street, Lake Zurich, Illinois, 60047 (847) 550-8333. All fighters must make the weight they have registered for to compete.
  • Preliminary Bouts: If there are more than 8 competitors in a weight class we will hold the first preliminary bouts Friday, June 21st at Jimmy's Ringside Fitness 410 East Main Street, Lake Zurich, Illinois, 60047 (847) 550-8333. If there are more than 8 competitors pre-registered in a division we will contact those fighters individually with the information provided on their registration form.
    
    
• COMPETITION
  • All preliminary bouts will begin Saturday, June 22nd at 11:00 a.m. sharp at Jimmy's Ringside Fitness 410 East Main Street Lake Zurich, Illinois 60047 (847) 550-8333. Fighters please arrive by 10:00 a.m. for the day's line-up and rules meeting.
  • All finals competitions will begin Saturday evening, June 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at Jimmy's Ringside Fitness 410 East Main Street Lake Zurich, Illinois 60047 (847) 550-8333. Fighters please arrive by 6:00 p.m. for the evenings line-up.
  • Passes: If a school has 1 fighter competing they will be given 2 cornerman passes. If a school has 2 or more fighters competing they will be given 3 cornerman passes for the weekend at the weigh-ins.
    
    

____

Over the weekend we received our first fighter registration for this years 2002 IKF/RINGSIDE USA National Amateur Tournament. Chuck Jewell of Holley, New York registered as a walkover from the North East Region for the Adult Men's Heavyweight Full Contact Rules.

Jewell (208 lbs, 6'2") is a perfect example of an amateur fighter willing to "Walk The Walk" no matter what his past experience has been. We say this because Jewell has a record of 1 win with 8 loses. However, as we've seen before, the past doesn't matter when the first bout begins at the National Finals. Three of his loses came to the same fighter, Ivan Varga of Canada. Two more loses to the same fighter as well named Peter Della Serra.

Jewell's 1 win came in his 5th bout against Rich Samson who he defeated by TKO in the first round. In his last 4 bouts after that win he lost 2 by split decision and 2 by majority decision which proves he's able to go the distance with no problem. The 25 year old Jewell is trained by Pro Heavyweight Champion Dan Lucas. Like many amateur kickboxers in the USA, Jewell knows that the road to THE TOP for amateur fighters is through the USA National Amateur Tournament. This is the title that holds the most weight for any amateur fighter in the USA. The question is, "What other fighters think they're good enough to "Walk The Walk" and take their claim as The Best Amateur kickboxers in the USA?" We'll soon find out at this years 2002 IKF USA National Amateur Championship Finals!

Sterling Illinoiis, USA
IKF Promoter Mike Mattox of Championship Kickboxing and Westwood Sports is ready and so are all the fighters for this weekends IKF/RINGSIDE USA North Central Regional Seeding Tournament for the MuayThai and Int'l Rules divisions in Sterling Illinois!

Approximately 70 fighters are competing for 32 titles in a one night all out fightfest which will start at 6:30 PM sharp. General admit tickets ($10) and Front Row ($20) are still available by calling Mike Mattox at (815) 288-4998. Remember, if you buy at the door the tickets are $5 extra.

Also present at the event will be trainers, promoters and well known names of the sport who includeDuke Roufus, Scott Joffe, Brooks Mason, Ryan Blackorby, Dean Lessie, Greg Nelson and 6 time UFC Champion Pat Militech as well as 5 time Brazilian Muay Thai Champion, 2 time Holland MuayThai Champion and World Vale Tudo Champion Artur Mariano (who will be teaching a semianr on Sunday!)

The event will be held at 1900 Westwood Dr. Sterling IL. For directions call (815) 622-6201.

IKF Promoter Mike Mattox of Dixon Illinois is all set to host this years 1st IKF USA National Amateur Tournament Regional event this Saturday, May 18th in Sterling, Illinois, USA. Mattox's regional, the North Central will host fighters in the styles of MuayThai and International Rules who are looking to get seeded for the IKF USA National Amateur Championship Finals this coming August at The RiverCenter (Left) in Davenport Iowa. The tournament will be held at Championship Karate & Kickboxing, Westwood Sports, 1900 Westwood Rd. Sterling, IL. Pre fight weigh-ins and final registration will take place on Friday evening at 5:30 PM at the Rock Falls Holiday Inn in Rock Falls IL.

On June 22nd the Central Regional Tournament will host all the full contact rules fighters for the region in Lake Zurich Illinois. States included in both these regions are Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Eastern Nebraska.

Mattox's regional tournament is the first of 9 regional seeding tournaments for this year. The next regional is the South Central #2 regional and it will be for full contact rules fighters in the South Central Region which will include Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana. It will be held in Plainview Texas on May 25th. For more info on this weekends regional tournament please click HERE! or contact Mr. Mattox directly at (815) 288-4998 or by e-mail at championshipkickboxing@hotmail.com.

Internet fight fans will be able to "tune in" to the evening finals of the IKF South East Regional via the World Wide Web. This broadcast will be courtesy of Mr. Johnny Walls, proprietor of the website. Walls has been in the martial arts game for many years. He started out as a competitor and competed in various grappling tournaments and HOOKnSHOOT. After a severe knee injury he turned most of his attention to managing fighters and covering events for various magazines and websites. He created one of the first Mixed Martial Arts multimedia websites on the Internet - BloodyKnuckles.com - in 1997 and was the first person to build a website around video from various combat sports. At it's peak BloodyKnuckles.com was receiving nearly 50,000 hits per day and nearly one million video clips were downloaded from the site, further increasing the exposure of the sport. When the UFC was dropped from cable, he began streaming the live audio of the show over the Internet for fans that could not see the broadcast due to the cable blockade. Several thousand fans tuned in throughout the world to listen and chat together for several UFC broadcasts.

