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WEDNESDAY, April 30th, 2003, AT 9:45 PM, PST Results From The "SHOWDOWN" IKF
Waterloo, Iowa, USA
For more info on this event please contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 233-8975 or by e-mail at Tkdoc07@aol.co |
MORE
NEWS OF 4-30-03
Salmon's
Moat House Hotel, Etruria
"RESULTS"
Stoke On Trent, England
IKF England, Sunday, 27th April, 2003: What a great show in a great venue. The show was a dinner show and when the spectators completed an excellent meal they were in for a great dessert of action packed kickboxing. Humbert Salmon is a new promoter with IKF, but is experienced at putting on excellent shows.
The night commenced with 2 excellent junior demonstrations by
Jamie Mountford, Burslam Kickboxing Vs Steven Keeling,
Cheadle Kickboxing and
Scott Ashton, Burslam Kickboxing Vs Joe
Bennett, Burslam Kickboxing.
Moumtford & Ashton had
originally been matched for bouts, but due to late notification of their
opponents pulling out, they were given the opportunity to show their skills and
did a great job!
Here are the Results of the nights bouts:
Excellent Demonstration by Stoke TaeKwonDo who entertained the crowd during the interval. A special thank you must be given to the sponsors of the show, who help make these events happen. DVB Moble Phones; Autotec Japanese Import; Catering Alliance; Weir Engineering; Co-op Travel; LIB Ceramics; Burslam Car Test Centre, Imperial Cars, Stoke. The IKF Officials were Leon Kelly, Conny Brown, Clive Tennant, Lisa Beaney, Mike Fowles, Jacqui Thompson, and Alby Bimpson.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-30-03
In Reference To Our News
Posted Earlier Today
IKF
President Steve Fossum
|
Earlier today we posted an article below reminding fighters, trainers and promoters about the safety regulation rule in regards to knockouts suffered by a ring sport fighter. However on the Kickboxing Message Board, someone accused me and the IKF of posting it only to HURT another tournament scheduled before the IKF USA Nationals. The posting person (Who didn't leave a name which is ok) wrote (Spelling errors left); April 30, 2003: "The whole reason Steve posted the important notice is to discourage fighters from fighting in the KICK North American tournament in Vegas. What is he afraid of? Why is he afraid? I guess we should only play in the IKF sand box. That is why kickboxing is in the state it is in. Nobody works together. Steve we appriciate your hard work you are the reason there is a kickboxing revival in american.I understand saftey but in years past no such notice. With KICK's arrival now a notice.HMMM" Although some of you may think this was just a rule we here at the IKF just made up, I thought it best to bring your attention to a list that the sport of BOXING follows to see if a fighter is under any medical suspension for the same reason. To review the PRO Boxing Suspension list, I ask you to click HERE! Unlike boxing, we in kickboxing do not have a company such as "Fight Fax" that keeps track of "EVERY" pro boxer. As for amateur boxing, I'm sure if you contact someone at www.usaboxing.org they would be able to explain this same safety rule for mandatory suspensions due to KO or TKO. The poster ahead claims that we are afraid of the KICK organization. Not sure how they came to that conclusion but they did. With this being said, maybe a few facts should be important here. Nearly every amateur fighter and promoter who reads the IKF pages here knows the IKF USA Nationals has been scheduled in August since February 6th, 2003. Those who know the rules and regulations of the sport also know the rule and regulation in regards to a medical suspension due to a TKO and or KO. Since KICK is a "Sanctioning Body" they should also know this. One would expect them to know this, why? I'd like to direct everyone to the following page posted on the Kickboxing Message Board found HERE. On the page, the person posting the message (futureman) notes who heads up the KICK organization. Among them the writer says, and I quote: "The chairman is Don Hull, member of the Olympic Hall of Fame, past Member of the International Olympic Committee for 23 years, past President of USA Boxing, Past President of International Amateur Boxing Association, and past President of International Olympic Committee for 8 years." The writer went on to write: "Powerful people with a powerful vision. Mark my words a year from you will see all organizations work together. This is Frank Babcocks goal and a noble one." Ok, so the facts speak for themselves here. Now to the point and stay with me here. It's clear with the info above that Mr. Hull has been involved with Amateur Boxing on both the USA as well as the INTERNATIONAL level and with the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) and the ISOC (International Olympic Committee). Knowing this, my point here will be simple to establish. Are you, (The poster above) trying to say that Mr. Hull does not know a rule that has been in amateur and pro boxing as well as kickboxing for YEARS "AND" is a mandatory established safety rule in Olympic Amateur Boxing? Lets don't play naive here everyone. Of course he does! Remember this as I continue. It goes without saying that if you are a part of a sport, it's your job and "RESPONSIBILITY" to KNOW the sport. This would also mean that if the KICK organization were following the proper safety procedures for ring contact sports, as every good sanctioning body should in regards to medical suspension for KO and TKO's, that they too would follow such a rule. In addition, since their "Chairman" Mr. Don Hull has had such VAST experience in amateur boxing, he should know this regulation without question. We also know from talking to others that KICK (Frank Babcock) had full knowledge of the 2003 IKF USA National Amateur Tournament at least a month ahead of time before they scheduled their event. With this being said, if any of you want to point a finger at anyone, ask KICK "WHY" they, out of the blue, with no prior warning, scheduled their event within this 45 day timeline prior to the IKF USA Nationals? Who knows, maybe they felt they could care less about the fighters that might get stopped by KO or TKO at their event. Maybe they didn't care about the IKF USA Nationals Finals at all. In their defense, it's not their responsibility to worry when our event is or anyone else's for that matter. We will not go as far as to say they did this on purpose because to do so would be an insult and we have no desire to insult anyone here. Sure, they could have scheduled their tournament in June which would have easily been outside the 45 day suspension time. But they didn't and because of this, we are discussing all of this today to "WARN" all the amateur fighters and trainers of the issues related to all these events that they have opportunities to be a part of. No one here at the IKF is telling or demanding anyone not to fight at any event be it the KICK tournament, WKA tournament, ISKA, ABC, John Doe or Superman! The choices for you, the amateur fighters and trainers this year are many. This excites all of us in the sport. It is going to be a personal choice those amateur fighters and their trainers will be free to make. Sure we want to see all of you at the IKF USA Nationals. However, we know this is not possible due to the cost of travel and all. |
What we do want is for all of you to have CHOICES. As we all know, competition makes us all better at what we do, not just fighters. If we were the only tournament, we may not feel we need to get better every year. However, every year before this year, even without competition, we have improved the IKF USA National Amateur Tournament GREATLY. This year will be no different. The venue is much nicer, the awards are more and of course, every champion will receive the IKF USA National Champions Title Belt valued at over $200.00 (L& R). Even the juniors ages 8 to 17 (Below right).
All of these improvements have been made possible due to the GREAT TEAMWORK of those involved. From each and every fighter, trainer and official to the Regional Promoters, all offer something to make this event as great as it is. As I have said many times and someone else said on the message board, "The IKF Nationals is bigger than the IKF now." So true were these words. Simply put, "KICKBOXING is greater than ANY SANCTIONING BODY!"
As far as their never being such a notice (45 Day Medical/Safety Suspension for TKO/KO Stops!) in past years, this is not true. We have always made this an issue through all of the regional events. This is why "ALL" of our regional seeding events are scheduled to be done by the end of June. Which is 45 days prior to the 2003 IKF USA National Amateur Finals. This is so if someone does get stopped at a regional, it doesn't take them out of the USA National Finals Tournament. Remember everyone, no matter where you fight or for what letters, as the saying goes in martial arts, so it goes in our sport,
"The belt doesn't make the man
or woman,
the man or woman makes the belt!"
We wish all the promoters success on their events, whatever the letters, wherever the events are. Hopefully we will see more and more fighters at the IKF USA Nationals, but at least now you all have some choices. So good luck to all of you and we look forward to reading how you did at these events on our new Kickboxing Message Board Remember, it is not an IKF Message Board, it's a
MORE
NEWS OF 4-30-03
POSTED AT 10:55 AM, PST
Important Notice To
Amateur Fighters, Trainers &
Promoters!
Be
Aware Of The
45 Day Medical/Safety Suspension
For TKO/KO Stops!
Dear Amateur Fighters, Trainers and Promoters,
This post is
to remind you of a very important IKF
Kickboxing rule and regulation in regards to fighters who are stopped prior to
the end of a bouts scheduled time (KO, TKO).
Keep in mind we have the
IKF USA National Amateur
Championship Tournament
scheduled for August 15, 16 and 17.
This means, no fighters attending the Nationals should fight "45" days PRIOR to the event. This would mean ANY event on or after July 1st, 2003. This is because "IF" the fighter were to get stopped (KO/TKOed) they would be ineligible to fight at the Nationals due to the mandatory 45 day medical suspension rule.
This posting is so you can all be aware of this safety regulation and for you to keep this in mind as you think of booking events or fights after July 1st, 2003 due to the IKF USA Nationals. However, if you are a promoter and you do book an event inside this 45 day time period, please keep in mind that it would be best not to book amateur fighters who plan to attend the IKF USA Nationals in August. To remind you again, promoters, trainers and fighters, if you do, and they/you are stopped in the bout prior to the scheduled end of the bout by KO or TKO, they/you will not be able to fight at the August IKF USA National Finals.
For information regarding the mandatory 45 day suspension rule for TKO/KO please click HERE! For more info on the National Finals please click HERE!
TUESDAY, April 29th, 2003, AT 2:30 PM, PST
Finney Team
Ready For More Action At
"Midwest Fight Fest"
|
St. Louis, Missouri,
USA:
The final bout will showcase Kevin "The Hitman" Engel and Frank Nyguen. Nyguen is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has a 11-0 record, and has fought most of his fights with the USKBA. Engel will be looking to extend his winning streak, and also to show the Kickboxing world that he is one of the Best around. This is sure to be yet another exciting fight card from St. Louis! If you have never been to one, you need to pack your bags and make the trip! For more info please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking: HERE or visit their website at www.FinneysKickboxing.com |
|
Special
IKF Note...
Remember those 2
special bouts that had Marc Mayfield of the Finney
gym matched up with that fighter named Bobby Dixon (Right) for
Finney's July 12th fight card and Dixon's fighter Robert
Bailey scheduled to fight Jesse Finney? Well, if you've been reading
the news here, you may remember that earlier this month Dixon had agreed
to fight Finney which was provoked by some attacks Dixon was
taking on the
Kickboxing Message Board about his record (Which
he claims to be 31-1). In addition, his credibility was also in question in
regards to who his opponents have been to amass such an impressive record.
