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OCTOBER, 2003

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THURSDAY, October 31st, 2002, AT 1:40 PM, PT

Your Prayers Are Needed...

Valdosta, Georgia, USA:
Nikki Truett, the fiance of the fearless fighter, Walter "Peewee" McCall, (Right) has met with a horrible accident. While traveling on a road in rural Berrien County, Georgia, she was struck in the head by the head, neck, and shoulders of a deer. Unconscious, she traveled down the road a quarter mile before striking a tree which shattered her arm and damaged her otherwise.

Because of this, McCall will be unable to train to compete for the IKF North American Amateur Championships as scheduled against Neil Halmstad of Wrenshall, Minnesota, USA. The NA Tournament staff is looking to resolve this situation by accommodating Halmstad in suitable weight class.

The sad part of this situation is that the deer's head and shoulders were separated by the deer's body by a Berrien County deputy's car, who allegedly left the accident scene traveling to have his vehicle inspected. After searching for Nikki for hours, McCall was finally able to encourage authorities to assist in the search. She was found an estimated 5 hours after the accident by State Troopers. McCall said today that Nikki is still unconscious, but she is moving. Her bruised lungs and color is returning as well as her vital signs improving.

we here at the IKF asks that you remember Nikki, medical personnel caring for her, and the McCall family in your prayers. Being considerate of his North American opponent's situation, the never-say-die McCall has issued this statement for Mr. Halmstead's consideration,

"I would hate to be in Neil's shoes where my projected opponent for the North American Super Welterweight title was forced to not fight. For this I am sorry. If Mr. Halmstad is interested, I am willing to fight him whether or not he wins a title sometime after I am able to start training again. Good luck Neil."

For more information in regards to this situation, kind words etc. please contact Mr. McCall's trainer, Mr. James Corbett by e-mail at jscorbett_1@yahoo.com.

The King of San Da USA didn't have to think hard to name it's first "Fighter of the Year". According to the San Shou based website operated by san shou trainer and promoter David Ross, (Left) 2002 was the year of IKF Pro San Shou World Champion Rudi Ott, (Right with IKF Belt).

Ott is shown at right after defeating Dave Marinoble (Pictured with Ott) for the vacant IKF Pro San Shou World Title in Redding, CA, USA this last year. The King of San Da USA has Ott ranked #1 in his weight division and one of the United States' foremost San Shou/San Da athletes. No surprise to us here at the IKF...That's why he's a World Champion...

Read the whole story by clicking HERE!

IKF North Mountain Representative and Promoter David Smith is all set to host his 1st Annual Wyoming FIGHT FEST entitled "PAIN ON THE RANGE" this Saturday night, October 26th at the Fairgrounds in the Arena in Casper Wyoming, USA.

The main event of the night will feature the quest for the vacant IKF Pro North American MuayThai Super Middleweight Title. The bout will match-up former IKF Pro USA Cruiserweight Champion and number 2 IKF Ranked Kwame Stephens (Right) of Salt Lake City Utah, USA Vs number 4 IKF Ranked Larry Sharpe (sorry no picture available) of Pinefalls, Manitoba, Canada.

The Semi Main event will feature an IKF Pro International Rules Super Heavyweight non title bout between Raoul Doucet and Darren Walters.

For more info, contact Mr. David Smith by e-mail at david@eagleacademy.com

The IKF Event Representative for this event will be Mr. Brooks Mason and the IKF Event Referees will be Mr. Fred Fitzgerald and Mr. Dan Stell

For more event info go to www.FightFest2002.com

Two Time IKF USA International Rules Middleweight National Amateur Champion Narayan "The Hitman" Stitt (Right) has decided he will hang up his gloves after a dynamic amateur kickboxing career. Stitt started competing on November 11th, 1999 in San Francisco, CA, USA where he won his first bout over fighter Samuel Fraticelli. He went on to win all 10 of his fights with 3 of them coming by KO/TKO.

As a kickboxer he won two IKF USA National Titles (2000 & 2001) and 2 other California State titles. At the 2000 IKF USA National Championship Tournament Stitt defeated Bryan Corley, of Omaha, Nebraska in the first round of competition by unanimous decision 29-27, 29-27, 30-27. The next day in the final, he won his 2000 US Title after an extra "Overtime" round. Yes, OVERTIME. After 3 rounds, the judges scores were 28-28, 28-28 and 30-26 which would have been a Majority Draw for Stitt and his opponent Ronell Huston of Detroit, Michigan. (Bout pictured at left) Since there are no draws in the USA National tournament, the 2 fought a 4th round tie breaker which Stitt won 10-9.

At the 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Tournament he defeated Jason Lovelace of Milwaukee, Wisconsin by TKO in the first round of competition when Lovelace couldn't answer the bell in their bout for round 2. Stitt advanced to the Final the next day where he defeated Todd Whitmoyer of Phoenix, Arizona by majority decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 28-28 to win his second straight National Title. Due to a busy work schedule, that was his last kickboxing bout.

He won his IKF California title at the "THUNDER On The Bay" in Monterey, CA USA on December 2nd, 2000 when he defeated Chan Pen of Modesto, CA. In round 1, both were aggressive but Pen was given a point deduction for a low kick. After the count, Stitt attacked quickly forcing referee Dan Stell to give a standing 8 count to Pen. Stitt won round 1, 10-8 on all 3 judges cards. He also won round 2, 10-9 on all 3 judges cards. Stitt put an end to the bout when he landed a strong Jab to Pen's face which stopped the bout at :52 seconds of round 3.

He won his other, an IMTO Title when he defeated Shawn House of Stockton CA. He also served in the United States Army for 9 years and retired as a Sargent. During his kickboxing career Stitt was trained by Rick Noble and 2001 IKF USA IR Light Middleweight National Amateur ChampionAdam Rogers.

The 31 year old Stitt will now pursue a career in Law Enforcement in the Central California Valley where he now lives (Tracy, CA) with his wife Sonia and their 4 children, Rayshon (11), Mahogany (8), Xzayzius (6) and Shomari (5). His plans are also to eventually start a clothing line for boxers and kickboxers as well as someday train fighters again and become a kickboxing judge. We would be proud to have him as an IKF Judge at any IKF event. We wish Mr. Stitt and his family the best in their future and hope to see him at ringside as well.

Two years ago, Carter Williams (Right) of Modesto, CA, USA was just getting noticed in the sport.
What brought his name to the attention of a lot of promoters was when he won the
2002 IKF USA National Amateur Championship.
At the event, Williams competed in the Adult Men's MuayThai Rules Super Heavyweight division.
In round 1 he faced and defeated John Grantham of Athens, Georgia, USA by split decision 29-28, 29-28 & 28-29.

The win took him to the finals against the 2000 International Rules USA National Champion, Kurt Hasley of Signal Mt. Tennessee, USA.
In the final Williams defeated Hasley by unanimous decision, 29-27, 29-27 & 28-27.

William's USA National Title brought attention to him and was soon being booked by other promoters around the nation.
However, Williams has not stopped at kickboxing.
This 240 lb Ali lookalike has also been winning in Mixed Martial Arts (Right in Cage).