Due to the high cost of providing the video and audio to visitors of the website, Walls started his own hosting company - RealityHosting.com - to provide a resource for affordable website hosting for Martial Arts organizations. Since the inception of Reality Hosting it has evolved into a World Wide business specializing in Website Hosting and Designing, as well as Domain Name Registration Services. As many other Mixed Martial Arts websites came onto the Internet, he turned his attention away from BloodyKnuckles.com and focused towards Reality Hosting as a new way to assist Mixed Martial Arts.

In 1999, Walls launched AggressionTV.com and began streaming entire Martial Arts Events over the Internet such as HOOKnSHOOT, World Extreme Fighting, and SuperBrawl. A year later he launched AggressionRadio.com and began attending events live and streaming the live audio play by play over the Internet for fans to listen in. The most recent AggressionRadio.com broadcast for WEF XII saw nearly 2000 people listen to the live audio broadcast.

In 2002, Walls and training partners opened a school in Charleston, WV, Reality Training Center, where they teach Boxing, Kickboxing, and Mixed Martial Arts. IKF South East Regional Promoter, James Corbett (Right) says, "I became familiar with AggressionTV.com through Wall's coverage of the WEF X/RSF I event, 'Redemption in the Valley.' This was the event where a Valdosta Martial Arts Center fighter, Jonathan Wiezorek, defeated Dan "The Beast" Severn for the WEF World Super Heavyweight title. Mr. Walls posted a video clip of this fight on the AggressionTV website. We have been in communication with Mr. Walls in an attempt to find a video of the fight from over a year ago. In discussions with Johnny regarding the video we worked out an agreement for him to host the IKF South East Regional event on his site. This will introduce IKF Kickboxing to the AggressionTV.com listeners; to this point AggressionTV.com's listeners have only tuned into mixed martial arts action. We will have some mixed martial arts/no holds barred fights at this event, but kickboxing will compose the majority of the action at the evening event."

Steve Fossum, IKF World President, (Right) says regarding AggressionTV.com and the South East Regional, "This is just the beginning of a lot of new things the IKF has coming in regards to IKF Event Broadcasting which will include both Internet as well as TV. James (Corbett) has done a great job here for the IKF Team in making this connection. The progress of attaining these goals has been a slow learning process but were learning more and more everyday. As a friend of ours once told us, "We have a lot to learn about the TV business" and he was very right. His comment was probably some of the best advice I ever received about this business. Since then, we've learned a lot about internet broadcasting, cable tv, network tv and of course, even more about PPV and event producing. The process may be slow to our goal, but we can assure everyone, these are all just more goals that the IKF WILL meet and we WILL succeed at as we have done so many times in the past for the greater good of the sport. As we have always said, "The Game has Changed!" and it continues to Change every day."

James Corbett



Steve Fossum

Since winning the 1999 IKF USA National Amateur FCR Light Heavyweight Title over Texas superstar Robert Carlton of Arlington Texas by unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, (Right) Champion "Danger" Dave Pareja has been pursuing a boxing career. This summer he decided he wanted to change that. From here on out he plans to continue to take all kickboxing and boxing fights that come available to him.

Two years ago Pareja was accepted into the United States Olympic Training Center for boxing. This is the only year round Olympic Training Center for boxing, and the only Olympic training center that also offers a full scholarship to Northern Michigan University-in Marquette, MI (the location of the training center.) The boxing program contains many elite top ranked boxers from around the country. Pareja was ranked #4 in the United States last year, and this year his current ranking is #6. He expects to raise that to #2 or 3 by year-end. Fighting isn't his only goal though. He graduated with a finance degree in May 2003 and now lives back in his hometown of Rockford, Illinois for the summer (until end of August). He will then take part in the Ringside National Boxing Tournament at the end of August, first of September and then go back to the training center.

His ultimate goal is to be in the Olympics unless he locks in a nice pro contract before then. He was excited about attending this years Regionals on the road to the National Finals in August. However, when the date was set for the National Finals, his excitement was taken away, at least for the fighting that is. Pareja had already scheduled something much more important for that weekend... He's getting married.

He still plans to register and fight at his regional in Illinois and also plans to win of course but is disappointed he won't be able to finish his ultimate goal at the National Finals. He'd like to fight the winner if at all possible but due to the Tournament format, it may not be worth a title, just a fight for bragging rights and pride.

One option he may still have though is in the works. Not much can be spoke about it yet but we can say that the IKF is planning a North American Amateur Championship Tournament for Full Contact Rules fighters for later this fall. Better yet, it's a televised event. If Pareja wins his regional in Illinois he may be selected for this event, but we'll need to wait and see, as will all the other full contact rules fighters.

As for the other rule styles? (MuayThai, Intl, San Shou...) Patience everyone... TV has spoken and has made it clear, they wanted American Style Full Contact Kickboxing (Above the waist) Fighting, at least for this deal... But we won't forget you.