His acceptance of the fight with Finney was quickly posted on April 10th, praising Dixon of his desire to "Step up to the plate and prove himself." However it didn't take long (1 Day) before someone blew the whistle on Dixon and informed us here at the IKF that he had fought as a Pro Boxer which makes him a "PRO" fighter. Dixon didn't just have 1 pro bout and it "slipped his mind." He had 3 pro fights and a 2-1 record.
When Dixon was exposed, he made the call to Finney to cancel the fight which was a surprise to us here at the IKF. We thought he would just do to Finney as he did with Promoters Dan and Tim Stell a few years back. Dan Stell matched Dixon to fight, now IKF Pro World Champion Dave Marinoble (Left, 17-1-2 with 8 KO/TKO's) who was the IKF US Champion back then. On that card, Dixon had 2 plane tickets from Orlando Florida to Reno Nevada and never even boarded the plane. In fact, to this day he has never returned a phone call or refunded the Stell brothers their money for the tickets. This is just another sad story.
According to sources interviewed after the fact, Dixon is a fighter who built an impressive fight record fighting untrained fighters in bar promotions he did himself. To this day, the only bout we know of where he fought an actual trained opponent was his loss, when both were amateurs, to current IKF Pro FCR Welterweight United States Champion Eric Marshall (Right - 37-5 with 23 wins by KO/TKO) of Bradenton, Florida, USA about 6 years ago. We had hoped this would be a chance for all of us to see Dixon in action and see if his 31-1 "AMATEUR" record he claims is as good as the number. However as of now, it remains a mystery.
AND...
Remember
the fighter Robert Bailey who was scheduled to fight Jesse Finney
on the the same upcoming Finney fight
card? Well, earlier this month if you remember we reported that although Bailey
and his trainer (Dixon) reported Bailey's fight record as
17-2-1, we found he has a minimum of 3 losses, not 2. As far as those 17 wins,
no one seems to know where he got them all. We can only verify about 5 at most.
But we won't get a chance to see if he's all he's been promoted to be either.
Dixon pulled him off the Finney card as well.
MORE NEWS OF 4-29-03
Shush
Makes Noise At SFO IX In
Macon Georgia USA!
Hollywood's
Knee Makes A Worse Noise!
Macon, Georgia, USA
IKF and
ISCF
promoter, Matthew "Mr.
Shush" Waller, (Left) is please with the results of this
last weekends Submission Fighting Open IX,
on Saturday night, April 26 in Macon, Georgia.
With plenty of IKF Kickboxing and ISCF Mixed Martial Arts, Submission Fighting Open IX, had enough explosive action for everyone! Here's the nights results below from the action packed event!
For more information, contact
Mr. Waller at Gauntletprods@cox.net or (478) 475-1092.
MORE NEWS OF 4-29-03
K-1
Comes
To America This Weekend!
K-1
Elimination: Eight Men Enter, One Man Survives!
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: K-1 USA is proud to announce it's 3rd year in Las Vegas. Although titled K-1 "USA", the name only indicates the actual location of the event. The fighters are from North America which includes USA, Canada and Mexico.
This years competition will be staged in the 8,000 seat Mirage Event Center. In addition to the return of 2002 K-1 USA champion Michael McDonald of Vancouver, Canada, this years card will also feature IKF Pro IR World Champion Rick "The Jet" Roufus and former IKF Amateur Champions Carter Williams of Modesto, California, USA and Giuseppe DeNatale of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. On the schedule for the superfights will be IKF Pro San Shou World Champion Cung Le! To read all about this event see the special IKF K-1 News Page by clicking HERE!
MORE
NEWS OF 4-29-03
Ultimate Battle Night
Excites
PACKED HOUSE!
Kwame Stephens, IKF
Representative Utah
Sandy Utah, USA
IKF and ISCF Promoter Mr. Griffin Reynaud put on
a great show last Thursday night, April 24th, with a packed house at Sandy Station. The fighters and audience were
greeted with a great atmosphere and wonderful food. The nights results were as
follows:
This was an Excellent production with more to come in the
future. Reynaud's next event is scheduled for May 8th, in Sandy, Utah,
USA at the Sandy Station, 8925 South - 255
West, Sandy Utah. For Tickets call (801) 352-8032.
For more info call (801)
273-0772 or go to
www.northstarnetworks.net.
MONDAY, April 28th, 2003, AT 7:00 PM, PST
Ramsey's"Rumble
On The Hill"
Is Indeed, A RUMBLE!
Sheppard &
Doucet Wage WAR For Vacant IKF
Pro North American Super Heavyweight Title!
IKF West Virginia, USA: When I flew into Charleston, West Virginia and looked down on the green rolling hills, I had no idea what I was in for. I had heard about the Dawg House of course because of fighter George Randolph (IKF Pro FCR Super Heavyweight Ranked & MMA Fighter) but I was in the dark about the quality of the other fighters or Mr. Ramsey's abilities as a trainer or promoter. No more!! To begin with, West Virginia is the home of one of our war heroes and rescued POW Jessica Lynch. Her safety and well being graced many conversations and the love of the West Virginia people for one of their own was genuine and heart felt. Paul with the Advantage Gym picked me up and the drive to the event took about an hour and a half. We were headed back in the hills to Glenville. I swear to God I thought I heard banjos. Glenville is a beautiful college town nestled in the hills and oh yeah, they love the fights. I thought I had been to fight towns but this past weekend, in the hills of West Virginia, I found "Fight Town USA". The event was in a college basketball auditorium and to say it was packed would be to say Steve Fossum loves to talk. There were 15 amateur and 4 professional fights on the card. The card was mostly boxing with three kickboxing bouts placed throughout and as the main event. Promoter Leon Ramsey donated all the proceeds to the local college football team. Yes, he gave all the money to charity and still had four pro fights. Just hang on it gets better. Although I would say IKF Promoter Jessie Finney has the most beautiful ring girls in the world, they now have some competition. 5 of the prettiest women you have ever seen wearing the least you could imagine pulled ring card duty at this fight. Wait, it gets better. Talking to the boxing commissioner and head referee for the fight, Paul Thornton, I found out he is a city councilman and vice mayor of Vienna. Impressive as that was the alternate referee and the judge sitting next to me was the Mayor, David Nohe. The whole damn city is involved. Let's get to the fights. First I would like to say the boxing bouts were spectacular but you are not hear to read about that. Steve Neal of Charleston, West Virginia versus Ramon
Rosario of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Neal is trained by Warren O'Malley
and Rosari is trained by Mark "The Shark" Miller. Scheduled as fight #16 on the night between Chris Allhouse
of Pennsylvania versus Tyson Shahan of Glenville, West Virginia.
Allhouse is trained by Mark Miller and Shahan is trained by Leon
Ramsey. LET THE WAR BEGIN! Round #2: Round #3: |
|
Round #5:
I don't
know what Ramsey said but the ass chewing must have worked. Sheppard
came out at the bell with a purpose and a plan. The fight we all thought was
over was just beginning. Using more lateral movement to cut off the ring, Sheppard
corner Doucet and dished out some damage of his own. Doucet made
it to the bell but went to the corner stunned and obviously weakened.
Round #6:
Doucet and
Sheppard could not have been separated by a breath during the entire
round. The battle these two men endured sent the crowd to it's feet and the
corners to work at the bell. Ramsey had his hands full with a now badly
swollen left eye and cut and battered nose. Mucciarone was intent on a
strategy to keep
Sheppard from wrestling this fight away after Doucet built such
a lead with the three knockdowns. The crowd did not get up to get a soda and we
all waited for the bell to ring.
Round #7:
Sheppard
exploded out of the corner at the bell and caught Doucet with a right
that obvious stunned him. Doucet got on his toes and with some
well-timed counterpunches was able to work through the fog. Sheppard was
too much for him however and it seemed as though the tide was turning. Both men
were hurt during this round but Sheppard seemed to do more.
Round #8:
I would
have bet the farm that this fight would have been over by now but both men
answered the bell. Both men still wanted the fight. Both men brought all they
had to bear. The roar of the crowd drowned out all other sound, all thought, all
movement. We watched in amazement as two men showed us what heart and
determination is about. We watched a Canadian and an American battle until we
stopped the round, not them. Every blow was answered, every movement countered,
every ounce of strength used. The bell was more of a relief for the crowd than
the fighters and we had two rounds to go.
Round
#9:
Doucet answered the bell for round nine with a fresh look about him.
His trainer Johnny Mucciarone had done his job and done it well. Doucet's
hit and move strategy obviously took it's toll on Sheppard and we saw
the beginning of the end. Doucet seemed to get stronger as the round
progressed. Sheppard's injuries from the earlier rounds must have made
it very difficult for Ramsey to keep him in the fight. The body shots
from Doucet left leg and the brutality of the fight in general was
taking it's toll. Sheppard was losing ground.
Round #10:
Round ten
is where IR fighters can win a World Title. No one goes past 10 but the FCR
fighters. Round ten is only 2 rounds short of the requirements for a FCR world
title. Round ten is for men and women of character, good training and heart.
Round ten is where we are and both men answer the bell. Round ten was exactly
what it was suppose to be. One man knew he had to win it. One man knew he had to
hold on. It was a war.
Doucet was clear and concise. He seemed to draw strength from Sheppard's
endless aggression. Both fighters took tremendous punishment but Doucet
took the round. The bell was a relief for us all. You can only take so much and
we had seen all we could handle. Raoul Doucet is the new IKF Professional Super Heavyweight Champion of North
America.
This was the Best ten round fight I have seen in the last ten years. The best two super heavyweight fighters in the world stepped in to the ring. The toughest fighters I have ever seen stepped out. These two men deserve to fight for a world title. To leave the title vacant because a promoter cannot afford to bring someone from Europe is a shame and a crime. Let one of them win it and let the Europeans bring them over there. Well, my thanks to Leon Ramsey, Paul Thornton and the great people of Glenville. This is Brooks Mason coming to you from the Emerald Mongoose Muay Thai Camp in Omaha, Nebraska. The Home of Kickboxing.
MORE ON THIS
EVENT...
By: Butch Hiles Advanced BKJ
IKF Promoter
Leon Ramsey hosted one of the best kickboxing match of the year on April
25th, in Glenville, West Virginia, USA! Ramsey's "Rumble
On The Hill" featured the IKF
Pro FCR North American Super Heavyweight Title bout between number 4 IKF World Ranked Mike Sheppard of Glenville,
West Virginia, USA Vs number 5 IKF Ranked
Raoul Doucet of Moncton, New - Brunswick, Canada.