Adding to this, Friday night he added Boxing to his resume and a KO win (Right) in the 2nd round at the HEAVYWEIGHT COLLISION in San Francisco, CA, USA at the Concourse.

Since Williams is skilled in so many ring styles, we're sure to hear a lot about him in the future.
Williams is trained by Gene Fields of the
Academy of Kickboxing
(Modesto, CA & Turlock, CA, USA, TEAM VOODOO, USA IKF World Team Members ).

To contact Mr. Fields call (209) 579-5425 or by e-mail by clicking HERE! Congratulations Carter and keep up the great work.

OCTOBER 19th 2002: Salt Lake City Utah, USA:
New IKF Promoter Griffin Reynaud of Salt Lake city, Utah, USA is all set to kick off another exciting week of kickboxing action in Salt Lake City. Reynaud's first 2 promotions last week went well and this coming weeks Monday and Tuesday night shows hope to do the same. His desire is to keep amateur kickboxers in the region busy and with 2 events a week, this should help greatly. Although there are no IKF titles on the bout there is sure to be plenty of action.

The Monday night event (October 21st) will be at Axes and the Tuesday night (October 22nd) event will be at Club 90. The IKF Event Representative for these events will be former pro IKF MuayThai U.S. Champion Kwame Stephens (Right) who also lives in Salt Lake City Utah.

For more info on these events, please contact Mr. Griffin Reynaud at (801) 273-0772 or by e-mail at griffin@utah-inter-net

Vladimir Avtamonov



Vadaturskiy

IKF Pro FCR Super Welterweight World Champion Vladimir Avtamonov's (Left) trainer, Oleg Vadaturskiy, (Below Left) had assured the Promotional Group for IKF World Title Contender Jimmy Stewart (Right) of Butler, Pennsylvania, USA that he could attain the proper Visa's for them to come to Butler, Pennsylvania, USA to defend Avtamonov's IKF World Title. However, Vadaturskiy failed to attain the Visa's... At least this is what we are left to believe...

Instead of informing the IKF or Stewart's promoters of the status of the Visa's, Avtamonov's Camp simply stopped responding to any of our e-mails 2 weeks ago which has left us to believe, they don't plan to come to America. However the question of "WHY" is still left to ponder. In Avtamonov's defense, maybe they "DID" have trouble attaining the Visa's. However if so, WHY wouldn't they contact us here at the IKF or the Stewart Promotional Team to inform us of this? Why have they gone silent?

Now the status of Avtamonov's IKF World Title is in question and has gone under official review with IKF Headquarters, the IKF Title Board and IKF Europe. He may be stripped for not showing up for this confirmed IKF World Title Defense but our question here is "What else is there to this story?" "None of us here want to strip "ANY" Champion" says IKF President Steve Fossum. "but what other choice do we have if we don't get any response from Avtamonov's Camp?"

The IKF is also investigating the issue with the Visa's which will play an important part in the decision of if or not Avtamonov will still be an IKF World Champion when all is said and done. The fact that they have stopped responding at all is more of a telling sign though as to their position.

If the IKF elects to allow Avtamonov to retains this title, the bout will be re-scheduled by a neutral promoter in California, USA or possibly in Western Europe. If the IKF elects to strip Avtamonov of his World Title, Mr Stewart will fight an appointed contender for the vacated IKF World Title in the Spring of 2003 in California USA.

Regardless of this problem, the Stewart Team will move forward with an Amateur Kickboxing event and Pro Boxing in butler, Pennsylvania, USA on October 26th. For more on this story scroll down this news page.

Jimmy Stewart

February 1st, 2003, Johnny Davis (Right) and his new company, The Art of Kickboxing Promotions will host yet another edition of the growing IKF Point Kickboxing© tournaments. This tournament will be held in Rocklin, California, USA at the beautiful Sunset Center. (2650 Sunset Blvd. 95677) Advance registration is now available on the IKF Point Kickboxing© Page. All competitors can save $10 by registering before January 15th, 2003.

This time around, there are more divisions as well as advanced divisions for those with two or more years of experience in the martial arts or Kickboxing. Fighters with less than two years will compete in the beginners divisions. As always, fighters are in full protective gear. Adult fighters will wear 16 oz. approved gloves while all juniors will wear 12 oz. gloves. Instructors and fighters are reminded to see the rules for Point Kickboxing© on this site before registering, they will be closely adhered to. Point Kickboxers must wear long trousers and Point Muay Thai competitors are to wear shorts… This is a mandatory rule! As most know by now, there are no knockouts allowed in IKF Point Kickboxing©, this event is to increase timing and technique to become a more effective kickboxer.

IKF Point Kickboxing© is only one of the areas Davis hopes to capitalize on with his new promotions company. He also plans to grow other areas of the IKF for example, promoting IKF amateur and professional full contact events and training fighters. Furthermore, hosting seminars across the country, developing training material such as manuals and video tapes for the martial artist and the enthusiast are other goals of his AKB Promotions company.

Johnny will continue to work very closely with the IKF. He states "The IKF is the best thing we as kickboxers have ever had and we need to assure that this great organization stays strong and productive."

For more information on the Feb. 1st, IKF Point Kickboxing© tournament and advance registration go to the Point Kickboxing© Page.

For Johnny Davis' the Art of Kickboxing Promotions Office call (916) 780-7483.

____

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Fossum



Stell

With very little planning, IKF Promoter Ray Thompson (Right) and IKF President Steve Fossum (Left) have put together a full card of Full Contact Rules fights for the first annual IKF North American Amateur Full Contact Rules Championship. This event was planned as a trial event to see if there would be interest for an Amateur North American Championships but was announced so late that high turnouts were not expected.

The event wasn't even planned until after the 2002 IKF USA National Amateur Championships (August) so with only 1 full month of promoting the event, the turn out was good for the potential it had. "We didn't put much into advertising the event until after the 2002 IKF USA Nationals because we weren't even sure how to structure it." Says IKF President Fossum. "However Ray has really stepped up to the plate to organize event logistics in Simpsonville, South Carolina where the event is going to be held."

Surly one of the main reason Fossum was tentative about doing the first ever IKF North American Tournament this year was because he will finally make the move to "Married Man" on November 2nd when he and fiance Toni Foster will marry. However one day after they the honeymoon on the 14th, it's back to work as he will fly out the next morning for this event. "It's a lot of work handling all the event logistics due to the wedding" says Fossum. "This is why Ray will pick up where we leave off while I'm gone as far as fighter needs and questions, not to mention all the work getting the venue ready." Although Thompson will have his full Promotional Team assisting in the weekends activities he will also have the assistance of IKF Head Official Dan Stell (Left). Stell will be doing an officials seminar on Thursday night, assisting with fighter registration on Friday and will be the head referee for the bouts on Saturday.

With the addition of the IKF Website support and a page dedicated to the event found HERE, the event organizing has basically been easy to handle. "It's a lot less fighters for this event (24) as compared to the USA Nationals, (200+ fighters) so it's obviously a lot easier to organize." continued Fossum.