IKF Chicago area Promoter Rob Zbilski (Right) and his brother Jim pulled off, yet, another incredible fight card Saturday night at the American Sports Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois. With over 700 spectators, the evening began with 5 exciting and well-matched Amateur bouts. As the intensity of the competitions increased so did the crowd, they knew the best was yet to come. The finale of the evening brought 4 Professional bouts with the final 2 matches a battle for 2 separate IKF Pro United States Titles on the line. The results of Saturday's matches can't begin to portray the quality of the matches and fighters brought before those lucky enough to be in the crowd, they are as follows:

1. Bout 1: Sheldon Barnes (Team Z) vs. Joshua Henne (Mitch Saret) Winner: Sheldon Barnes by TKO @ 1:49 in Round 1.
   
   
2. Bout 2: John Ohnona (Team Z) vs. Mike Tran (Hawaii) Winner: John Ohnona by Split Decision (Judges scores: 18-18, 18-19, 18-17).
   
   
3. Bout 3: 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Champion Dan Erickson (Mike LaBree's Team Mean) vs. Carl Davis Jr. (Club POW). Winner: Dan Erickson by Unanimous Decision (Judges scores: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
   
   
4. Bout 4: Lois Theobald (Team Z) vs. Lou Ann Kinworthy - Boxing exhibition - Winner: Lois Theobald by Unanimous decision.
   
   
5. Bout 5: Mark Mortensen (Team Z) vs. Tim Mazurkiewicz (Roscoe, IL) Winner: Tim Mazurkiewicz by TKO @ 1:47 in Round 2

• Professional Bouts
  • Bout 6: In his Professional Debut, 2 time IKF US Amateur Champion, Kyle McElroy looked awesome. He fought with the control, calculation and presence of a seasoned Pro. McElroy (Team Z) vs. Henry Winkeler (Jim Boucher) Winner: Kyle McElroy by Unanimous Decision.
    
    
  • Bout 7: Charles Barron (Team Z) vs. Jeff Curran (Linxx Academy) Ruled No Contest. No one was more disappointed than Charles Barron when he slipped and cut his eye on the shin of Curran at 1:49 in Round 1. Always the Professional and gentleman, Charles has accepted a rematch with Jeff once his stitches are removed.
    
    
  • Bout 8: Fighting for United States Professional Lightweight Title Tommy Bach (Seong Hae's Martial Arts) vs. John Washington (Abe Belardo) Winner: Tommy Bach by TKO @ 1:27 in Round 8. Voted THE FIGHT OF THE NIGHT! Bach proved what a dedicated fighter can accomplish with all of the hard work, long hours and commitment necessary to win the United States Title. Tommy exhibited all of the skills of a consummate Professional and is now willing to fight anyone for the opportunity to obtain the IKF World Title.
    
    
  • Bout 9: Fighting for United States Professional Atomweight Title: Dan Siewerth (Team Z) vs. Devon Cormack (Right, Westbury, NY). Winner: Devon Cormack by TKO @ 1:26 in Round 3. Cormack came to Chicago more than prepared to go the distance for this 10 round Title match. He entered the ring poised with the confidence and ability of a true Professional and left as the new IKF United States Champion. Devon fought an excellent fight taking control of the bout by round 2 when he landed a kick to the ribs of Dan Siewerth (rumor has it Dan's ribs were bruised in a sparring session prior to the event). Devon maintained control throughout round 3 when the referee stepped in to end the match by TKO. Cormack is more than ready for a shot at his 4th World Title, the IKF World Title.

For more info on this event contact Mr. Rob Zbilski and his TEAM Z staff at (847) 458-8333 or by e-mail by clicking teamz@3di.net

Rob Zbilski



Jim Zbilski



Tommy Bach




Devon Cormack

Trent Tompkins




Alexio

It may be hard for some to believe that in a small town like Waterloo Iowa, in a facility like the Five Sullivan Brothers Event Center (About 16,000 square feet in size) can be sold out with standing room only. Well, believe it fight fans and it's nothing new. Thus one of the reasons the IKF selected the heart of the USA, Davenport Iowa for the location for this years 2002 IKF/RINGSIDE USA National Amateur Championships. If you've never been to some of the IKF Midwest fight events in places like Waterloo, Davenport and Council Bluffs Iowa, St. Louis Missouri, Milwaukee Wisconsin or Chicago Illinois just to name a few, you have no idea what your missing. These are excited fans that PACK the Midwest fight venues because they love to watch great fights!

Last night in Waterloo, these same Midwest fight fans witnessed once again the same great fight action as seen many times before. The undercard was packed with action as Team Canada came down to battle fighters from USA. On the program for the nights Main Event was a bout that had many of the local fight fans palms sweating. It would be one of the most important fights of their hometown buy Trent Tompkins (Left, Waterloo, Iowa, USA) career. He had already won an IKF Iowa State Title and last year he won the biggest title for any amateur kickboxer in America. The 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Super Heavyweight Title. The hype surrounding this bout was tremendous since it was Tompkins shot at the vacant IKF Amateur Full Contact Rules Super Heavyweight North American Title. However in his was stood Canada's best...

Ivan Varga (Right) of Kitchener, Ontario Canada (9-4/4, 219, 6'3, 25, Steve Witter) was to be the strongest competition Tompkins (14-0/8, 218, 6'1, 20, Russ O'Connell) would ever face. He was to be Canada's best full contact rules super heavyweight and the one to put Tompkins to the canvas. He had a slight advantage over Tompkins in weight and 2 inches in height. The day before the bout Varga was quoted as saying "We'll see what kind of Champion he is..." knowing he hadn't faced him yet. This was thought to be either a great slugfest or someone was going to kiss the canvas. This was easy to think since most super heavyweights come to the ring with tremendous power. Would it be a right hand, a hook, uppercut... Maybe a round kick that would end it. Again, this was easy to think since most super heavyweight knockout wins end that way.