This match put an explosive end to an already action packed night of fights. With 25 amateur and professional boxing and kickboxing fights, the sold out arena could not have asked for more when Sheppard and Doucet entered the ring. From the outset of the match Sheppard and Doucet fought their hearts out. Sheppard had the dominance with his punches but Doucet had the upper hand with his powerful kicks. The match seemed to be fairly even until Sheppard caught a hard shin kick to the head with one minute left in the third round. He was clearly out on his feet as he fell to the ground. Unbelievably, he rose to his feet at the count of nine as the crowd screamed for him to get up.
Doucet knew he had to seize the opportunity and he
jumped back on Sheppard as soon as the ref gave him the go ahead. With
nearly one minute left in the round, Sheppard was able to weather the
storm, survive the round, and stumble to his corner at the end of the round.
Seeing Sheppard slumped over in the corner, Doucet knew that he
had to come out hard in the next round and try to finish the fight.
As the
next round started, Sheppard courageously mounted a come back. He
unleashed left hooks and right hands that stumbled Doucet and had him on
his heels. However, still dazed from the knockdown in round three, Sheppard
caught a right hook on the top of his head that nearly put him out of the ring
as he slid under the ropes. Once again, Sheppard picked himself back up
and wobbled to his feet. The two men continued to dish out punishment to one
another until Doucet caught Sheppard with a straight right with
five seconds remaining in the round, but this time he hit the canvas face first.
Laying motionless as the referee counted, it looked as if the fight was over.
However, at the count of six Sheppard started to stir. The crowd, who
were all on their feet, chanted, "USA, USA, USA!" Perhaps giving Sheppard
the extra energy to rise to his feet, he finally made it up at the count of
nine. With the referee's approval Sheppard was sent back to his corner
to come back for another round.
Once again the next round saw Sheppard weathering and
early assault by Doucet only to come back and have Doucet hurt
and in trouble. With the fighters fueling the crowd and the crowd fueling the
fighters, the two battled, punched, and kicked one another from one side of the
ring to the other. The fifth round proved the heart, guts, and desire that Mike
Sheppard possessed.
The fight never had a dull moment, as the two
fighters literally gave it all they had each and every round. The bout's
climactic end came in the tenth and final round. Sheppard needed a
knockout to win but Doucet did not play it safe. Showing that they are
both warriors, the two fought it out until the final bell. There were many times
when it looked as if Sheppard might pull the fight out but Doucet
refused to go down. Each time he was hit or wobbled he would some how throw back
another punch or kick that would stop Sheppard's assault.
The fight
ended with Raoul Doucet being declared the new IKF
Pro FCR North American Super Heavyweight Champion, and both fighters getting a
huge standing ovation. On this night, both men were winners. Raoul Doucet
captured the IKF title and Mike
Sheppard found something within himself that he probably did not know he
had. This was one outstanding and amazing fight put on by two true warriors.
There is a rematch already planned but I am sure these to warriors will need
plenty of time to heal and recover. If you hear of these two fighting in the
future, make sure you don't miss it. Even if it's half as good as the first one,
it is sure to be one of the best fights you will ever see!
MORE NEWS OF
4-28-03
Burnsed
Takes IKF California Title In Fairfield!
Photos By Sharon Bedal
Fairfield, California, USA
IKF Promoters Tim and Dan Stell had
their hands full this past Saturday in Fairfield. Before weigh-ins matchmaker
Dan Stell had 18 bouts matched and 3 IKF
Title bouts. When the weigh-ins were over, the nights card had melted down to 12
bouts with only 1 of them being a title bout. A title that Derrick Burnsed
(Right, with trainer Dave Marinoble) of Citrus Heights, California, USA
ended up winning. Full story below.
However, the action was plenty as the crowd at the Allen Wit Sports Complex was not denied some great fights! More on what happened to the other title bouts at the end of this article but here's the results of the undercard bouts:
THE SAD SIDE OF
THIS EVENT
Those here who have been fighters and trainers know
that there is a need to be professional in your actions. We can't count the
number of times we as members of the IKF
have been given compared praise to those in other sports like Boxing. In Kansas
City the kickboxers were praised for their professionalism and respectful
attitudes towards everyone as compared to the amateur boxers at their boxing
national tournament the week before our
2001 IKF USA Nationals event in Kansas City.
Although both groups stayed at the same hotel, they didn't leave it the same
way. While the IKF Kickboxers left the
hotel in great shape with no reported problems of vandalism, the boxers
vandalized a lot of the hotel and treated the staff with very little respect.
Although it was a surprise to the hotel it was no surprise to us as we have
always witnessed a more professional and respectful attitude with those involved
in kickboxing.
As trainers, we know we must maintain an attitude of respect for those we deal with and strive to set good examples for others. It is our duty to set good examples for our fighters so they will carry on with this in their futures as well. It is also the duty and responsibility of a trainer to know everything about the bout that they agree to match their fighter into. It is with these points that make not just a good trainer but a respected one as well. Those who may not follow these concepts not only set bad examples to those around them but also give our sport a bad name to those who witness such actions.
Such was the issue at this weekends LTD Productions event last Saturday in Fairfield, California, USA. On the card, Mike Marinoble of Roseville, California was scheduled to fight Hector Gutierez of Santa Rosa, California for the vacant IKF Amateur IR Heavyweight California title. Gutierrez's fellow fighter, David Denison also of Santa Rosa was scheduled to fight IKF MTR West Coast Champion Maurice Hooks of Modesto, California. All was confirmed after all 4 fighters weighed in. All four fighters ate their lunch provided by LTD Productions and all were ready to "Bring In ON!" That is, until Gutierrez and Denison's trainer, Billy Olsen was reminded that his fighters would be required to wear headgear in accordance to the IKF Rules and Regulations for Amateur Fighters.
Olsen's reply was "We were never told they had to wear headgear." This attitude has been common with several amateur trainers and fighters in the state of California. Mainly due to the neglect of the rule by other organizations who don't require fighters to wear it. Why? Well, it all started when several promoters wanted their fights to all appear as if they are Pro bouts, especially those promoters doing events that are on any form of TV. A good example of such organizations is the ISKA. On the ISKA website, under their rules found HERE, it says (Under: 6. AMATEUR MATCHES): "All amateur fighters are required to wear approved headguards, shinguards and foot pads, in addition to standard equipment." However, the ISKA has NEVER enforced their own rule. Why? We just told you above.
Because of the non enforcement of this safety rule here in California, it has left many fighters and trainers simply thinking that the rule applies on every fight card in the state. However, the IKF is the only organization that "DOES" enforce this safety rule of headgear not just here in California but everywhere! However, this issue didn't even get to the mandatory IKF rule because the California State Athletic Commission has their own rule about headgear. Strangely enough though, even the California Commission does not require headgear for amateur fighters with more than 3 fights. It's strange an Athletic Commission will not enforce a safety rule, but they don't. That is, unless you have 3 or less fights.
According the the California State Commission, if an amateur kickboxer has 3 bouts or less they are required to wear headgear. On the books, the California Commission only had Denison down as having 1 bout in California. Denison and his trainer Olsen said he had fought in Nevada and on several Indian Reservations and had compiled a record of 5 wins, 5 loses with 3 wins by KO/TKO. This was the record matchmaker Dan Stell had went with when qualifying Denison for his title with Champion Maurice Hooks. However, the commission had to go by his actual number of recorded bouts which was only 1. In addition, Denison's training partner, Gutierrez only had 1 bout as well on the commission records as compared to his stated 2-0 record. Earlier in the week his trainer, Olsen told Stell and the IKF his record was 3-1.
Regardless, it was clear now that both Denison and Gutierrez had to wear headgear. Hooks and Marinoble knew that headgear was mandatory having fought on IKF Sanctioned events before and their trainers, Gene Fields and Dave Marinoble, had inquired to Stell to confirm the rule weeks before. Now Olsen was telling the IKF, Stell and the Commission that since his fighters had to wear headgear, they would probably pull off the card.
With this response, the Commission informed them that since they had already went through weigh-ins, to do so would result in a fighter suspension. Knowing this, Gutierrez agreed to fight with the headgear but this clearly upset Denison who in turn, gave a medical reason why he could not fight with headgear. "The headgear makes my head hot and due to some past injuries with my nose, the heat causes my nose to bleed." Denison explained. "If I know I have to wear headgear weeks in advance I can prepare my nose to accept the heat and to avoid the nose bleed." Although we have never heard of such a thing, at least he had a good explanation for his reasons. Still, the Commission placed him on suspension.
Next, Denison, (who was very professional and respectful during all this) went forward with questioning the Commission how the suspension could be lifted and both the Commission and IKF President Steve Fossum started to explain to him what he would need to do. However, during all this, Denison's trainer Billy Olsen choose to be extremely disrespectful to the Commission and Fossum. At one point, he even had the nerve to tell Fossum, "I'm not afraid of you. You think your some high and might IKF man. I could care less about the IKF. I'm not one of your IKF cronies that do what you say." Now keep in mind Olsen is 5'6" and only 118 lbs so his actions towards Fossum or anyone were a disrespectful insult at best, no threat. After hearing enough, the Commission interrupted Olsen during one of his insulting comments and suspended him indefinitely to ever work a fighters corner as a trainer in any state, California or even Nevada. This was important since Olsen kept bragging to everyone all day how his fighter Denison has a K-1 contract and was turning Pro on the August K-1 in Nevada. Olsen kept bringing up, "I don't need this, I make a hundred thousand dollars a year, this is nothing to me." Such action implies that Olsen thinks he's too good to help his own fighters fulfil their own dreams.
After Olsen was suspended, now his other fighter, Gutierrez, was told he would not have Olsen in his corner for his fight. Dan Stell asked George Tsutsui, a trainer well known to Olsen and his fighters who actually trains with them, if he could corner for him. Tsutsui said sure, but Gutierrez and Olsen said no. When Olsen got suspended, this was the excuse he needed not to fight with headgear against Marinoble. Instead, Olsen was heard outside the venue calling the Commission and the IKF as many foul things as he could. However, few cared what he had to say because everyone else there had no problem wearing headgear and they came to FIGHT, not complain. When Olsen pulled Gutierrez out, Stell made it clear "I will never have any of Billy's fighters fight on one of our events again, EVER!" As well we will never see Olsen again on any IKF sanctioned event either. Although we would be proud to have fighters like Denison become an IKF Champion and Gutierrez as well, the truth is, neither will be if they continue to have Olsen in their corner.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-28-03
Bimpson &
Team
Impress Many
With Great IKF
Title Bout!