A major aspect making this event smaller is that it will not feature MuayThai or International Rules fighters as well as Junior Divisions (8-16 year old fighters) or Women. "The cable company doing the filming really wanted to see 'Full Contact American Rules Kickboxing" says Thompson. "Since they were only going to have the time to film about 10-14 bouts on the night final, our title fights were limited." The event will be filmed by Charter Communications out of the South East Region of the USA. Charter is one of the largest cable companies in the Nation and if the company likes the event there is a possibility of it being shown around the USA through other Charter affiliates."It's a start for something big as far as TV goes" says Fossum. "TV is no easy task to attain for the sport of kickboxing so as in many things, we feel we have to reinvent the wheel as far as broadcasting of kickboxing on TV. We have to approach it as if its never been done before and this is our foundation."

Thompson

Adding to the TV the event will also be on live Internet Radio on AggressionTV.com, just like this years 2002 IKF USA National Amateur Championships was. "We're building a solid foundation for our future which will include both TV and Internet Broadcasting of IKF Events" says Fossum. "It's going to take some time but in the end it will be a solid base and not a 'hit and miss' production like the sport is now. We want consistent programing for IKF Kickboxing and our fans."

Some of the USA Coaches are disappointed about the fact that no Canadian Fighters registered to "Walk The Walk" for the event. In addition, there were only 2 from Mexico but both were forced to drop off the event this week when they claimed they couldn't attain their Visa's to come to America. "I wasn't surprised at the lack of Canadian or Mexico Fighters." said Fossum. "Not because I thought they didn't 'Want' to Walk the Walk but because of the short notice they had to organize travel plans, Visa's etc."

The Future... Hopefully that won't be a problem at next years North American Championships. As the IKF grows, the overall plan is to organize the first ever IKF World Championships as well. If this plan is successful, we will see IKF Regional Tournaments happening in late spring and early summer. The National Tournaments (USA, Canada & Mexico as well as the rest of the World National Tournaments) in August again like this year. The North American Championships in mid October and the World Championships in late November or early December. Looks like EVERYONE is looking to the future of IKF Kickboxing...

Regardless of who "Won't" be at the event, the fact is, there "Will" be plenty of bouts of fighters "Walking The Walk" at this event in it's first year. Here are the match-ups for the one day Tournament on November 16th.

• Saturday Morning, November 16th: PRELYM BOUTS
  1. Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs.:
     • John Scanlon, Chicago, IL, USA, 3-2/1 Vs Jason Ross, Southaven, MS, USA, 7-1/5.
       
       
  2. Super Lightweight - 132.1 lbs. to 137 lbs.:
     • Cody Cook, Venus, TX, USA, 4-0/0 Vs Justin Pickett, North Augusta, GA, USA, 8-1/3.
       
       
  3. Cruiserweight - 186.1 lbs to 195 lbs.:
     • Adrian Turpin, Anderson, GA, USA, 6-6/0 Vs Andy Foster, Dalton, GA, USA, 0-2/0.
       
       
  4. Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs.:
     • Stephen Thompson, Simpsonville, SC, USA, 23-0/13 Vs Winner of Bout 1 Above.
       
       

• SATURDAY NIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS
  1. Lightweight - 128.1 lbs. to 132 lbs.:
     • Brent Hess,Alexandria, VA, USA, 5-0/2 Vs Joseph Balkis, Robbins, IL, USA, 9-7/4.
       
       
  2. Light Welterweight - 137.1 lbs. to 142 lbs.:
     • Doyle Gayler, Kaufman, TX, USA, 36-5/25 Vs Omar Ballard Columbus, MS, USA, 9-1/5.
       
       
  3. Welterweight - 142.1 lbs. to 147 lbs.:
     • Joe Surack, Kokomo, IN, USA, 8-2/4 Vs Jarett "JP" Perelmutter, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA, AKB: 3-0/2.
       
       
  4. Super Welterweight - 147.1 lbs. to 153 lbs.:
     • Walter McCall, Adel, GA, USA, 5-1/2 Vs Neil Halmstad, Wrenshall, MN, USA, 10-5/0.
       
       
  5. Light Middleweight - 153.1 lbs to 159 lbs.:
     • Anthony McGaughey, Norman, OK, USA, 20-0-1/14 Vs Shaun Gay Valdosta, GA, USA, 3-6/3.
       
       
  6. Middleweight - 159.1 lbs to 165 lbs.:
     • Peyton Russell, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 26-4/6 Vs Shannon Hudson, Greer, SC, USA, 9-5/4.
       
       
  7. Heavyweight - 195.1 lbs. to 215 lbs.:
     • Dan Erickson,Cable, WI, USA, 19-0 Vs Mike Marinoble, Fair Oaks, CA, USA, 6-2/3.
       
       
  8. Super Lightweight - 132.1 lbs. to 137 lbs.:
     • Robert Elledge, Roseville, CA, 8-0/2 Vs Winner of Morning Bout 2 Above.
       
       
  9. Cruiserweight - 186.1 lbs to 195 lbs.:
     • Adam Sylvia, Alexandria, VA, USA, 11-0/8 Vs Winner of Morning Prelym Bout number 3.
       
       
  10. Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs:
      • Bill Jardine, Mondovi, WI, USA, 7-0/0 Vs Winner of Morning Prelym Bout number 4.
        
        

MuayThai, International Rules, Juniors and Women: Don't give up hope on us. We still plan to schedule your North American Championships in the future. Although it wasn't possible for this year, we "WILL" have your tournaments for the 2003 season.

For more information on this event please go to the event info site by clicking HERE. Or, please contact the event Promoters, Upstate Karate, Inc. Ray & Gloria Thompson or Rebecca Preacher at (864) 967-3930, Cell (864) 505-4237, e-mail- tetsushin2@aol.com. Thank You.

Fighters and Trainers. Please be aware that as of Thursday, October 31st, the IKF will not be your main contact for info. This is because our IKF President, Steve Fossum is getting married on November 2nd and will be gone until November 14th. During this time there will be no web changes made on the IKF website since the "WEBSTAFF" will be off on vacation from November 1st until November 18th. Mr. Fossum will be at this event on November 15th. If for any reason you are forced to pull out of this event or need any info in regards to the event, please make all contact inquiries to Upstate Karate, Inc. Ray & Gloria Thompson or Rebecca Preacher at (864) 967-3930, Cell (864) 505-4237, e-mail- tetsushin2@aol.com. Thank You.

The 2002 IKF USA National Amateur FCR Champions
That will "Walk The Walk" At The First Annual
IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships

IKF and ISCF World Team Member Brett Moses has finally made the announcement that fighters and fans in the Southeast have been anxiously awaiting. He is getting back into promoting in a big way on December 7th, 2002, as presents Holiday Fight Party II, a combination IKF kickboxing and ISCF mixed martial arts card to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Dekalb Atlanta Center.

Mr. Moses has been one of the major behind-the-scenes players who has prompted the success of the IKF and ISCF in the Southeast over the past few years. This veteran promoter, who even has the promotion of pay-per-view events on his resume', has patiently waited for the right time to throw his hat back in the promotional ring.

"I wanted to make sure that I could get the right venue for what the fighters and fans deserve," said Moses,
"Sometimes it take a little more time to do things right, but in the end, everybody benefits from not promising more than you can deliver."

How does Moses project that Holiday Fight Party II will deliver?

"What I am planning is an event that will showcase some of the best athletes in the IKF and ISCF facing each other. Some of the fights are ones that the fans have been jumping up and down to see," says Moses.