However, Tompkins is no "Ordinary" super heavyweight. He's a USA National Tae Kwon Do Champion who has converted his dynamic kicking power to the full contact kickboxing ring. Tompkins is no "Paper Tae Kwon Do Champion turned to the full contact ring!" This guy can "KICK" and credit his Tae Kwon Do training by trainer Russ O'Connell for that. He delivers kicks at the speed, accuracy and flexibility of a middleweight and gets them to his opponents head with very little effort, making him not your average super heavyweight fighter. Sure, all kickboxers can kick, but we haven't seen kicks like these for some time. The only person who comes to mind at all is IKF Pro Heavyweight World Champion Dennis Alexio (Left) who often threw a strong and fast turnback kick. Tompkins still an amateur though and has a lot of work to do before turning pro. One such job that lay ahead was getting past Varga on this night. To do so would mean his goal to a potential IKF Amateur World Title would become even closer. However a loss would mean he needs to prove himself again down the line, putting Varga ahead of him for such a title shot. This was clearly Varga's intention... to walk through Tompkins on his road to what ever was next.

Enough of the pre-fight hype...Let's "Bring It ON!"
As the bell rang, Tompkins came out kicking as he immediately threw a Dennis Alexio trademark style turnback kick that landed square into Varga's stomach, but Varga held strong. Tompkins followed with a spinning hook as Varga too was coming in and the two jammed together with Tompkins falling off balance to the canvas. When he came up, they exchanged a few punches and then all of a sudden Tompkins spun around like a tornado in full speed and landed what was the most perfect spinning hook kick to Varga's head we had EVER SEEN, dropping him to the canvas like a giant rock. Varga was motionless and referee Marco Medina immediately waived the bout off. The Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center went absolutely wild. So wild that the ring announcer had to announce for everyone to get off the ring. At only 40 seconds into the first round Tompkins (Landing the kick at right) dropped Varga like a Midwest Tornado drops a house in a field. Tompkins had not only achieved his next goal but did so leaving no doubt in anyone's mind who was the best between these two on this night.

Now the questions come... What's next for Tompkins? Should he go to the 2002 IKF USA Nationals and seek a second straight National Tournament Title? Should he fight for an IKF Intercontinental Title this fall, possibly against an opponent from the IKF British Championships in a few weeks? Should he fight for an IKF Amateur World Title? Should he continue to fight amateur for another year possibly before turning Pro? The answer is justified for all these questions, "YES!"

Should he go to the 2002 IKF USA Nationals and seek a second straight National Tournament Title? At first thought, the answer was no. He would have nothing to gain and everything to lose. However, after thinking about it, the answer is YES. Winning the IKF Nationals a "Second" consecutive time would bring even more needed attention to Tompkins who will need all he can to stand out in the crowd of fighters around the world. Proving himself once again in front of his peers would be the ultimate of goals. Having been named 2001 IKF Amateur Fighter Of The Year last year, a lot more promoters eyes will be on the big guy at this years National Championships which could mean more fight offers once he turns pro.

Should he fight for an IKF Intercontinental Title this fall, possibly against an opponent from the IKF British Championships in a few weeks? Absolutely. Keep in mind, the National Amateur Tournament is a "Tournament" style competition where as a single bout scheduled against a single opponent can be much different. We're sure to see Tompkins fight for this very title later this fall regardless of his outcome at the 2002 USA National Amateur Tournament.

Should he fight for an IKF Amateur World Title? Again, we say yes, provided he gets past the scheduled British Champion. If not, he will need to wait on this shot.

Should he continue to fight amateur for another year possibly before turning Pro? Yes. Too many fighters turn pro to early in their career, mainly due to the late age they start fighting. At only 20 years old, Tompkins has a very bright pro future ahead. Right now, finishing college is his number one priority, oh and did we mention he's carrying a 4.0 grade point average as well. He's not just a Champion in the ring, he's a true Champion out of the ring as well.

Could Tompkins, as an amateur now, be the one to eventually fill the shoes of a Champion like Alexio though? Very possible. However keep in mind his competition in the Pro Full Contact ranks. Alexio's future is uncertain since no one can afford a respectable fight purse for the undisputed "KING" of the full contact heavy and super heavyweight fighters. Will he be there when Tompkins turns pro? What about the others he will face un the Full Contact Rules Super Heavyweight Class? Super heavyweights such as

• Barrington Patterson, London, England, 36-2/32, 6'0", 242.
• Ronald Copeland, (Right) High Point, North Carolina, USA, PKB: 20-3/17, AMKB: 10-3-1/2, PBX: 7-1/6, 6'4", 220
• Achille Roger, Dijon, France, 52-5/30, 6'3", 220
• Derek Panza, Greenvale, New York, USA, KB: 18-2/14, Boxing: 7-0/4, 6'1", 216.
• John James, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, 28-3/22, 5'11", 220

Although Patterson outweighs Tompkins by about 20 lbs, Patterson hasn't been up against a kicker like Tompkins other than Alexio who stopped him. However, what Patterson does have is punching power. Copeland (Right) is an exciting fighter and may very well be Tompkins strongest competition among the current top 5 contenders, when he turns pro. One thing they all have on him though is experience, which is why we say "Yes" to all the questions above. Give Tompkins a few more bouts for experience and some work on his punching skills and he will mix right in with them. However, will they be there when he turns pro? Maybe not, since the youngest of them all is 29, but if history is any indicator, they should all be active for another 5 if not 10 years for some. And with the resurgence of Full Contact Rules coming about, they will all surely have a venue to meet at...