IKF England
Andy Kipriano of Eltham Thaiboxing in London England faced John Reynolds of Kirkby Thaiboxing in Liverpool. No disrespect to the other Martial Arts who put on great demonstrations, but none of the others featured an actual live, full contact competition. Respect has to go to John Reynolds who should have arrived at 12 noon with the bout scheduled for 2:PM, but due to a major accident on the motorway was stuck in the backlog of traffic and did not arrive until 2.30 PM with the bout rescheduled for 3.30 PM. Both fighters showed excellent technique and control, both being tough lads, excited the crowd for 5 x 2 minute rounds. The judges scored a unanimous decision to the New IKF Amateur Heavyweight Thai Boxing England Champion, Andy Kipriano. A special thank you to: Lee Wittington who put a lot of hard work into arranging the bout. And not to forget Sponsors, Steve Barrett of Gum Shield Equipment. The IKF officials for the event included Judges Conny Brown, Leon Kelly and Clive Tennant. The Referee duties were handled by IKF International Referee Mick Fowles. DR John Robinson was the ringside doctor. All of these individuals along with IKF Representatives Alby Bimpson and Jacqui Thompson donated their time to aid in this great event for the IKF. Don't miss the next IKF England event coming up on May 4th, "FIGHT NIGHT" Promoted by Mr. John Rice and Mr. Mark Wilson at Club BARCELONA on Renshaw Street in Liverpool England! Event doors will open at 6:PM with the first bout scheduled to begin at 7:PM. For tickets, in England call: 0151 292 2046. |
MORE
NEWS OF 4-28-03
CONGRATULATIONS
TO
THE NEW VIERRA!
|
Phoenix, Arizona, USA She was born on Friday at 10:02 PM. She was 7lbs. 2oz and 19 1/2'" long. Her name is Noelani Violet-Marie Vierra. To send your hello to the Vierra's you can e-mail them at: HARDKNOCKSGYM@aol.com |
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OTHER
IKF RESULTS
COMING LATER THIS WEEK!
Waterloo, Iowa, USA - Macon, Georgia, USA - Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
FRIDAY, April 25th, 2003, AT 3:30 PM, PST
DING!
DING!
Let The
Action Begin This Weekend!
Ramsey Ready For
"Rumble On The Hill!"
Sheppard &
Doucet Square Off For the Vacant
IKF Pro North American Super Heavyweight Title!
|
IKF
West Virginia, USA At 6'2" tall and 228 lbs Sheppard is no small guy but neither is Doucet at 6'2", 218 lbs. Win or lose we understand that the two already have a re-match planned a few months later. In the end their ultimate quest will be for the vacant IKF Super Heavyweight World Title that has been vacant since Mike Labree of Roscoe, Illinois, USA (46-2/40, 6'4", 217) retired the title after his last defense of it on February 3rd, 2001. LaBree won the title on May 15th, 1999 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA, when he defeated Kevin Rosier of Buffalo, New York, USA (36-5 with 36 KO's) at 26 seconds into round 10. LaBree caught Rosier with a short left to the head and Rosier went down to his knees and the bout was stopped. Labree defended his title in his retirement bout on February 3rd, 2001 in Hayward, Wisconsin, USA. He won with a 3rd round TKO over #1 contender, George Randolph of Glenville, West Virginia, USA. Randolph is the training partner of Sheppard. Ranked above these two are 3 fighters who have had a common history among them. All three have lost to IKF Heavyweight World Champion Dennis Alexio (Left, 70-2/65, 5'11", 215). IKF number 1 ranked Super Heavyweight Stuart Green of Wolcstershire, England (23-3/23, 6'2", 253) gave Alexio one of his greatest tests before falling in defeat. When Alexio fought for the vacant IKF title back on May 31st, 1997 he defeated current number 2 IKF Ranked Super Heavyweight Barrington Patterson (Currently 36-2/32, 6'0", 242) of London, England by TKO at the end of the 5th round in Hawaii, USA. Alexio defended the title a year later in Sacramento, CA, USA when he defeated number 3 IKF ranked Super Heavyweight Achille Roger (Currently: 52-5/30, 6'3", 220) of France by TKO in the 5th round. However, we haven't heard much from all 3 of these guys in awhile so the IKF needs to make sure they are even still active. If not, it would certainly change things around in the IKF FCR Super Heavyweight rankings. Oddly enough, if none of them are, and their fight tonight is close, there is a slim outside possibility that we may see Doucet and Sheppard fighting again, but this time, for the IKF World Title. For more info on this event please contact Mr. Leon Ramsey at (304) 462-5744 or e-mail at ramseypetro@rtol.net. |
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MORE
NEWS OF 4-25-03
SHOWDOWN
In
Waterloo!
Promoters O'Connell &
Tompkins Features both Kickboxing and MMA!
IKF Waterloo, Iowa, USA
IKF and
ISCF
Promoters Russ O'Connell and Roger Tompkins (See below photo)
have a winning combination in their region. Plenty of kickboxing fans and some
great fighters to please them! O'Connell has a dynamic club/gym in
Waterloo that features kickboxing of course, along with martial arts (TaeKwonDo
& Grappling) and weight training. The club, Cedar
Valley Pro Fitness is exactly what any fighter needs to
"Bring It ON!
We've heard some say, "Where the heck is Waterloo, Iowa?" Such a comment informs us that those inquiring just don't get around. Well, neither did we until we visited the 5 Sullivan Convention Center a couple of years back to see yet another surprising HOT SPOT for American Kickboxing! However those who have been there know that in Waterloo, when Kickboxing comes to town one name comes to mind more than anyone, "THUNDER FOOT" Trent Tompkins!
Tompkins (Right with father Roger on Left and Trainer Russ) of Waterloo, Iowa, USA is 21 now but he started training with O'Connell at age 10 in TaeKwonDo. He was no superman or muscleman back then. Tompkins was well out of shape about 160 lbs and maybe 4' tall and as Trent has said, "About 2" from being a perfect circle." However, at 208, 6'2" Trent gets to have the last laugh now. He's a lean, mean fighting machine who has represented the style of TaeKwonDo proudly, a style he can credit his powerful kicks to. As a Super Heavyweight he knocked out his last two opponents with spinning hook kicks to the HEAD! He holds an impressive record of 14 wins and no loses with 8 KO/TKO's and has won the IKF USA Nationals and IKF North American Super Heavyweight Titles. But he's got more than physical skill, Tompkins currently attends the University of Northern Iowa majoring in Technology Management holding down a 4.0 GPA.
Tompkins has come down in weight to 208 (Previously fighting at 217) for tomorrow nights bout to fight Jason Ransom of Beloit Wisconsin, USA. Ransom is no push over himself. He's come up in weight from Super Middleweight to weigh-in at 195 and holds a record of 10-2.
However enough of these guys, lets not forget the title bout on the night. It will be in the ISCF Amateur Mixed Martial Arts division when John Hoppes and Corey Musack battle for the vacant ISCF Amateur Midwest Light Middleweight Title. It's sure to be a night of ACTION In WATERLOO, and oh, we almost forgot. If your wondering how many people attend these events in little ol Waterloo? Well at last count, Brooks Mason was witness to well over 1,200 and standing room only when O'Connell and Tompkins put on a show.
So if your looking for some great fights and a great crowd, check out these Iowa boys! There's a reason why the Nationals has been held in Iowa 4 out of the 5 years of it's existence! It's FIGHT COUNTRY! For more info on this event please contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 233-8975 or by e-mail at Tkdoc07@aol.co
MORE
NEWS OF 4-25-03
Stells
Explodes With 3 IKF Titles
At
Fairfield Fight Night!
|
Fairfield, California,
USA: The main event will be for the vacant IKF Amateur California IR Heavyweight Title when Mike Marinoble (Right) of Roseville. CA will match up against Hector Guttierez of Santo Rosa, CA. However before those two "Bring It ON", IKF Amateur West Coast MTR Light Heavyweight Champion Maurice Hooks (Left) of Modesto will defend his title against Dave Dennison of Santa Rosa, CA. Rounding out the title bouts will be Bobby Barns Santa Rosa, CA and Derrick Burnsed of Roseville, CA fighting for the vacant IKF Amateur California IR Super Middleweight Title. The undercard will feature 12 amateur bouts which will include 10 men's bouts and 2 women's bouts. For more info on the event please contact Mr. Tim Stell at (707) 290-8102 or Mr. Dan Stell at (707) 372-0882 or by e-mail at Bambamstell@aol.com |
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MORE NEWS OF 4-25-03
Sullivan
Ready For
Fonnest Vs Baron
II!
IKF Wisconsin, USA: IKF Promoter Tom Sullivan is Ready to Rumble this Saturday night in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA! Sullivan will feature an exciting night of both Pro and Amateur Kickboxing.
The Main event will feature a rematch of the 1999 IKF USA Amateur FCR Super Lightweight National Title. That year, Heath Fonnest of Forest Lake Minnesota (Kicking right) and Charles Barron Chicago Illinois met for in the Championship bout and Baron defeated Fonnest by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
This Saturday the two will meet again but this time for a PRO Title as the two battle it out in the quest for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Light Welterweight North Central title. For more info please contact Mr. Tom Sullivan at (218) 310-1064 or by e-mail at sullytk4b@aol.com
MORE
NEWS OF 4-25-03
Shush To Make Noise For
IKF And ISCF This Saturday
Night!
Matthew Waller's SFO IX to
bring MMA and FCRKB to Macon, Georgia, USA
This Article was moved up from an Earlier Posting Below
Macon, Georgia, USA: IKF and ISCF promoter, Matthew "Mr. Shush" Waller, (Right) has an exciting array of mixed martial arts and full contact rules kickboxing action in store for his Middle Georgia audience at his Submission Fighting Open IX, set for this Saturday night, April 26 in Macon, Georgia. In fact, Waller, who has been primarily known for his MMA productions, is setting off into some new territory, PRO Kickboxing bouts.
"You cannot ignore the numbers and crowd response," says Waller, "The Selbee versus Hudson fight taught me a lot. As an old tang soo do guy myself, I realized that it was in my best interests to start putting on some American rules kickboxing bouts to broaden my audience base and bring in people who thought that kickboxing ceased to exist once the PKA left ESPN in the 1980's."
Waller has aggressively moved in that direction, putting on three (3) Professional IKF full contact rules bouts on his card, that is also scheduled to feature several amateur kickboxing bouts and ISCF amateur bouts. A slight venue change did not slow Waller down at all. "We are now in Club Southbeach, and will have a great show there," commented Waller. "I had some problems unexpectedly come up with the first place and was worried. Then, Mike Carlson (IKF & ISCF World Team Member), as always, gave me some great guidance. From there, I went to his friend and attorney "Bad" Johnny Markwalter, who worked things out so that we could get into a new location smoothly. Once again, the Augusta crowd selflessly came though for us BIG TIME!"