Fellow IKF and ISCF World Team Member Mike Carlson remarks that he is pleased to see Moses promoting again,

"Brett is someone who has expended tremendous effort to make sure that other promoters have been successful. Now it's time for us to pull together and help him succeed in this venture. I feel certain that he will!"

IKF and ISCF bout prognosticator The Doctor is highly supportive of Moses, "Mr.Moses' intergrity and trustworthiness have always made him the standard-bearer for what martial sports promoters should represent." Attorney and IKF/ISCF supporter "Bad" Johnny Markwalter adds, "Brett is a guy that you can trust. And I trust that he will have some of those elegant ladies that hang around him as ring card girls on December 7." Moses says to keep an eye on the IKF and ISCF News pages for frequent updates on Holiday Fight Party II.

"Holiday Fight Party 1 was extremely well received and we plan to eclipse the success with some great bouts and an array of first class sponsors. The IKF and ISCF web sites will be the best places to go for information on the event."

For more information on holiday Holiday Fight Party II,
E-mail Mr. Moses at not_tank@hotmail.com or call him at (404) 285-3535.

Mike Carlson

Jimmy Stewart

This last Spring, IKF Promoter and multiple Pro Full Contact Rules Champion Jimmy Stewart (Right, Butler, Pennsylvania, USA PRO: 14-0/9, AMKB: 27-5-2/5) put forward a legit and confirmed challenge for Vladimir Avtamonov's (Left, Omsk, Siberia, Russia PRO: 22-1/11, AMKB: 35-5) IKF Pro World Title. All systems looked like a go when Stewart also elected to promote the event here in the USA and pay Avtamonov the required IKF World Champions full purse as well.

However, over the summer a snag in attaining the Visa's for Avtamonov and his trainers looked like it would cancel the bout. Immediately upon hearing this, Avtamonov's trainer, Oleg Vadaturskiy (Below Left) e-mailed the Stewart Team claiming he would have no problem attaining the Visa's.

Well, that was over a month ago and here we are, 2 weeks from fight time and no Visa's from Oleg Vadaturskiy. However, there is more to this than what it looks like. About a month ago, Vadaturskiy was carrying the strong Title of IKF Russian Representative. However an e-mail received here at IKF Headquarters from Dan Green of muaythaionline.net tipped us off that Vadaturskiy had started his own sanctioning body in Russia.

This is where things got tricky. Upon finding this out IKF President Steve Fossum checked the web for the site in question and sure enough, there was Vadaturskiy's picture as a President of this new Organization. What shocked us all the most was that he had copied the IKF's rules and regulations, sanctioning and several other things word for word and formatted them the exact same way as on the IKF pages. This of course broke many IKF Copyright laws so we e-mailed Vadaturskiy to request he remove the site immediately that had all IKF information on it, but with his new organizations letters. He replied with;

"Sorry for not writing for a long time. I was in Kazakhstan and my assistant Konstantin was carrying out my mailing. If you want to contact me urgently please call me on my mobile. When I returned I got to know that you and Eugene Howard have a kind of an e-mail battle. At first I am sorry for the thing that occurred recently. The first thing I have done when came back to Russia was that I requested to remove (XXX - HIS Sanctioning Body) official web site until everything is fully investigated. I did give task to create XXX web site. I advised to check IKF web site as I see it is very good. I advised to take the best information from there as the rules of kickboxing are international. The designers told me this was possible as there was not a copyright sign on your web site. Please accept my apologies. I really did not want to quarrel with anybody. As for our new federation. We do not aim to be competitors of IKF. I hope to explain you everything when I come to Butler, Philadelphia for the IKF World champion title defense match between Jimmy Stewart and Vladimir Avtamonov. I would like to once again thank you for correcting my actions and I am really sorry for what had happened. I think this will be a lesson to all of us."

So, as he said, his site was taken down, but only to be put back up 3 days later with some page and text changes. (There's more to this situation but we are seeing how some things are resolved first before commenting on them.) At this point, Vadaturskiy stopped all contact with the IKF. Instead, a person named Konstantin Makarov said they were managing Vadaturskiy correspondence while he is away. Makarov informed the Stewart Camp and the IKF that he was the manager of Avtamonov. The Stewart camp gave them deadlines they needed the Visa's confirmed, and the State required Blood Test results. However, none of the deadlines were met. In fact, as of October 3rd, we here at the IKF have heard nothing back from Vadaturskiy or Konstantin Makarov despite several e-mails to them. As far as the Stewart camp, there last e-mail from them was on October 8th. since then, they haven't heard a word. Vadaturskiy and Makarov have ignored every deadline given to them by both the IKF and the Stewart Team and continue to do so.

On Thursday, October 10th the situation went from bad to worse when the Stewart Camp was forced to cancel the bout since they "STILL" had no Blood Test results to turn into their State Athletic Commission, let alone the Visa confirmation so they could purchase the plane tickets at a reduced rate. Yesterday the IKF sent an e-mail again to Vadaturskiy, Makarov and all others involved trying to see what could be done. Still there was no response. Now comes the question facing us here at the IKF... Is it possible that Vadaturskiy and Makarov do not care about their fighters title and if so, don't care if they defend it? Or, is it possible that they had no luck with the Visa's and didn't want to inform any of us here in the USA of this? Regardless, we all know that the World Champion Vladimir Avtamonov had nothing to do with all this. However, if his trainer and manager don't care about this bout, does it mean we should continue to keep him as the IKF World Champion?

Vladimir Avtamonov

Michael McDonald

By Alex MacDonald, IKF Japan:
Originally, this event was supposed to match last year's Grand Prix participants against the seven winners from the Las Vegas GP. Last minute changes in August changed the Las Vegas GP into an eight man tournament rather than a 7 vs. 7. The winner was Michael McDonald (Left) of Canada who also won the K-1 North American tournament. McDonald therefore qualified along with Ernesto Hoost, Stefan Leko, Jerome LeBanner, Mark Hunt, Alexei Ignashov and Peter Aerts. Selected by the K-1 organization were well established fighters, Ray Sefo and Mike Bernardo, along with a few unusual choices, Martin Holm, Glaube Feitosa, Gary Goodridge, Sem Schilt and Bob Sapp. Unlike McDonald who had to win two tournaments just to qualify to fight in the K-1 Saitama, none of the last seven had even entered a K-1 tournament.

_______________________________
Mark Hunt vs. Mike Bernardo
After finishing 2001 by winning the Grand Prix, Mark Hunt quickly sank into a slump. He took a knockdown against unheralded Nakasako then lost to Mirko Filipovic and Jerome LeBanner. In those three matches, the man many credit with having a jaw of steel hit the canvas 4 times. His opponent in Saitama, superstar Mike Bernardo, had an even worse slump by taking 4 knockdowns at the hands of Gary Goodridge (then 0-2) and Tom Erikson (0-0). Promoter Ishii went so far as to publicly suggest that he retire.
The match turned out to be an exciting one. Bernardo tried to make used of his superior mobility and reach while Hunt aimed for the legs and made rushes to score big body blows. The judges called for an extra round then decided that Mark Hunt would be the one going to Tokyo Dome. Hunt DEC-4R.