Ivan Varga








































Ronnie Copeland










Marco Medina

IKF Chicago area promoter Rob Zbilski (Right) and his staff at Team Z's has a way of bringing attention to the Chicago Illinois Kickboxing scene. This Saturday night at the American Sports Center in Crystal Lake Illinois will be no different then in the past.

This weekend Team Z will feature 2 IKF Pro United States Title bouts which will include Dan Seiwerth of Chicago, Illinois, USA against Devon Cormack (Right) of Westbury, New York, USA fighting for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Atomweight U. S. Title.

Cormack is a current 3 time World Champion holding the USKBA Featherweight World Title as well as the KICK and ISKA Bantomweight World Titles. He's currently on a quest to capture the IKF World Title as well. Nicknamed "The Energizer", if Cormack succeeds in defeating Seiwerth Saturday night, he will surly get a shot at becoming a 4 time World Champion in 4 different sanctioning organizations. Cormack comes to the ring with a Pro record of 18 wins, 2 loses, a draw and 17 of his wins coming by KO or TKO.

Seiwerth comes to the ring with a little less experience with a record of 13 wins, 3 loses with 4 wins coming by way of KO or TKO.Seiwerth has other plans for Cormack that do not include a victory. It's Seiwerth's hometown and he plans on sending Cormack home with his tail between his legs and a loss. this is sure to be a great match-up so we're looking forward to see what happens here.

Along with them, Tommy Bach (Right) of Chicago, Illinois, USA will meet up against John Washington of Bakersfield, CA, USA for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Featherweight U. S. Title. This will be interesting to see what happens here since Washington is more of a leg kick fighter. Bach comes to the ring with a record of 12 wins and 4 loses with 3 wins coming by KO or TKO. Washington has more experience with a record of 24 wins with 11 loses and 3 wins by KO or TKO. One thing that will be a major factor at weigh-ins will be Washington's weight since he's coming down 2 weight classes from Super Lightweight for the opportunity to fight for this title.

For more info on this event contact Mr. Rob Zbilski and his TEAM Z staff at (847) 458-8333 or by e-mail by clicking teamz@3di.net

Rob Zbilski



Devon Cormack



Tommy Bach

Trent Tompkins

Very few fighters take the journey of building themselves like 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Champion Trent Tompkins (Left) has. Tompkins who is trained by Russ O'Connell of Waterloo Iowa, USA will face Ivan Varga (Right) of Kitchener, Ontario Canada this Saturday night for the vacant IKF Amateur FCR Super Heavyweight North American Title.

Tompkins started competing in Olympic style Tae Kwon Do years ago and has had some success in it as well which explains where he gets his explosive kicks from. After a while though, he got tired of pulling his punches and kicks and along the way he switched to full contact kickboxing. The switch has been successful for Tompkins but not for his 13 opponents who have all walked out of the ring with a loss. Seven of those walked out of the ring with a little more pain than the other 6 though since they fell to defeat by KO or TKO by Tompkins. During his career he worked his way up building himself as a fighter, which can be greatly credited to a great coach in O'Connell. When ready, he fought for the IKF Amateur Super Heavyweight Full Contact Rules Iowa State Title on April 8th, 2000 and defeated Jason Fulcher by KO at :35 seconds into round 1. Last year, he won the most respected title for any USA Kickboxer, the IKF/RINGSIDE USA National Amateur Championship in the Super Heavyweight class. In his quest for the title he stopped David Hampton of Calmet City, IL (33, 5'11", 245, 10-3-2/0) by TKO at 28 seconds into the 2nd round to advance to the Final. In the final he defeated the 2000 USA National Champion John Lenamon (Walkover Winner due to an injury of his opponent) by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-27 & 29-27. In his last bout of last year (October, 2001) he didn't even spend enough time to help us write a story about his fight as he threw 5 kicks in about 10 seconds and stopped Beloit, Wisconsin's Scott Trowbridge (5-2/1) in only 17 seconds of the first round. Tompkins took another step up at the end of the year when he won the honors of 2001 IKF Amateur Fighter Of The Year.

In proper order, he will strive for his next goal this Saturday night in his hometown of Waterloo Iowa at the 5 Sullivan Brothers Convention Center (Right). However in his way will be an even stronger opponent than those before. Across the ring Tompkins will face off against Ivan Varga of Kitchener, Ontario Canada who boast a record of 9 wins with 3 Loses and 4 wins coming by the knockout. Little is known about Varga here at the IKF since he has never fought under the IKF banner before. However, if Varga has his way, he will make his introduction into the IKF a strong one and he could care less what Tompkins has done in the past. Varga's plans are to make his mark in the present come Saturday night where he expects to be the one wearing the golden brass of the IKF Amateur North American Title Belt around his waist. The question will simply be... Who will "Bring It ON" the best come Saturday night... For more event info contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 234-1935 or by E-Mail by clicking HERE!