The number of professional full contact kickboxing bouts has outstripped what any promoter has done in recent memory. True to form, Waller is bashful about taking personal credit for the effort, "We have great fight camps and athletes and the most active scene here in the country," says Waller, "That is a credit to the team the IKF and ISCF has put together."
IKF and ISCF World President, Steve Fossum is enthusiastic about Waller's decision to diversify as well. "Anytime you can offer your fans more action it's a plus for the promoters and anytime you can offer pro fighters an opportunity in our sport it's a plus for everyone." Says Fossum. "We have some great amateur fighters out there but there is not much incentive for them to turn pro. It comes down to the bottom line, the promoters of our sport NEED TO MAKE MONEY, or why promote? When the promoter does well, the sport does well which means more opportunity for fighters. I am very pleased that Matthew will have "PRO" Kickboxing on his event. I can't think of one pro fighter out there that can honestly say, 'I'm busy enough fighting.' Promoting pro kickboxing in some states is very expensive so when the opportunity presents itself as it did for Matthew, it's better for all those in pro kickboxing. This gives the amateurs something to look forward to, otherwise, what's the incentive to turn pro?
Featured bouts will include IKF World Rated professional kickboxer, Joshua "Hollywood" Hancock making his much anticipated return to professional kickboxing against Carl Self, from the Ren Halverson camp in coastal Georgia. Southeastern favorite Clint "Wildman" Wiggins is also scheduled to see action in a professional kickboxing bout against Chris Shore.
SFO IX will be held at Club Southbeach, with matches starting at 6:00. From I-75 South, take exit 171 ( Riverside Drive exit) and make a left, go under the bridge and make the turn right just before you get to the gas station, Jocks N Jills will be on your right and the venue is straight to the left . Waller says that fans should keep an eye on the IKF and ISCF news pages for updates, as well as his Georgia Fight Scene web page. The projected SFO IX card is set forth below. For more information, contact Mr. Waller at Gauntletprods@cox.net or (478) 475-1092. Here's the nights fight card as of today.
THURSDAY, April 24th, 2003, AT 3:00 PM, PST
Tonight Starts A LOAD Of
IKF & ISCF Action!
Starting tonight in Sandy, City Utah, USA will be the first of "SIX" IKF sanctioned events around North America. Three of them including tonights event will include ISCF (MMA) Sanctioned action as well. This will be one of the busiest weekends for IKF and ISCF of the year. Here's a quick breakdown of the weeks action with more reports to follow tomorrow!
MORE
NEWS OF 4-24-03
Ultimate Battle Night
TONIGHT
In UTAH
USA!
IKF and ISCF Promoter Mr. Griffin Reynaud is all set to hosts tonights, April 24th IKF and ISCF Action at "Sandy Station" in Sandy Utah. The event will feature both IKF and ISCF Amateur bouts. Sandy Station is located at 8925 South - 255 West, Sandy Utah, USA The nights ISCF Event Representative will be Mr. Andrew Poulos and the nights IKF Event Representative will be Mr. Kwame Stephens. The ISCF Event Referee will be Mr. Steve Gomm and the IKF Event Referee will be Mr. Drew Poulos. The nights judges include, Extreme Challenge Middleweight Champion, Jennifer Howe along with Chris Kluge and Brandon Cornaby. For tickets call: (801) 352-8032. For fighter info call (801) 273-0772. Heres a rundown on
Tonights Louis Florez, 0-0, Vs. Chris Rossiter, 0-0. For More Fight
Info Go To |
MORE
NEWS OF 4-24-03
Fighters Needed In
IOWA USA!
IKF Iowa, USA: IKF Promoter Mick Doyle is asking for some fighters to add to his upcoming May 30th event at Harrah's Casino in Council Bluffs Iowa. Doyle and his Promotional Team are looking for fighters in all 3 main rule styles, MuayThai, International and Full Contact Rules.
This is an all amateur event and interested fighters and or trainers may contact Mr. Doyle by e-mail at Thaiboxusa@cox.net or they can visit the events page on Mr. Doyle's web page at www.mickdoyle.com to contact him through it.
The location of Doyle's event is the same location the IKF and Doyle's promotional team hosted the very first and second IKF USA National Amateur Championships, 1999 and 2000. However at that time the Casino was named Harveys and not Harrahs.
WEDNESDAY, April 23rd, 2003, AT 6:55 PM, PST
Deputy Usry
To Patrol Ring
In Pro Kickboxing Debut
Columbia County Deputy
Hopes To Enforce Quick Justice On April 26 In Macon
Macon, Georgia, USA
Night after
night, Columbia County Sheriff's Office Deputy Scott "The Enforcer"
Usry (Right) patrols the roads of his community, putting his own
life on the line in the battle against crime. On Saturday, April 26, 2003, in
Macon, Georgia, he will step into the ring for a pro kickboxing match, in hopes
that he can maintain order and secure custody over a win, rather than a suspect.
"I have been in law enforcement for five years" says Usry, "And being a martial artist has certainly helped in my awareness of danger and confidence that I can protect the citizens that I am sworn to watch over." This Saturday, however, Usry will have to be careful with his personal safety, as he heads into a five round professional cruiserweight kickboxing match against Michael Dupriest. "Even though this is my first pro fight," states Usry, "I have a lot of amateur experience and have trained hard. I am looking forward to the opportunity." Usry trains at the Augusta Martial Arts Academy in Martinez, Georgia.
His longtime trainer, Mike Carlson, is confident in his fighter's chances, "Scott is a friend first and a fighter and student second," says Carlson, "We have wanted to get him moving as a professional for some time. The Macon fight gave us as a team an outstanding chance to do just that." Usry will be joining local stablemate Clint "Wildman" Wiggins, who also has a professional kickboxing bout on Saturdays' card. Usry and Wiggins' bouts will be part of an event entitled Submission Fighting Open IX, which will be held at Club Southbeach, with matches starting at 6:00 PM, and will feature IKF kickboxing and ISCF mixed martial arts matches. For more information, contact Mr. Waller at Gauntletprods@cox.net or (478) 475-1092.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-23-03
POSTED AT 2:20 PM, PST
Although It's Not Kickboxing News, It was such a surprise, we thought we'd post it...
Boxer Mike Tyson
Will
Get California License!
Los Angeles, (AP)
Mike Tyson
(Right after he KO'ed Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds this last February in
Memphis, Tennessee) won't have to worry about being licensed to box in
California, paving the way for a fight card June 21 at the Staples Center (Los
Angeles) that also will feature heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
California boxing officials agreed in an informal poll Monday not to require a
hearing for
Tyson to be licensed for a fight against Oleg Maskaev. Lewis
will top the card in a title fight, probably against Canadian Kirk Johnson,
though it's still possible that top contender Vitali Klitschko will be
the opponent.
Lewis missed a deadline last week set by the World Boxing Council (WBC) to clarify his plans to fight Klitschko or risk being stripped of his title. But negotiations are ongoing to allow him to fight Johnson.
The deal was completed Monday by the California State Athletic Commission. Rob Lynch, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, said commissioners agreed in the "informal poll" to grant former champion Tyson a license "without a hearing" if he passes ordinary medical tests. No further vote will be required, said Van Gordon Sauter, chairman of the commission.
There were negotiations last week for Lewis and Tyson to appear on the same card in New Jersey, but the state's governor said Tyson would not be licensed there. The fight card is part of an intricate deal being worked out among attorneys for Tyson and Lewis and the cable networks HBO and Showtime that would include a possible rematch between the fighters sometime next year. Tyson and Lewis were supposed to meet in a rematch in June, but Tyson said he wasn't ready to fight.
Questioning The
California State
Athletic Commission?
While other States like Nevada
said "NO" to Tyson, why did California say "Yes?"
Who knows, but it's not the first time the California State Athletic Commission has made some
surprising decisions. In March of this year, Tonya Harding and Paula
Jones were scheduled to fight in the Fox, Celebrity Boxing bout. Did they
need a license? "NO!" (We confirmed this with a call to the
California State
Athletic Commission today. They are not licensed as an amateur or a
pro) Fox hosted the Harding-Jones fight in California, where the
California State
Athletic Commission ruled the match "strictly entertainment, not
real boxing" and didn't require the other participants on the card, who
include also The Partridge Family's Danny Bonaduce and The
Brady Bunch's Barry Williams, to get licenses. Some of the celebs
might not have qualified for licenses. For $60 per applicant, the
California State
Athletic Commission does neurological tests, physical exams, and
blood work. It also demands that anyone who hasn't boxed professionally before
prove that she is capable of fighting, either with an amateur fight record or a
sparring session performance. So does this give boxing, kickboxing and even MMA
Promoters a "GREEN LIGHT" to
promote events in California as long as they use "Celebrities" in the
bouts? The jury is still out.
TUESDAY, April 22nd, 2003, AT 10:00 AM, PST
"Hollywood Hancock"
To Return To Original Starring Role!
World Rated Kickboxer
To Launch FCR Comeback In Macon, Georgia On 4/26/03
Macon, Georgia, USA
Joshua "Hollywood" Hancock (Right) will
make his much anticipated return to professional full contact rules kickboxing
as part of SFO IX, a joint IKF and ISCF sanctioned event to be held at Club Southbeach, in Macon, Georgia, USA this
Saturday, April 26, 2003, beginning at 6:PM. Hancock of Harlem, Georgia
brings a record of 11 wins with 2 loses and 6 of his wins coming by TKO/KO to
the ring. In his way of making a successful comeback is Brunswick, Georgia's
Carl Self. The two will fight in a five round, IKF
sanctioned professional match in the cruiserweight division.
Although he's been out of the kickboxing ring it is not like Hancock (who is ranked number 5 in the IKF Pro Cruiserweight division ) has been inactive in Mixed Martial Arts. Southeastern fight fans have recently seen him in numerous ISCF bouts. Although his efforts were respected there, many wanted to see him reassert himself in the realm of kickboxing. "It's not like we did not think of Hollywood as capable MMA fighter," said SFO IX promoter Matthew "Mr.Shush" Waller, "It is just that we wanted to see him kickboxing again. We are trying to get the pros moving, and Joshua's willingness to take this fight without a lot of time to prepare for the transition back into striking only says a lot about his guts!"
Hancock, who holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, was surely inspired by the U. S. Title winning performance of Tae Kwon Do fighter Mark Selbee in unseating previous Champion Kevin Hudson for the IKF Pro U. S. Heavyweight Full Contact Rules title in Atlanta earlier this year. So when the opportunity came to dive back into kickboxing, Hancock, to his credit, was willing to take the plunge on short notice. Waller adds, "The guy is a professional and that is what they do. They fight and don't wait for an engraved invitation with 'WIN' stamped on it."