_______________________________
Ray Sefo vs. Martin Holm
Martin Holm of Sweden is a talented newcomer to the K-1. He's never entered one of the world tournaments but performed well against Glaube Feitosa to turn a few heads. It seems that was enough to earn him this chance at entering the Grand Prix. Ray Sefo (Right) however had no intentions of giving up his place and chopped hard with his low kicks and staggered the young Swede with overhand rights. Although Holm was scoring well with his knees, the judges saw no reason for a fourth round and gave the decision to Sefo. Sefo DEC-3R

_______________________________
Peter Aerts vs. Glaube Feitosa
Given his recent performances, it is a bit of a mystery how Brazilian Feitosa qualified for the K-1 Saitama. It is even more of a mystery how he lasted 3 rounds against Peter Aerts. The Dutch veteran, Aerts (Right) never took a backward step and worked body head and legs and even scored a knockdown in the second round with a low kick. After three rounds, the victor was clearly Aerts and it showed on the judges scorecards. Aerts DEC-3R.

_______________________________
Stefan Leko vs. Alexei Ignashov
In an interesting twist of fate, two fighters who fought in the K-1 Grand Prix 2001 would meet each other for one place in the 2002 Grand Prix. The judges needed an extra round to conclude that the more aggressive Leko (Right) would be the one going to Tokyo Dome this year and the Red Scorpion would not. Leko DEC-4R.

_______________________________
Sem Schilt vs. Michael McDonald
Schilt has two advantages on almost everyone he fights. The first is that he is 212cm tall and weighs 120kg. (264 lbs). The second is that most who fight him have never fought anyone quite like him so in terms of experience the game is a little in his favor. Well known as the fastest in the K-1, McDonald only had 3 rounds to try to solve the biggest puzzle of his life. By the third round, the Black Sniper was beginning to earn respect with stinging blows to the giant's head but a knee and the knockdown that followed ended McDonald's 2002 run for the Grand Prix. Schilt DEC-3R.

_______________________________
Jerome LeBanner vs. Gary Goodridge
When Gary Goodridge knocked out Mike Bernardo in Las Vegas, a few K-1 fighters requested to fight him. Jerome LeBanner, however, got the honor. In the pre-fight interview, Goodridge stated that if Bernardo could be considered a top K-1 fighter, winning the Grand Prix would be easy. After the first rush which certainly had brought Goodridge back to reality, the referee had to separate the fighters once. Then the big French southpaw dropped Goodridge hard with a right jab to end the fight 42 seconds into the first round. LeBanner KO-1R.

_______________________________
Bob Sapp vs. Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost promised that former NFL football player Bob Sapp would feel pain and he kept his word. The 3 time Grand Prix Champion was giving his 170kg opponent a severe lesson. Sapp grimaced when hit in the face and winced when kicked in the legs. It looked like he wouldn't get out of the first round but managed to push Hoost into a corner, pin him and score a big right hand that opened up a cut above the left eye of the 37 year old veteran.

Matt Skelton





Sefo





Aerts





Leko

The doctors checked the cut and in doing so gave the gasping Sapp a much needed rest. When the fight resumed Sapp decided to continue brawling and managed to get another knockdown (Right, a slip to everyone else) called against Hoost. The round ended with Sapp throwing 3 punches after the bell. Between rounds, however, the doctor refused to allow Hoost to continue on the grounds of his cut. This gave Bob Sapp the victory and the path to the Grand Prix in Tokyo on December 7th.

This is only the second K-1 Grand Prix Hoost has missed. The first was 1994 where Mr. Perfect fought in (and won) the only K-2 Grand Prix, a tournament for cruiserweights. Sapp TKO-1R.

The Draw
The draw for the 10th Grand Prix was held the following day. Each fighter drew a ball with a number and chose in that order. The first was Ray Sefo who chose to fight in the first match. The next was Peter Aerts who chose to fight in the first match against Sefo. Third was American Bob Sapp who chose to fight in the second match. Musashi, the Japanese champion, chose to fight in the fourth match. The fifth was Jerome LeBanner of France who chose to fight Musashi in the fourth match. The sixth was Stefan Leko who took his place in the third match. Next was the young Dutch giant, Sem Schilt who opted to fight Bob Sapp in the second match rather than meet Stefan Leko who trains at the same gym. Mark Hunt then took the last slot for a rematch with Stefan Leko. The opening line up of the Grand Prix is therefore as follows.

1. 1st Match: Ray Sefo vs. Peter Aerts
   
   
2. 2nd Match: Bob Sapp vs. Sem Schilt
   
   
3. 3rd Match: Stefan Leko vs. Mark Hunt
   
   
4. 4th Match: Jerome LeBanner vs. Musashi
   
   

New fans to the K-1 may notice a few new faces this year. However, long time fans will more likely notice who isn't in the tournament: Ernesto Hoost, Mirko Filipovic, Francisco Filho, Alexei Ignashov, Mike Bernardo, Lloyd VanDams, and IKF World Champion Matt Skelton.

Of the 5 Star Mission of the IKF, the words CREDIBILITY and FAIRNESS head the pack. CREDIBILITY, to provide legitimate title holders and establish a legitimate and detailed monthly ranking system for both Amateur and Professional Kickboxers and FAIRNESS, to oversee all IKF rules, regulations and bouts to assure fairness, quality and competitive spirit among all kickboxers. These words have come to our attention over the last few weeks here at IKF Headquarters as we were asked to review 2 different questionable decisions with a selected group of independent judges. Although the "Reviewed" decisions were not "Unanimous", the fact remains that there were certainly questions to be raised about the scoring of the bouts.

Before we post our findings to these two bouts here in public, we would first like to make it very clear that we are not attacking ANY of the judges on either of these bouts as to the decisions they came to while acting as judges for the bouts on the night of the live action. To do so would open every judge up to attack from those at ringside who might feel they have a legitimate argument towards the final bout decision. This is not our objective here simply because we are talking about "JUDGING," and as everyone knows, it's easy for one person to judge something one way and another to choose the other way, ESPECIALLY in a round that is very close. THIS is why we call it "Judging":

The ability to make a wise decision or to form an opinion of the circumstances presented.

On top of this, although nearly all of us have seen a questionable decision here and there in the fight game, the fact does remain that 98% of all judges decisions ARE INDEED Correct. They are correct because the judges have taken the proper courses, training etc. etc. to have been given the responsibility to sit at ringside and judge a fight. Amateur or pro, it doesn't matter. A fight is a fight.

Rounding out all of this, fact still remains that if a decision is ever questioned, NO ATTACK should ever be made in argumentive form towards a judge, referee or event representative at ringside. All the arguing in the world will not get any decision changed at that time. If a fighter or trainer questions any decision made on an IKF event, we request that they do so in a professional and courteous manor so that the official being complained to doesn't feel they are being verbally or physically insulted or attacked. Remember, all of us have martial arts backgrounds as well as kickboxing backgrounds as well so taking the issue to a physical level would not be in the best interest of anyone, except for the crowd, who would see a new main event on the night...

Joking aside, Simply put, "There is a way to do things as a professional in our sport and a way not to do them."