Ivan Varga

Day's Inn of Butler played host to the fifth annual Battle From Butler kickboxing Friday night. This event was standing room only. It was an entertaining night of kickboxing as usual promoted by Stewart Boxing Center. Here's the results of the night;

1. Branden Humes of Meadville, PA, USA defeated Gary Waller of Butler, PA, USA due to disqualification to Waller.
   
   
2. Jeremiah Seltzer of Mercer, PA, USA won a 3 round decision over Dooner Shraderistis of Pittsburgh, PA.
   
   
3. Dave Bytus of Pittsburgh PA, USA defeated Kevin Boyer of New Castle, PA by 3 round decision.
   
   
4. Tim Novosel of North Side, Pittsburgh, PA, USA defeated Shawn Douglas by 3 round decision.
   
   
5. Chris Hill of Butler, PA, USA defeated Josh Rodriqious of Cleveland, Ohio, USA by 3 round decision. Hill and Rodriqious will rematch on July 13th at Skate Castle in a 5 round title bout.
   
   
6. MAIN EVENT
   Jimmy Stewart (Right) of Butler, PA, USA scored a 3 round knockout over Chuck Gerlach of Pittsburgh, USA. In the first round, Stewart seemed to trade too much with the heavier Gerlach.
   In round 2, Stewart's kicks seemed to hit hard on Gerlach, dropping him in the 2nd with a back kick to the face.
   In round 3 the bout ended with a spinning hook kick to the face again. Gerlach was unable to answer the referee's count and the bout was stopped.

Stewart (PRO: 15-0/10, PBX: 3-0/3, AM: 27-5-2/5) will fight
Vladimir Atamonov, (PKB: 22-1/11, AMKB: 35-5) of Siberia, Russia for Atamonov
IKF World Title, September 28th in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA!

The next Stewart Center event is scheduled for July 13th at Skate Castle in Butler.
For more info, please contact Stewart Center Boxing at (724) 284-3725 or by e-mail at jimmy@stewartcenterboxing.com
or see their website at
www.stewartcenterboxing.com

Hiriwa TeRangi

Holly "Wildcat" Ferneley currently holds 3 IKF World Titles. She won the IKF Pro MuayThai Rules Featherweight World Title when she defeated Julie Wood of Newtown, New Zealand by KO at 2:36 of round one at the Bankstown Sports Hall in Bankstown, Sydney, Australia on March 4th, 2000. She won the IKF International Rules Bantamweight World Title when she defeated Lynette Els of Three Rivers, Vereeniging, South Africa by kick KO in round 3 at the Croatian Club in Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on September 24th, 1999. She won herIKF Pro Full Contact Rules Bantamweight World title by forfeit. To read about what all happened here, click HERE and go to the headline, 7-13-2000. . . The POLITICAL Spoils In Australia!

With all this success, you might think there would be a lot of kickboxing promoters after her to be featured on their events... Not so...Ferneley is frustrated by "Proposed" matches she has been offered in Europe and North America since all of them so far have been only that... "Proposed..." After being excited of the possibilities of competing outside of Australia, she is quickly let down at the last minute by the promoters cancelling at the 11th hour. The Wildcat has backed down from nobody & is also willing to fight any Pro female fighters "Any Rules", whether it would be Full Contact, MuayThai, International or even San Shou rules - hey, even Monopoly! Holly can fight at "Any" weight between 120 lbs/54.54 kg (being her lightest) up to 128 lbs/58.18 kg (being the heaviest she would fight). The spread/range is tremendous covering "3" weight divisions!

Ferneley and her trainer are so eager to fight that she is willing to put any of her IKF World Titles on the line. If there are any Promoters who are would like to promote one of the best female Pro fighters in the World, this is your opportunity to witness & be a part of history - before its gone! In the past, great fighters such as Bridget Reilly, Kathy Long and Ramona Gatto, just to name a few found it hard to get good quality fights. They have all since hung up their Kickboxing gloves. Don't let another part of Pro female history pass us by. What Ferneley's trainer in Australia is willing to offer to such a promoter is a "Return" deal up until the end of 2002. Any Promoter's who are willing to put "The Wildcat" Holly Ferneley on their show, we be "Guaranteed" by the promoter as well as the IKF, a return deal in Australia (For one of their 2 scheduled IKF, events in either August or November). IKF World President Steve Fossum will even draw up the contracts & make sure both sides are locked in & business is taken care of!

Also too, Super Heavyweight Pro and New Zealand Champion Hiriwa "The Kiwi Destroyer" TeRangi (Left) is also available to fight. Since losing his IKF, MuayThai Pro World Title bout by decision to Duke Roufus on December 4th, 1998 in Milwaukee Wisconsin, USA, TeRangi has gone "Undefeated" and is ready to fight the best the World has to offer. He too is willing to fight in any of the rule styles (Full Contact, MuayThai, International or San Shou). Hiriwa is "HUNGRY" once again for a shot at an IKF, title and even more hungry to be offered another shot at an IKF, World Title in any rule division.

So World, what are you waiting for? For all "Genuine" offers, contact Ferneley Trainer/Manager and TeRangi's Manager, Kru Robert Wilesmith, at: 61-41-922-0925 or email at thunder2@hotmail.com.

You want to be the best, you have to fight the best & beat the best...
"BRING IT ON!"