Providing an interesting prospective on the bout is Augusta Martial Arts Academy fighter, Scott Usry, who also see professional action on the card, facing Michael Dupriest, of Total Knockout in a five round contest also in the cruiserweight division. Usry has fought (Carl) Self and trained with Hancock. "This is a good fight for both to take," said Usry, "Both fighters have different strengths. That makes for a good match up. I am not going to say too much more about them because I may be facing them someday and do not want to give my strategy away! I will say this. They deserve credit for getting in there and supporting Mr.Waller on this tremendous card that he is putting on. I just hope that my fight goes first so that I can be ringside to watch this one!" So will Hollywood's bout be a sequel of Selbee's, or will Self pan his performance? Only fans at SFO IX will be able to say that they saw it, "Up close and personal."
Hancock was last known to the IKF when he fought in an ISCF Mixed Martial Arts bout in Augusta, Georgia on September 21, 2002 where he was defeated by Matthew Corsey via a guillotine choke. Tickets for SFO IX are $20.00 and are available at the door. For more information, contact Mr. Waller at Gauntletprods@cox.net or (478) 475-1092.
MONDAY, April 21st, 2003, AT 2:15 PM, PST
Fightatorium Continues
"Tradition"
With 'Easter Delight'!
Richardson, Texas, USA: Promoters Chuck Best and Steve Goin held concerns prior to Saturday nights' event at The Fightatorium that too many people would be out-of-town for the Easter Holiday to make up any kind of significant crowd here for the IKF TEXAS (NACSO) 4th show of the year. Those trepidations were soon put to rest as The Fightatorium saw it's largest crowd of 2003; and once again Texas kickboxing fans were not disappointed with what turned out to be a "monster card" here Saturday night, April 19th.
The next IKF TEXAS
event will be on May 24th again at The Fightatorium. |
|
MORE NEWS OF 4-21-03
The Latest On Kickboxing In New York!
Daily
News Runs Story About
New York State Athletic Commission Corruption and
Abuses
New Your, USA
The
Daily News ran a two page story on how the New York
State (USA) Athletic Commission (NYSAC) is plagued with
corruption and scandal, and has failed in it's #1 stated mission, to promote
boxing in New York.
For The full story "Athletic commission rope-a-dopes
boxing" CLICK HERE!
For those not informed on this issue, recent changes in New York State law have made all but "1" Sanctioning Bodies for the sport of kickboxing, San Shou and all Chinese martial arts competitions which include any form of application event (point sparring, continuous sparring, Shuai Chiao, Chi Sau, push hands. Kuoshu Lei Tai and San Shou) Illegal in the State of New York. According to Hudo Spindola, General Counsel for the NYSAC, only organizations on the States "Approved List" can legally run events in NY State. Apparently the list has been around for years but has never been followed until Spindola decided to re-enact it last summer, 2002. Furthermore, the commission has not established any process by which other organizations can be added. If a promoter is not sanctioned by one of these "Approved List" organizations, the NYSAC will send police to shut the event down, something they have already done. With the newly enforced "LIST", it makes kickboxing and Chinese martial art competitions now illegal in the State of New York.
The amendment to the current law states that the only legal "martial arts" competition will be ones sanctioned by organizations on the NYSAC's (NYSAC) "Approved List". This list was created over 10 years ago and only has "KARATE" organizations on it. However a loop hole in the "World "KARATE" Association" has allowed them to be the only sanctioning body in New York to be allowed to sanction kickboxing. Those on the list include, 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.
The IKF does not sanction many events in New York so it has not been a major blow to us. However, several organizations do, which makes this a Major blow to the sport itself. One of the organizations that has been very active in New York was the USKBA - (www.uskba.com) (United States Kickboxing Association). The USKBA under the direction of Mr. Paul Rosner brought more credibility and recognition to Kickboxing in the North East that had previously seen over a dozen promoter only sanctioning bodies overseeing the sport. Their headquarters are in New Jersey and a majority of their events were in New York. Yet with their excellent background in sanctioning the sport in the North East USA, even they cannot get on the NYSAC Approved list along with other kickboxing sanctioning bodies.
The individual responsible for not allowing Kickboxing in New York, Hugo Spindola, their staff attorney sits pretty with a $90,000.00 a year salary but many are wondering what he actually does for his money. He certainly isn't serving those in his State. His job description says he reviews contracts and monitor disputes but he can't be too busy as this year. So far in 2003 then NYSAC has licensed only one event, a small-time boxing card attended by 600 people at a Bronx catering hall. Despite hundreds of letters, e-mails and several petitions asking how other organizations can be added to the "Approved List" Spindola has never even returned any phone calls to these organizations with any guidelines to work with and has yet to offer any light at the end of an endless tunnel.
Due to Spindola's actions or lack of action, kickboxers in New York are forced to leave the state to fight. Worse yet, great promoters like Tommy Battone, David Ross and Lou Neglia, just to name a few have been shut down as well. For many of them, promoting events is part of their living. But it's not just kickboxing that has suffered. Boxing has suffered as well in New York and many fingers point to corruption in the ranks of those appointed as leaders in the sport.
"Boxing is dead in New York, so why even have a commission?" asked trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas, who has worked with former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer. Since 1997, the athletic commission (the regulatory agency for professional boxing) has been marred by charges that it is a Republican patronage pit, sometimes for no-show jobs. Incompetent management and instances of sloppy regulation, even at prefight weigh-ins, are among the other hallmarks of the commission over the last six years, according to investigations by the Manhattan district attorney and the state inspector general. Questionable judging in the ring, "failure to inspect boxing gyms," "conflicts of interest" and "administrative lapses," right down to sacks of unopened mail, are other findings detailed in an inspector general's report on the commission, obtained by the Daily News.
Among the employees of the NYSAC, Scott Crockett, has no boxing background yet is in a position of power as the State Commissions executive assistant to the chairman. He sits pretty with a salary of $75,000 a year. This is nothing new to our sport. We've seen the same thing here in California where the California State Commission regulates Kickboxing yet no one on the commission has any kickboxing background. The commission offers NO Instructional courses for kickboxing officials either yet they have the control and the power to appoint officials to events. Although there are some good officials in the State there are still some being appointed today that have no clue how to judge or referee kickboxing especially MuayThai, let alone San Shou. A simple questions as to credibility comes to the head here, "How can you oversee a sport you have never been involved in on any level nor had any instruction in?"
SATURDAY, April 19th, 2003, AT 3:00 PM, PST
WHAT'S NEXT?
IKF President Steve Fossum: Today I took some time to click through some of the messages on our new Kickboxing Message Board. Some of the comments or posts were very interesting and informative while others seemed to be fueled by past negatives of our sport. As many know, I have never been afraid or shy when it comes to speaking out on issues of our sport. It's clear my passion is strong for not just the sport in general but also when it comes to bringing attention to those who are not only helping our sport but also for those who may be hurting it as well. Whether they be positive or negative I have never been shy with voicing my opinions on them.
In the past, (1970's & 80's mainly) many of those negative issues when spoke of fell on depth ears and no one stood up to those hurting our sport. Not because they didn't want to, believe me they did. It's just that no one had anywhere to voice their opinions. Who would they complain to when they saw things being done wrong? Those in charge back then were some of the same ones hurting our sport for their own personal financial gain. No one questioned them because they were the "Big Cheese" sort of say. "If I speak up, I'll never get to fight on TV, so I'll just keep quiet."
There's a lot of truth to that. I witnessed it many times myself back in the 80's. As time past, the situations never got better, they got worse. Fight purses for pro fighters started to drop and we started to see less and less of those big PRO events because of many reasons.
By the 90's, those who had TV knew it was a fighters dream to fight on TV so they would use the line, "If you fight for a low purse, I will get you a lot of exposure on TV." A line nearly every fighter went for. But it was different before. When Joe Corley (R) ran the show it was one of the greatest ever! Corley was truly "BUILDING" our sport with fight purses far greater than those of today on regular fight cards. There were more "PRO" events in a month than we see today in a year. It was very common to see two pro fighters back then receive a $5 to $10,000 purse. Although low compared to todays Pro Boxing standards, you need to remember, this was back in the 80's. The sad thing is that today, 20 years later, these are considered GREAT Purses with todays Pro Kickboxers who many times have to beg to be paid $150 a round. With Corley's organization going strong with TV and fights all over the country on TV weekly we all wanted to "Be on TV!"
Sadly to say, Corley's TV contract went away when someone (we won't say who) came in and told the TV executives, "Hey, I can do what Corley does for half the price!" And of course, TV was sold on the "New Guy" and the rest is history. While Corley's plan was building and growing with increasing fight purses, more and more big pro shows, the new guys were being paid half what Corley was and it was only enough for their own pockets. There was clearly less money now to help the sport grow, so it didn't. Less money meant less fight purses, less events and worse, less pro events. The great dream and desire of becoming a "PRO" fighter was losing its appeal to the up and coming amateurs. Eventually there was less and less TV because the new guys could not pay the better fighters what they wanted, or were use to getting paid and with this, those in the TV industry saw less quality fights. Soon they became disappointed in what it "Appeared" the sport of kickboxing had to offer, and the big TV deals faded away.
Fighters like Alexio, Roufus, Rhome, Elmore, Thurman, Davis, Hefton, Dorsey and others were the last of the "FAMOUS" kickboxers. Famous because we saw them on TV all the time. We all know our favorite fighters and nearly every karate school or gym knew them as well. But today, without TV, the fans hardly know anyone. As TV dwindled, so did the knowledge and exposure of all the "NEXT" new Champions. It was all happening in front of our eyes and ears but the magazines wouldn't write about it and there was no way to warn those in our sport of what was happening "Right before our eyes." The sport was dying and no one did a thing about those who's fault it was.
However as with everything, times have changed. If something like this happened today, we "ALL" have a way to talk about it and a way for millions in our sport to know about it, INSTANTLY! That's right everyone, the Internet! If not for the Internet, I'm sure some of those greedy individuals of the past would still be going strong today. However, due to message boards, web sites and news sites, many of us are aware of the issues before it gets too late. Many of them would still be getting away with many of the things that were done in the past that eventually brought our sport to the bottom of the TV food chain when it comes to comparing us to other sports around the world. Our sport was and still is not short of greed from certain people. Sadly to say, some of these people are in positions of great power, leaders of others yet they never heard the phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Some of the issues I have brought up in the past are valid. Proof of this is where the sport of kickboxing is today as a sport in the world. Everyday I am confronted with issues that are damaging to the sport as a whole. Everyday I am faced with a choice of whether to act upon the information or to stay silent about it. Everyday I am troubled with this choice and always ponder the reaction to the action I may take. More often than you can imagine I just turn away and shake my head because if I were to act out with an article on the issue it would hurt more people than help. But it doesn't mean "YOU" need to be silent.