Back to our news.
This report will feature 2 bouts that had questions about there final decisions. Both ended in decisions and both trainers as well as the fighters had a right to question the final outcome. Not just because it would mean a loss on their records but because both were for titles as well. Another thing to keep in mind is that the results of our individual findings are not an insult to those we judged to be the loser in the fight. This is because on the actual fight date, 2 winners and champions were declared by 3 impartial judges "Doing Their Job" as instructed. If our findings were a simply Black and White in reality of something done wrong, it would make our job easy when asked to review a bout. However, if our findings were Inconclusive, which they were in both these bouts, it is our duty and responsibility as a sanctioning body to act in fairness to all involved which would include "BOTH" fighters of the bout. This of course is where it gets complicated. It is up to us to determine the right thing to do and simply put, "Do the right thing."

Regardless of our individual review conclusions from a video tape, there are factors to keep in mind;

• Judging a bout on video compared to judging it live is a VERY DIFFERENT situation for many reasons.
  1. Visibility of the entire bout is not as easy as if it were if one were live at ringside. During the video reviews, we had several times where the referee was in the way, the fighters were at odd angles for us to see the action or the camera was not centered on the action. This alone is a very important factor in relation to true judgment of a bout.
  2. What we hear on video is not the same as what the ringside judges heard at ringside. What we mean here is the sound of contact. What may look like a landing blow on video may be far less in live action, and visa-versa. This would focus to the question of what blows were doing damage and what blows were only making light contact.
  3. On the other hand, some judges may only be looking for those "POWER" blows where others may judge a bout on contact points. A good explanation of judging can be found on this page HERE.

To us, it's very important to give full justification to you, our readers, fans and associates of our sport rather than just give an answer with no supporting structure with it. This way all of you will know what we are thinking and how we came to the conclusions we came to.

Our panel of independent judges are all either trainers of World Champions, current or Former World Champions themselves or have held Kickboxing titles in their careers. All have been fighters, trainers and officials throughout their careers. Several of them have even been event promoters. With this being said, it should be clear that all those who assisted in these 2 bout reviews are more than knowledgable in the sport of kickboxing as well as in judging bouts. there were 3 separate sessions for reviews with no more than 3 individuals judging the bouts at one time. both bouts were viewed on the same TV screen and the judges were all in clear visual of the entire screen. NONE of the judges were present at the bouts in question and none were told where the bouts were, who the fighters were or who the promoter was until after they reviewed the bouts in full. The judges were only told what corner color to judge as indicated by the color of the fighters gloves or if necessary, separated by the moderator by color of pants worn. Both bouts were full contact rules bouts.

Bout number 1 took place in the South East portion of USA. It was for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Super Heavyweight East Coast Title between Kelly Leo (Left) of Atlanta Georgia USA (18-5-1, 6', 216) and Ronnie Copeland (Right) of High Point, North Carolina, USA ( PKB: 21-3/17, AMKB: 10-3-1/2, PBX: 7-1/6, 6'4", 220) When the 7 rounds were over the judges gave the bout to Leo. Clearly upset on the night of the event, Copelands camp tried to make their points noted at the event, but as we said, "There is a way to do things as a professional in our sport and a way not to do them."

After the event, Copelands Camp filed an official protest as required by IKF Rules & Regulations. There was quite a delay in attaining a video of the bout but once done the IKF Scheduled 3 separate showings of the bout to 3 separate groups of judges. The last showing was completed tonight, October 9th, 2002 at 10:PM, PST. The thing that stood out most was the total rounds the fighters missed their kicks in. This was in part because the ringside kick counters were only counting for "6" kicks instead of the mandatory "8" for PRO Fights. This was an honest mistake that was simply overlooked. Not just by the kick counters but by "Both" corners and their fighters, and "Everyone" else in attendance that night. So the finger isn't pointed at them. They were just doing their job. Here is the official kick count;

1. Round 1: Leo: 10, Copeland 15.
2. Round 2: Leo: 5, Copeland 8.
3. Round 3 Leo: 7, Copeland 7.
4. Round 4 Leo: 8, Copeland 6.
5. Round 5 Leo: 8, Copeland 6.
6. Round 6 Leo: 10, Copeland 15.
7. Round 7 Leo: 5, Copeland 11.
   • TOTALS: Leo missed his kicks in 4 of the 7 rounds. Copeland missed his kicks in 3 of the 7 rounds.

In the end, the scores were as follows;

1. Judge 1: Winner Copeland, 68-66 - After kick count deductions: Copeland 65-62.
2. Judge 3: Winner Copeland, 68-65 - After kick count deductions: Copeland 65-61.
3. Judge 3: Winner Copeland, 68-65 - After kick count deductions: Copeland 65-61.
4. Judge 4: Winner Copeland, 68-65 - After kick count deductions: Copeland 65-61.
5. Judge 5: Winner Leo, 68-65 - After kick count deductions: Leo, 64-62.
6. Judge 6: Winner Leo, 67-66 - After kick count deductions: Draw, 63-63.
7. Judge 7: Winner Leo, 68-66 - After kick count deductions: Leo, 64-63.
8. Judge 8: Winner Leo, 68-65 - After kick count deductions: Leo, 64-62.
   • Before Missed Kick Deductions: Split decision draw, 4 judges for each.
   • After Missed Kick Deductions: 4 For Copeland, 3 For Leo and 1 a Draw.

Due to the outcomes of these scores, we feel it is best to request the scheduling of a mandatory re-match between both fighters to come to an overall final conclusion. This rematch has been noted to be mandatory and we have received word that there may be a promoter in the South East region of USA who could book this bout "AGAIN" as soon as December. Since this is a "Protested" bout that has resulted in a rematch, the IKF will not charge any sanctioning fees for the re-match. If Mr. Copeland wins the rematch, the event promoter will only be required to purchase a new title belt. If Mr. Leo wins the rematch, the belt is already in his possession. We look forward to the scheduling of this bout in the best interest of both fighters.

On our other bout, the circumstances are a little different. This bout happened at this years 2002 IKF USA National Amateur Championships. The bout was for the US National Junior Boys Junior Bantamweight (55.1-60 lbs.) title between Bryse Holyoak, of Twin Falls, ID, USA ( 2-2/0, 56, 4'3", 8, 2-10-94) and Ben Russell of Falls Church, VA, USA (2-1, 59, 4'4", 9, 5-27-93). At the Nationals, Holyoak was scored the winner of the bout by split decision, 29-28, 30-27 and 28-29. What's different about this bout is that a ruling was made after the 2001 IKF USA National Tournament that there would be no protested bouts accepted for the 2002 Tournament because all the bouts that were protested in 2001, all ended up the same way as the first decision. Because of this, a protest could not be accepted at the Tournament by Russell's camp. However on this particular bout, we decided to review it for several "Official" reasons.

This week we completed the first of 3 individual reviews for this bout. Of them, here is what the first 3 judges scored the bout as;

1. Judge 1: Winner Russell, 29-28
2. Judge 2: Scored the bout a Draw. Round 1, 10-9 Russell, Round 2, 10-9 Holyoak, Round 3, a draw 10-10: Final Score: 29-29
3. Judge 3: Scored the bout a Draw. Round 1, 10-9 Russell, Round 2, 10-9 Holyoak, Round 3, a draw 10-10: Final Score: 29-29

Keep in mind there will be 2 more review sessions for this bout. If the results above were at the Tournament, a 4th round would need to be fought to determine the Champion. However, it's obvious this is not possible. Instead, there could be several possibilities for the decided outcome of this bout.