Holly "Wildcat" Ferneley

Canada's
Mike McDonald
Claims K-1 North America Crown!
Photos By Gene Fields

For some reason, no one wants to let Mike McDonald (Right) win a K-1 event in the scheduled 3 rounds... They want him to fight 4... At last nights Las Vegas Nevada, North American K-1 Championships, McDonald and Rick Roufus (Below left and right) made it to the final round for a rematch of their 1994 bout at Caesars Tahoe where Roufus won his IKF Full Contact Rules World Title when he knocked McDonald out "COLD!"

It was a rematch McDonald was looking forward to, especially with leg kicks this time... After 3 explosive rounds of action, all 3 judges had the bout a draw. So, like last years May K-1 Final, the two were forced to fight another round. However, before the 4th "Overtime" round started, Roufus decided he couldn't answer the bell and had to pull out due to injury to his legs from the leg kicks giving McDonald his long awaited K-1 North America Victory. McDonald will now advance to the K-1 World Grand Prix Semifinal tournament at Las Vegas's Bellagio Resort and Casino on August 17th.

It was long overdue due for McDonald... A year actually since everyone watched his final battle last year with Maurice Smith. Nearly everyone at the event who saw it live thought he was the clear winner after 3 rounds. However, the half point system used by K-1 helped keep his opponent Maurice Smith around to tie it up at the end of 3 rounds.

In the 4th round, many of us thought McDonald won it as well, but a much talked about questionable decision favored Maurice Smith for the win and sent McDonald back to Canada disappointed in the judging, and he had every right to be... It was terrible!

Regardless, he has won his well deserved crown this year and will now advance to the August Tournament. In the other bouts of the night, here's how they came out;

• ROUND 1:
  • McDonald defeated Giuseppe DeNatale by Referee stoppage -2 knockdown rule.
  • Jeff Ford defeated George Randolf by unanimous decision.
  • Dewey Cooper defeated Jean Claude Leuyer by unanimous decision.
  • Rick Roufus defeated Kurt Hasley by unanimous decision.
• ROUND 2
  • Mike McDonald advanced to the final when Jeff Ford had to bow out due to an ankle injury in round 2.
  • Rick Roufus defeated Dewey Cooper by unanimous decision.
• FINAL
  • After the scheduled 3, a 4th round was scheduled due to a draw on all the judges cards. In the 4th round Roufus couldn't answer the bell and had to pull out due to injury to his legs from leg kicks giving McDonald the win. (At right, McDonald lands a vicious kick on Roufus )

Undercard Results:

1. 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Champion Carter Williams defeated former IKF Amateur West Coast USA Champion Manuel Quesada by TKO at 1:36 of round 2.
   
   
2. 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Champion Derek Yuen and Lee King fought to a draw.
   
   
3. Michael Mananquil and Marco Matamoras fought to a draw.
   
   
4. Number 3 IKF Ranked Super Welterweight Gary Wheeler defeated Joe Davidson.
   
   
5. Number 4 IKF Ranked Brian Schwartz defeated Brian Warren.
   
   
6. Eddy Millis defeated Ricky Delarosario.
   
   
7. Number 2 IKF Ranked (MTR) and IKF Amateur West Coast U. S. Super Lightweight Champion Shawn Yacoubian defeated number 2 IKF Ranked (IR) Scott Thorson.
   
   
8. Number 2 IKF Ranked Pro Light Welterweight (MTR) Melchor Menor defeated IKF World Champion Danny Steel by decision.
   
   
9. Number 2 IKF Ranked Pro Angela Rivera vs Karen Ousey (no fight due to illness by Ousey)

Mike McDonald

Vladimir Avtamonov

IKF Promoter as well as Champion Jimmy Stewart (Right) will host another night of exciting IKF Kickboxing action tomorrow night. As well as being the event promoter Stewart will also be fighting in a 6 round non title match against John Thorton in preparation for his September 28th, 12 Round World Title Bout against Vladimir Avtamonov (Left, PKB: 22-1/11, AMKB: 35-5) of Omsk, Siberia, Russia.

Stewart(Right, PRO: 14-0/9, PBX: 3-0/3, AM: 27-5-2/5) is the IKF Pro Number 1 Ranked Light Middleweight & U.S. Light Middleweight Champion along with being the IKF Pennsylvania Middleweight Champion.

The IKF Event Representative will be Mr. Travis Squyres and the IKF Referee will be Rick Stagerwalt. For more info, please contact Stewart Center Boxing at (724) 284-3725 or by e-mail at jimmy@stewartcenterboxing.com or see their website at

www.stewartcenterboxing.com

Jimmy Stewart

May 4th 2002, St. Louis, MO. Union Plaza With a couple of days left before weigh-ins, Finney's Promotion Team is getting ready for a spectacular night of kickboxing. With the fight card set finalized (CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE), anyone can see that this night will be full of action.

Jesse Finney has been working hard (See Gym Picture below left) on this show both as a trainer and a promoter. His gym has 7 fighters seeing action, one of which is Mark "KY" Winfield who is fighting for the IKF Missouri State Super Middleweight Title.

"The ticket sales have been going great, we only have the $25.00 General Admission tickets left" Finney notes.

The last two events have been complete sell-outs (See event crowd at right) of more than 1500 spectators, with the addition of more seating Finney's is looking to have about 1800 for this night.

The main event for the IKF Missouri State Super Middleweight Title, will showcase two upcoming fighters in the fight world.

Bobby "Superfoot" Cannon, from Pacific, Missouri, USA is trained by Jim Smothers Jr. out of USA Martial Arts. He brings his record of 14-3/7KO to the ring against Mark "KY" Winfield. Mark is trained by the staff at Finney's Championship Kickboxing and Martial Arts, he has an untarnished record of 10-0/10KO.