Enter the
Kickboxing Message Board. Some of you post
with your real names while others choose not to. I use to be against not putting
your real name out there because I often thought those doing so were just afraid
to say there name. It wasn't until I received an e-mail today that the "Anonymous
Poster Theory" made sense. The mailer brought to my attention some of the
same things I wrote about above. They wrote,
"The message board is
a place where I can speak my mind and not have to worry if my trainer, promoter
or even my best friend will hate me forever or shun me away for doing so. I can
say what I want about what I want and get feedback from others out there. It's
like having our own kickboxing psychologist that helps us air our issues out in
public with others in the sport. Please don't start editing things on it."
I thought about this long and hard as I read the remainder of the e-mail. They went on to bring up some very touchy issues with others I know of and what they had done in the past, thinking they got away with it. They told me that the internet and message boards are a place where they can bring attention to people like them in hopes others won't get hurt like they did. The points became more and more valid as I read the very long e-mail and brought me to this article today. What they had wrote me made a lot of sense, A LOT!
On any message board on the world wide web you will find someone attacking someone for something. Some attacks are surly justified if they can be traced to past facts of the issues and individuals brought up. Sure, some are just attacks with no supported facts, but we need to pay more attention to those posts that attain supporting facts. I see people defending issues about other people or organizations on our message board that I know for a fact are true and correct. I personally know of plenty of facts to support the reality of the facts.
We all need to think back to the time before the internet. This was where people got away with a lot. People fighting for the same title someone else already had with no way to verify it. Certain promoters not paying their expenses and purses. Titles getting stripped for no reason and the list goes on and on. Wake-up everyone. Our sport was hurt long before the internet and it has been the internet that has brought back credibility to it in many areas. However by use of the internet we still catch those trying to "Pull a fast one for a buck" on a lot of us today still. Usually it's someone from that past, pre-internet stage, that tries this, only to be caught and confronted by all of you over the internet on some forum called a Message Board.
I ask those in our sport of kickboxing "What's Next?" I'm asking what do you plan to do to help our sport grow? With the success of the IKF USA National Amateur Tournament there have been several trying to do the same thing. One thing that many of you know of that will always make the IKF Tournaments stand apart from others is The Belts! Amateurs can't look forward to their next fight in terms of pay so all they have sometimes are 2 things. One, to be recognized greatly by their peers and Two, To attain a proud award that can prove what they achieved.
Dan Stell (Above Right - Co founder of the IKF) and I were past fighters, trainers and promoters. We know what all 3 of these individuals want in this sport. Recognition was the main thing. To be recognized and appreciated for their work in the sport. This was our main goal and when the IKF started, a small IKF booklet brought that to reality. Known to many as "The Book" it had everything from rankings, fight reports, upcoming events all the way to the rules of our sport. No one else was doing a booklet full of so much information and better yet, "The Book" had contact numbers for EVERYONE! It was truly the first time this was ever done and continues today here on the IKF website in a larger version. Our site is still, the only place where you can find such a vast amount of contact numbers for those in our sport. By next month, the new IKF Magazine will once again bring to print what was well known as "The Book!"
Today the IKF website has replaced "The Book" and provides more information about our sport than any other kickboxing site on the internet. "EVERY" fighter who has won any IKF title, AMATEUR as well as pro can be found on our past champions page. If a fighter currently holds an IKF title, you can find them in the IKF Rankings along with when they fought for the title, who and the official result of the bout. We continue to be the only source on the internet for amateur kickboxing rankings and rankings that list all details of fighters and their contact info in both amateur and pro.
In addition, the IKF site is the most visited web site for the sport of kickboxing on the internet today. This assures those who fight on an IKF event or promote an IKF event or train fighters in the IKF will surly be spoke of here on our news page for their peers to read about. It has become the "Who's Who" for our sport.
Running such a site is a great responsibility. As I've heard my friend Ray tell me, "Give me something to read on the news page. I hate when there is no new news." The responsibility translates to even more work and more often than not, we don't have a 5 O' clock whistle that tells us the day has ended. Our hours last long into the night and early in the morning as we work to keep our site up to date for our readers who are hungry, as we are, for more info on our sport.
We have not stopped at just the basics as you might have seen. Well known to the IKF, Johnny Davis (L) has created IKF Point Kickboxing. (PKB) PKB is a venue for those just beginning in the sport. As Davis puts it, "The First Step Out of the Gym!" It is sure to be yet another level for individuals to start into our sport without the need to jump right into the ring in their first experience as many of us did. From what I have seen, PKB is not a boring karate fight where the fighters are stopped to call a point. These fights are continous rounds, often with more action than the real thing. If you have never seen one of these bouts, your missing some great action. Davis' next event is coming up May 10th here on the West Coast. He has even created an entire PKB Circuit and if your a promoter looking for something new, this is it. For more info on it, click HERE.
But IKF Point Kickboxing was not the only addition to the IKF. The creation of the USA National and North American Tournaments, (With other Tournaments to come) our upcoming IKF Magazine, fight wear and equipment are just a few more. However, there is much more to accomplish. Everyday I ask myself, "What's Next?" It's a question we all should be asking ourselves.
Remember that famous saying by a famous American President, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I believe our sport needs to be treated the same way. Maybe too many of us are sitting by waiting for someone else to make things happen. Look around you, think of your last conversation with someone about the sport. How often have you heard yourself say, "Why can't we be on TV?" or "Why can't I get paid more to fight?" or "How come I can't get my fighters on shows?" As trainers, when some of us have been faced with those same questions, we acted upon them by becoming promoters so our fighters can get fights. But still, we fall short of our ultimate desires, "The BIG SHOW!" TV!
We decided to do a web site because we didn't want to rely on
other web sites to post our news, events etc. We decided to do a National
Amateur Tournament because no one else was doing one, and the sport needed one.
We decided to do a magazine because we couldn't afford to have other magazines
not report news of our sport. I can name many other aspects of what we have done
but still, the question remains, "What's Next!"
So as I
end, I ask you again to ask yourself that same question and with it, follow it
up with action,
"Ask what you can do for the sport of
kickboxing
Not what the sport of kickboxing can do for you.
"WHAT'S NEXT... Bring It ON!"
MORE NEWS OF 4-19-03
K-1
USA Line-Up!
According to sources today here is the final line-up for this
coming May 2nd, K-1 USA in Las Vegas below. We will have more news on these
match-ups later in the week.
FRIDAY, April 18th, 2003, AT 11:00 PM, PST
The below 2 articles were moved up for todays news.
IKF-TEXAS Prepares For
'FIST-CITY'
At The Fightatorium
|
Richardson, Texas,
USA: The 'Fightatorium' prepares for it's largest card of the year with nine (9) scheduled bouts. As IKF-TEXAS makes its turn towards the upcoming Championships in June, many area fighters are looking to hone their skills in preparation to compete for the first ever IKF-TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS!!! Saturday's card is as follows:
This event will begin promptly at 8:PM. The doors will open at 7:PM. All seats are $10.00. For more information about this event, or if you are interested in the upcoming IKF-TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIPS, contact Chuck Best or Steve Goin at (972) 889-0129, or send e-mail inquiries to sirkikman@juno.com |
|
MORE
NEWS OF 4-18-03
May 10th
IKF
Point Kickboxing©
Pre-registration
Deadline Approaching
Rocklin,
California, USA
April 26th, 2003 marks the deadline for the
May 10th
IKF
Point Kickboxing© event in Roseville,
California, USA. Although many have taken advantage of the
pre-registration
deadline and saved the additional $10 at the door, there is still time for
others to do so as well. Kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters will have the
opportunity to win trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in their perspective
divisions. to register,
Click HERE!
This event will be in conjunction with an in-house Martial Arts tournament hosted by Dave Marinoble and his staff. The tournament will have divisions of katas, weapons and more. Contact Marinoble's Kickboxing for more information on the Martial Arts tournament. (916)786-0333.
Additionally, the IKF and AK (Art of Kickboxing) Promotions will soon announce their IKF Point Kickboxing© Circuit that will give Kickboxers seeking to enter Point Kickboxing events more opportunities to do so. For information on the IKF Point Kickboxing© Circuit click HERE! For more information on IKF Point Kickboxing© and pre-registration click HERE or contact IKF Point Kickboxing© Director Johnny Davis (Right) at (916) 780-7483 or by e-mail at JD@IKFKickboxing.com
THURSDAY, April 17th, 2003, AT 1:00 PM, PST
IKF North
Central
MuayThai & International Rules Regional
Sterling, Illinois,
USA
Attention trainers and fighters, the deadline for the
2003
IKF USA North Central US Muay Thai and
International Rules Regional
is quickly approaching. Please
send the forms and fees (made out to Sterling Park District) to Westwood
Sports, Attntion: Mike Mattox, 1900 Westwood Dr. Sterling IL, 61081.
Starting next week we will start to post the list of fighters on
www.sterlingparkdisctrict.com
For
information, please call Mr. Mike Mattox at (815) 622-0489 or e-mail at
championshipkickboxing@hotmail.com.
For directions, call Westwood Sports at (815) 622-6201.
Please remember that the Holiday Inn in Rock Falls Illinois is one of
our sponsors.
They may be contacted at (815) 626-5500. They are giving all
visitors with the Regionals a generous discount, just remember to tell them you
are with the IKF!
MORE
NEWS OF 4-17-03
5 Time UFC Champion
Pat Militech To Teach Seminar In Sterling,
Illinois, USA!
Sterling, Illinois, USA: Mike Mattox of the Sterling Muay Thai Camp is proud to announce that Pat "The Croation Sensation" Militech (R) will be teaching a seminar on May 3rd from 10:AM to 2:PM. Pat will be teaching one session each of Submission Wrestling, Muay Thai and Militech Conditioning Method.
The cost is $60 in advance or $70 at the door. Payments may be set to the gym's address: Westwood Sports, Attn: Mike Mattox, 1900 Westwood Dr. Sterling Illinois, USA. 61081. Credit card payments are accepted. For directions or to call in a credit card payment, call (815) 622-6201.
WEDNESDAY, April 16th, 2003, AT 8:50 PM, PST
RESULTS FROM
No
Where 2 Hide - Part 3
Sunday, 6th April, 2003
Sunday 6th April 2003
IKF Promoter Clive Matthews
completed a successful show on April 6th at the Daventry Leisure Centre on Lodge
Road, Daventry, England. Here are the nights results below.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-16-03
RESULTS FROM
Explosion
II Thai Boxing
Sunday, 13th April, 2003
Bedford, England
IKF Promoter Nigel Thompson (Right)
of East Area completed a successful event in Moat House, Bedford, England on
Sunday April 13th. Here are the results below.