1. If a promoter was willing to feature them both for a rematch they would be assured of an exciting bout. Regardless of the outcome though, Holyoak would keep his title belt since he was declared the US Champion at the event. If Russell won, it would be the first time we would have "Dual Champions" in the same year. It sounds odd, but remember, were trying to do whats in the best interest for BOTH fighters. Why punish Holyoak after he already left the Tournament with his title? Who knows who would have won a 4th round, if the scores were as those above and if one was fought. In addition, whats to say if 3 other judges would have given the bout to Russell? See... Our job isn't easy is it...
2. On the other hand, we could do as the Olympics did in the recent Ice Skating incident. Award the title to both fighters. This is not a bad option since it was neither fighters fault.

So here's where you come in fight fans... Let us know your thoughts on this one. Please don't make your response long as were sure to receive a lot of them. Simply give us your thoughts and your declared winner under the circumstances... We're eager to see what you would do if you made the call...
So, Make the call by clicking HERE!

They came because they care more about who they are and what they accomplish than others think is prudent.
They came because they are willing to risk more than others think is safe.
They came because they dream of doing more than others think is practical.
They came because they expect more of them selves than others think is possible.
They came because they are fighters and trainers in the greatest sport in the world and the ring is their home.

Once again I had the privilege of attending a Fight at Lucky's Landing in St.Louis, Missouri, USA. The folks at Lucky's go out of their way to make you feel at home and do an outstanding job of hosting the fights. Rob Donaker did his usual excellent job of running the fights. Every fight went off without a hitch and the card ran flawlessly. Thank you Rob.
I thought I had seen Lucky's as full as it could get. I was wrong. Standing room only would be an understatement; breathing room only would be more like it. Of course "The Golden Boy" was fighting and this is his town.
Let's get to the fights.

1. Felts vs Swoopes
   • Round #1: Felts and Swoopes danced the usual feeling out round with Swoopes scoring a couple of undeserved knockdowns. The fight was a junior bout and the referee, who did a great job during the night, was a bit protective of the fighters in the first round. Had he known the toughness of the Voyles fighters he may have let the opponent bring a bat in the ring.
   • Round #2: Felts picked up the pace and showed quite abit of improvement over the last time I saw him fight. Swoopes suffered through the round and, despite attempts to mount a rally, could not stand the onslaught of Felts aggressive style.
   • Round #3: It was truly a battle in the third round. Swoopes did an excellent job in the early seconds taking the action to Felts but lost his focus under the relentless pressure of Felts kicks and punches. Felts Takes the fight. This is a young man to watch in the future. Great heart and Voyles for a trainer. This kid has success written all over him.
     
     
     
     
     
2. BOUT #2: EXHIBITION - Engel vs Dinnsdale
   • This was an exhibition but we did see a few interesting things. Engel has developed dramatically under the training of Kevin Bozada. Bozada has assumed a larger roll in the Finney gym. Make no mistake. All Finney fighters bear the unmistakable mark of Jessey Finney's influence but Bozada has brought a new dimension to their training that has elevated Engel to the next level. Dinnsdale, a much lighter opponent showed great heart in displaying his skills against the weight and experience of Engel. Dinnsdale, a product of the O'Connell gym in Waterloo, Iowa, has come a long way in the last year and has earned the right to step into any ring with anyone. I will be anxious to see whom he fights on the upcoming card in Waterloo.
     
     
3. Fight #3: Harris vs Levens
   • Harris made the mistake of thinking he could hang around with a Finney fighter without being a fighter. WRONG! Veteran hitter Jena Repa set standards for her time that only a fighter could appreciate, hence welcome to the game Harris.
   • Round #1: Harris and Levens wasted no time in getting it on. Levens came out with a good right that rocked Harris only to have it answered by a solid left that earned Levens a standing 8. Harris took to the ring like a fish to water and won the round handedly.
   • Round#2: Harris pressed the fight from the sound of the bell and unleashed a solid right that sent Levens to the canvas for the count. 1 minute into the second round. Winner by KO Harris
     
     
4. Fight #4: Leonard vs Anderson
   • I wish I could write a blow by blow for this fight but it would be gibberish. These two fighters fought toe to toe for three solid rounds. Both showed excellent hand and foot work and good presence in the ring. It was, simply put, a small war. Leonard won. I would like to see a rematch for these boys.
     
     
5. Fight #5: McNamara vs Nolden
   • Let's take a different approach for this fight also. First, Leslie is half of the Fighting McNamara family. Erin and Leslie have thrilled fight fans on countless cards and have been a benchmark of excellence for young fighters to aspire to. Kim Nolden, to put it simply, is a bad ass. This girl can fight. McNamara won this fight and you could see the disappointment in Nolden's eyes. This is what happened. Nolden pressed the fight on several occasions which put her in charge and winning the fight. After several exchanges with McNamara, Holden attempted to setup for the next set by covering up and then backing up. You cannot do this against a Finney fighter. The fighters out of the Finney gym, especially with the added influence of Bozada, are both boxers and sluggers. When Nolden and McNamara had long exchanges, McNamara continued to apply pressure and worked her way into whatever combinations she intended to work. Nolden on the other hand could not match the focus and needed to back up to setup. There is nothing wrong with backing up to setup but she should have punched her way back to successfully end the series and start a new one. The Finney fighters will apply unmerciful pressure if you are unable to work your fight will keeping them busy. I have seen this twice with Nolden. I cannot imagine her making the same mistake again.
     
     
6. Fight #6: Rodgers vs Green
   • Eddie Green is a young inexperienced fighter out of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Mike Rodgers is hardened no holds barred fighter with a great record. Kickboxing and NHB are as different as baseball and badminton. The fight: Rodgers mounted assault after assault against Green throughout the fight. However, once inside Rodgers realized he could neither throw, slam or choke his opponent and had little choice but to weather blow after blow by Green in his confusion. Green did a good job and had excellent ring presence, especially in the face of a fighter like Rodgers. The point is this. Rodgers is a cage fighter with no fear. Green is a kick boxer. It was a kickboxing bout and Green won convincingly.
     
     
7. Fight #7: ISCF MMA/NHB: Green vs Hoppes
   • This was a NHB fight. These two boys looked like they had been through a war after the fight. Hoppes won with an arm bar. I wish I knew more about NHB but I don't. Russ O'Connell (IKF & ISCF Promoter and Trainer from Waterloo, Iowa, USA) tells me Hoppes wants to learn Kickboxing. This is getting interesting. O'Connell is in the process of rebuilding his team after the lose of several fine fighters to the Navy.
     