Along with the main event there are also some other fights to look for.

• Josh Howell -vs- Tommy Alcozer Jr. Both fighters are no stranger to the ring: Howell, from Union, MO is the #4 IKF Light Middleweight Contender. He has a record of 29-2/21KO. He is the KICK US Middleweight Champion. Alcozer, from Plainview, TX is the USAKA US Middleweight Champion. He has a record of 42-6/6KO.
  
  
• In a rematch from last years IKF Juniors US Title fight. Justin "The Hammer" Lawerence -vs-- Amiel Alcozer. These two had it out in Kansas City last year, so this fight should be as good if not better than the first fight. Lawerence, from Pacific, MO is the IKF US Junior Champion. Alcozer has a record of 5-5/3KO, and was last years runner up.
  
  
• Others in action:
  • "Bad" Brittany Anic, St. Louis, MO vs Yvette Renteria, Plainview, TX.
    
    
  • "Mean" Mike Green, St. Louis, MO vs David Galbrath, Kansas City, KS.
    
    
  • Mark "Gibby" Gibson, St. Louis, MO vs Darren Plank, Topeka, KS.
    
    
  • Kevin Engel, Kansas City, MO vs Seth Henderson, St. Paul, MN.
    
    
  • Jenny Woodrum, Gray Summit, MO vs Susie Shea, Bloomington, MN.
    
    
  • "Big" Dan Thacker, St. Louis, MO vs Felix Perez, Dallas, TX.
    
    
  • Jordan Moore, Pacific, MO vs Alex Alcozer, Lubbuck, TX
    
    
  • James Johnson, St. Louis, MO vs Ray Hernandez, Dallas, TX.

Jesse Finney and his staff will host their next event at Lucky's Nightclub On The Landing in St Louis Missouri on May 14th. Jesse is pictured at right with Lucky's owner Tony Tripiano.

Officials for this event will include, IKF Representative, Jim Howell. Referee, Mark Wasem. Judges, John Leach, Jim Howell and Jim Boucher. Score Keeper Melissa Ruyle and Time Keeper Donna Ruyle. For more event info, please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail at finneys@finneyskickboxing.com or see their website at...

www.finneyskickboxing.com

MORE NEWS OF 5-2-02

Twelve-Year-Old First Registrant For IKF Southeastern Regional
See NEWS Section at South East Regional Event!

WEDNESDAY, May 1st, 2002, AT 8:20 AM, PT

Looking Back At The Past
Adding All The Past News Since The Beginning Of
The IKF To The Past News Pages!

The names may not be well known to everyone but they are to us. Over the last few weeks we have been going back to BTWS Time.... "Before The Web Site" and adding all the past IKF news that use to be published in our IKF Newsletter. Already we have completed news from 1998, 1997 and 1996 with 92 through 95 to follow in the coming months. Names like K. O. Kickboxing, Dan Verdugo, Nasser Niavaroni, Greg Kirkpatrick, Chuck Liddell, Toney Hannon, Maurice Travis, Boyd Murphy, Duke Roufus, George Tsutsui, Mike Dougherty, Heath Harris, Lee Redmond, Eric Regan, Trevor Smandych, Jaime Baron, Jerico Lane, Brett Spaid, Scott Harmen, Dennis Alexio, Dan Stell, Don Wilson, Johnny Davis, Sam Montgomery, Jon Shorlee II, Dave Marinoble, Mike Miles, Chad Sawyer, Steve Wenger, Abe Belardo, Eric Nolan, Jack Stearns and the list just goes on and on... With MANY MORE to be added in the first 5 years of the IKF... These are just a few of the names that we use to write about and some we still do right here on the IKF News pages. Take a trip back in time and read up about some of these past heros as well as where the Champions as well as some officials and promoters of today came from. The reading is worth the memories...

• 1996 News
  
  
• 1997 News
  
  
• 1998 News

MORE NEWS OF 5-1-02

Results From Last Weekends
IKF Eau Claire Wisconsin, USA Event
April 26th, 2002

IKF Promoter Mr. Tom Sullivan completed another successful event last Friday night at the Ramada Inn Conference Center in Eau Claire Wisconsin, USA. There were no title bouts to report on but here's the quick results of the show below...

1. PRO FCR: Heath Fonnest of Forest Lake, Minnesota defeated Scott Robinson of Eau Claire, Wisconsin by 4th round TKO.
   
   
2. Amateur FCR: Cary Roper defeated Tim Runquist by split decision.
   
   
3. Amateur FCR: Steve Gibson defeated Lenny Guilmitte by unanimous decision.
   
   
4. Amateur FCR: Nate Emmons defeated Steve Anderson by unanimous decision.
   
   
5. Amateur FCR: Paul Skaraur defeated Micah Hodge by TKO.
   
   
6. Amateur FCR: Krista Savage defeated Lisa Huffman by split decision.
   
   
7. Amateur FCR: Val Losing defeated Kate Lessard by split decision.
   
   
8. Amateur FCR: Neil Halmstad defeated Luke Larson by split decision.
   
   
9. Amateur FCR: Bill Jardine defeated Adam McDermid by unanimous decision.

For more info, please contact Mr. Tom Sullivan at (218) 724-1663 or (218) 349-4644.

PAST IKF NEWS - CLICK HERE!

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