     
8. Fight #8: Mayfield vs Smith
   • Round #1: Smith has an excellent side kick. I wish more fighters would take the time to learn how to use this kick effectively. Smith used the sidekick very effectively. It kept him alive against one of the most aggressive fighters in the ring today. Smith came to this fight with an impressive 16-1 record and gave Mayfield a good fight. Perhaps the round by round account is not the best way to report this fight either. I do not want to diminish the quality of Smith's fighting ability and how well he played the side kick but he was up against Mayfield and that seems to say it all. If you have never seen Mayfield fight, you should make the trip to St. Louis sometime. Good jazz, great food and the Mayfield experience. He swarms his opponents with everything. Kicks, punches, combinations but most of all aggression. He is a tsunami in the ring. His continued improvement is impressive. His footwork has improved since the 2002 IKF USA Nationals and that wasn't long ago. I can only wonder what Bozada and Finney have in store for this boy next. Mark Mayfield is the Joe Frazier of kickboxing and destined to hold a world title. Mayfield won...
     
     
9. The Main Event: Finney vs Christopher
   • Christopher is a fine fighter with a bright future. A future that does not include Finney (Right) for some time I hope. Christopher kept Finney honest and made him work. I wish I could say more but the fight was too short to get a feel for Christopher's style. The Golden Boy Finney came out of retirement. Jessey came to make a case for his dominance of kickboxing and he could not have done better if Carlson had argued his case. Jessey Finney has an innate quality about his fighting ability that leaves no doubt he is one of the best fighters in the world. His footwork and ingenuity in the ring can only be admired. The fight went as planned. Classic Finney straight rights and shins to the body. The only combo I didn't see was the signature left boot-to-boot sweep followed by a hard right. The only combo that Christopher didn't see knocked him out at 1:50 of the second round. To deny Jessey Finney his position as one of the best in his class is to bury your head in the sand. An idea... Finney vs Thompson... Chip Post... Can you say Pay Per View...

Brooks Mason

Kickboxing Under Attack In New York
THE KICKBOXING CORRESPONDENCE by Eddie Goldman

Kickboxing is in big trouble in New York, and apparently in no small part because of the new attitude of the scandal-plagued New York State Athletic Commission.
We have been writing for some time now about the outrageous activities of the New York State Liquor Authority in closing down several kickboxing shows. Many of us also wanted to find out the official attitude of the New York State Athletic Commission to this. An e-mail was sent from a kickboxing promoter to Raymond Locascio of the New York commission. Locascio, it should be noted, has since left the commission, but was still on it when he sent a response, dated Sept. 17. Here is what he wrote, spelling errors and all:

________________________________
From: "Raymond Locascio: RLocasci@dos.state.ny.us
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 12:39 PM
Subject: clarification
Pursuant to your e-mail , the New York State Athletic Commission does not regulate and ha no authority over martial arts competion in New York State.
Kickboxing is considered a martial arts and the Commission does not have and control over these type of competion.

_________________________
This seemed like good news, but I then wrote Locascio asking for more information and clarifications. This was sent directly to Raymond Locascio's e-mail address listed above. The commission is part of the Dept. of State, hence the domain name.
I did not receive a reply from Locascio. Instead, the following reply arrived on Oct. 1 from Hugo B. Spindola, General Counsel for the New York State Athletic Commission. As you will see, it indicates a new and patently absurd extension of the definition of the illegal "combative sports" to kickboxing. Here it is, spelling and punctuation errors intact:

_______________________
Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2002 13:02:11 -0400
From: "Hugo Spindola" HSpindol@dos.state.ny.us
To: knockoutradio@yahoo.com
Subject: Kickboxing
Dear Mr. Goldman:
The New York State Athletic Commission is in receipt of your email dated September 19, 2002, regarding kickboxing. In order to answer your question one must look at the section of the law in New York State which covers "combative sports." The relevant section - Section 8905-a of the Unconsolidated Laws - defines combative sports as "any professional match or exhibition other than boxing, sparring, wrestling or martial arts...the term 'martial arts' shall include any professional match or exhibition sanctioned by any of the following organizations: U.S. Judo Association, U.S. Judo, Inc., U.S. Judo Federation, U.S. Tae Kwon Do Union, North American Sport Karate Association, U.S.A. Karate Foundation, U.S. Karate, Inc., World Karate Association, Professional Karate Association, Karate International, International Kenpo Association, or World Wide Kenpo Association."
Although I do not have any personal knowledge as to the specific organizers who have had their shows "closed down", I will note that their events were probably not sanctioned by any of the above listed governing bodies. As such, they would then fall into the "combative sports" definition.
I hope this response fulfills your previous request.
Very truly yours,
Hugo B. Spindola
General Counsel
New York State Athletic Comission
123 William Street - 20th Floor
New York, New York 10038
(212) 417-5700

___________________________________

Here was my reply to Mr. Spindola:

___________________________________
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2002 12:10:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Eddie Goldman" knockoutradio@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Kickboxing
To: "Hugo Spindola" HSpindol@dos.state.ny.us
Thank you for your reply. You did not include the entire paragraph which you quoted. The part which you deleted reads:
The commission is authorized to promulgate regulations which would establish a process to allow for the inclusion or removal of martial arts organizations from the above list. Such process shall include but not be limited to consideration of the following factors:
(a) is the organization`s primary purpose to provide instruction in self defense techniques;
(b) does the organization require the use of hand, feet and groin protection during any competition or bout; and
(c) does the organization have an established set of rules that require the immediate termination of any competition or bout when any participant has received severe punishment or is in danger of suffering serious physical injury.
Thus both the letter and intent of the law is not to limit or restrict sanctioning only to "the above listed governing bodies."
I would thus like to know just what the commission has done in the five years since this law was passed to fulfill its legal obligation to "establish a process to allow for the inclusion or removal of martial arts organizations from the above list." I would like the dates and summaries of all hearings or reports issued on this subject.
If there have been none, as I suspect, then your commission has not fulfilled its obligations under the law. Further, your opinion was not shared by Raymond Locascio, who wrote to a kickboxing promoter on Sept. 17, "that the New York State Athletic Commission does not regulate and ha no authority over martial arts competion in New York State. Kickboxing is considered a martial arts and the Commission does not have and control over these type of competion." (spelling errors left intact)
Mr. Locascio has since left the commission, but your statement means that in the last two weeks, the commission has changed its opinion. Please relay to me what hearings were held for this. Please relay to me what examination of the track record of these promoters you took into account. Please relay to me what medical experts were consulted. Please relay to me what martial arts experts were consulted. Please relay to me what other commissioners in the Association of Boxing Commissions were consulted.
If none of these investigations were undertaken, which I also suspect, I sincerely hope that you will rapidly reconsider your position. If you do not, I would not be surprised if your commission once again becomes the subject of calls for reorganization, as it did following the Floyd Patterson scandal, the Lewis-Holyfield 1 scandal, the Gatti-Gamache weigh-in scandal, the Beethavean Scottland scandal, the Camacho Jr. scandal, and the other lesser scandals with which it is associated.
Sincerely,
Eddie Goldman
"Knockout Radio" on www.Maxboxing.com
Wrestling Editor, Grappling
Columnist, ADCC News and W.I.N.

_______________________________________


So as you can see, yet another combat sport is in danger of being exterminated by the New York politicians and their appointees at the athletic commission.

Make your voice heard, and demand that New York join the other top state commissions in legalizing and sanctioning all the combat sports. If you stay silent, you will have plenty of extra time to cry about it later when these politicians close down everything they either do not understand or are not involved with in one way or another.

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