Excellent Show! Full report to follow by IKF England.
TUESDAY, April 15th, 2003, AT 8:00 PM, PST
Georgia's
Gauntlet Productions
Changes Venue
|
ISCF & IKF
Georgia, USA Club SouthBeach The new venue is only one exit down from the previous one off of I-75 and should prove to be easily accessible to everyone. We hope that this slight change in logistics does not inconvenience anyone. We still have a few openings on the card for MMA fighters so anyone interested please email the Gauntlet Productions Promotional Team at gauntletprods@cox.net |
MONDAY, April 14th, 2003, AT 2:30 PM, PST
Apresa
Win's IKF Title By Split Decision!
Reported Assisted by IKF Representive
Clement
Vierra
|
Camp Verde, Arizona,
USA The Main Event was the quest for the vacant IKF Woman's Amateur IR Atomweight South Mountain Region Title that featured Diana Apresa (Left) of Cottonwood, Arizona, USA Vs Jody Esquibel (Right) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Apresa (Champion Sport Kickboxing) and Esquibel (WinkleJohn Kickboxing) battled it out till the end which to many was far closer than the judges cards. According to IKF Representative Clement Vierra (Right) the fight was hard to describe because it was action all the way. The fan's were on their feet all four rounds. This was a great fight and as Vierra put it, "All I can say is Let's see it Again!!!!" The bout went to the judges score cards and Diana Apresa (Pictured at right) won it by Split Decision to become the new, South Mountain Regional Champion. Here are the results of the other bouts on the nights event:
In addition the the Kickboxing bouts the event also featured some Exhibition boxing bouts. According to Vierra, (Right) "They were the BEST Exhibition matches I ever saw. They were like real fight's as every fighter gave all they had. They had the fan's on there feet." Those exhibition boxing bouts featured Fabian Ortiz (Champion Sport Kickboxing) against Ramino Florez (Rosales Kickboxing). Mario Casillas (Champion Sport Kickboxing) against Fransisco Marin (Chavez Kickboxing) and Rodolfo Carrillo (Champion Sport Kickboxing) against Jose Duran (Rosales Kickboxing) For more information please contact Mr. Clement Vierra at (602) 298-6320 or by e-mail at hardknocksgym@aol.com or Mr. Gary Lollman at (928) 567-1024 or by e-mail at g-lollman@yan-tribe.org. |
|
SATURDAY, April 12th, 2003, AT 6:40 PM, PST
May
Madness In Midtown
Preparations Are Now Underway!
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Fight Promoter and LA Boxing
President Chris Stolzman is excited to announce Earthlink Lives' premier
Midtown venue has been selected to host the May 17th Fight Party.
Pro's to headline the show will include fan favorites, IKF U.S. Full Contact Heavyweight Champ Mark Selbee & ISCF East Coast MMA Champion Steve Headden. The card is shaping up nicely with LA Boxing Stand-out Philip Botha in Amature Muay Thai and Rubin "The Columbian Necktie" Lopez in his triumphant return to full-contact kick-boxing.
Also tentatively scheduled are fighters from Ben Kiker's United Karate (Dalton, Georgia, USA), Eddie Camden's Tiger Academy (Roswell, Georgia, USA), Francis Fong Academy, Mike & Elizabeth Carlson's AAMA (Augusta, Georgia, USA), Cam McHargue and Joel Chavous' AFA (Macon, Georgia, USA) and James Corbett's VMAC (Valdosta, Georgia, USA), to name a few.
In an effort to keep a high level of integrity and attract additional fight camps, LA Boxing has come to an agreement to partner with Fight Party Promotions veteran promoter Brett Moses. Moses is coming off of a huge success at the February Fight Party and will be handling all the additional matchmaking, as well as providing all the officials. Advance tickets will be available April 10th at all LA Boxing clubs as well as several other ticket outlets around town.
FIGHT FANS: Please continue to come out and support our sports. Get your tickets in advance, as they are sure to sell out fast! For more info and Tickets, contact Chris Stolzman by e-mail at Cstzman@aol.com or Brett Moses by e-mail at not_tank@hotmail.com with any questions about tickets or matchmaking.
MORE NEWS OF
4-12-03
Quick Results From Last Nights
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN II
At
the Oconee Civic Center, Watkinsville, GA
IKF Georgia, USA - Event Date: April 11, 2003
For more information please contact Mr. Scott Hicks at (706) 254-3195 or by e-mail at Reb140@aol.com or Mr. Noel Darby at (770) 680-3700 or by e-mail at hct-noel@earthlink.net
FRIDAY, April 11th, 2003, AT 2:40 PM, PST
Hicks & Darby Ready
For
King Of The Mountain II Tonight!
Watkinsville (Athens)
Georgia USA
ISCF and IKF
Promoters Scott Hicks and Noel Darby are all set to host
tonights ISCF
and IKF action at the Oconee County Civic
Center in Watkinsville, Georgia, USA. The event will feature both
ISCF
Mixed Martial Arts Bouts and IKF
Kickboxing bouts. For more information please contact Mr. Scott Hicks at
(706) 254-3195 or by e-mail at Reb140@aol.com
or Mr. Noel Darby at (770) 680-3700 or by e-mail at
hct-noel@earthlink.net
Scott Hicks: (R) Daniel Scott Hicks is a former US Marine and has studied several martial art disciplines with 25 years experience. He has studied the styles of Ninjutsu under Bud Malstrom, Sil Lum Kung Fu, (Black Sash) Wing Chun Kung Fu (Green Sash) Jeet Kune Do and Kali under Sifu Francis Fong, and Sifu John Stover. He studied Muay Thai under Kru Billy Malone. He has trained in Thailand at the Ko Yao Boxing Camp, and at the Phetnoi/ SKV Gym under Arjarn Piathueng Tongpakwan. He is the Head trainer of the Pla Charlarm Muay Thai Camp, he has trained several National and Regional Champions. He is also bi-lingual in English and Cherokee.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-11-03
Apresa And
Esquibel Tee Off For
IKF
Amateur Woman's Title Tomorrow Night in Arizona!
Camp Verde, Arizona,
USA
With the assistance of IKF
Promoter and Trainer Clement Vierra the YAVAPAI-APACHE
Recreational Department and the Native
American Tribe Recreational Department will host their first IKF Kickboxing event tomorrow night, April 12th in
Camp Verde, Arizona, USA.
On the line will be the vacant IKF Woman's Amateur IR Atomweight South Mountain Region Title. Entering the ring will be Diana Apresa of Cottonwood, Arizona, USA Vs Jody Esquibel of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The event will feature more amateur kickboxing as well as boxing for a night of action packed entertainment. For more information please contact Mr. Clement Vierra at (602) 298-6320 or by e-mail at hardknocksgym@aol.com or Mr. Gary Lollman at (928) 567-1024 or by e-mail at g-lollman@yan-tribe.org.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-11-03
Three IKF
Titles Set For Thompson's
Explosion II In Bedford,
England!
|
Bedford, England
IKF Pro MTR Midland Area Featherweight Title
Defence: Dheer won his title back on April 14th, 2002, in Bedford, England when he defeated Daz Mitchell of SSJ by TKO at 56 seconds of the first round. IKF Pro MTR Midland Area Super Middleweight
Title Defence: Gill won his title on April 14th, 2002 in Bedford, England when he defeated Lee Wills from Spirit of Siam by TKO. Rounding out the IKF
Title bouts on the night will be the quest for the vacant IKF
Pro MTR British Commonwealth Super Middleweight Title between
Sidney Thompson Vs Alan
Willis. |
MORE
NEWS OF 4-11-03
So Much For
"Bringing It ON"
With
HONESTY!
|
Well as good as the
IKF Message Board
has been to bring up some points, the News page here continues to win the prize
for getting peoples attention and reporting the facts. As most of you read below
on this page yesterday, Bobby Dixon (Right) of Florida, USA
accepted an amateur bout on Jesse Finney's card in St Louis Missouri,
USA on July 12th. Finney matched
Dixon up to fight Marc Mayfield of Finney's gym. Dixon has not had 1 pro fight as our source informed
us.... As far as Dixon's 1 reported loss it was to current IKF Pro FCR Welterweight United States Champion Eric Marshall (Left - 37-5 with 23 wins by KO/TKO) of Bradenton, Florida, USA about 6 years ago when Marshall was an amateur. Marshall won his IKF Pro Title on August 31st, 2002 in Redding, California, USA when he defeated Heath Fonnest of Forest Lake, Minnesota, USA by TKO at 1:46 of round 3. We had hoped this would be a chance for all of us to see Dixon in action and see if his 31-1 "AMATEUR" record he claims is as good as the number. However as you can all see, this whole pro issue has put a snag in all this now... An additional note to add to this whole story, remember the fighter Robert Bailey who is scheduled to fight Jesse Finney on the the same upcoming Finney fight card? Although Bailey and his trainer (Dixon) reported his fight record as 17-2-1, we have found that he has a minimum of 3 losses, not 2. As far as those 17 wins, no one seems to know where he got them all. We can only verify about 5 at most but we are still collecting information on him. Regardless of his record, the fight between Bailey and Finney is still on for sure. As for the Dixon and Mayfield bout, the jury is still out because according to the Finney Camp, they want these fights even MORE now. We'll see what plays out in the coming days. |
THURSDAY, April 10th, 2003, AT 4:45 PM, PST
This Is The ULTIMATE
Use Of The IKF Term...
."BRING IT ON!"
St Louis, Missouri, USA: It appears that the new IKF Message Board is "Making Things Happen!" A few days ago we did a press story entitled "It Sucks To Be GREAT! - WHO Is Left To Fight THE BEST?!" (See News of 4-3-03 Below) The story was to bring attention to amateur fighters with big winning records who are having trouble finding fights. Some of them we know their skill while others who post big winning records, we've never seen them in the ring. Everyone by now knows that if an amateur kickboxer wants to truly prove their worth here in the USA, they need to enter the IKF USA National Amateur Tournament. The ONE PLACE where
"The BEST meet The BEST to Truly WALK THE WALK and Bring It ON!"
In the article below, we brought attention to a fighter who has never fought at the IKF Nationals. In fact, we have never seen him fight at all. However, he claims to have a kickboxing record of 31 wins with only 1 loss and 18 wins by KO/TKO. The fighters name is Bobby Dixon (Right) of Florida. So where does the "Message Board" play into all this? Well, someone posted a message on April 06 in regards to Dixon. One of Dixon's fighters who was also questioned in the article below for an attempted match-up in St Louis, Missouri, Rob Bailey replied to it on April 09. Bailey questioned the accusations posted and ended the post with, (Spelling errors left in tact) "As for my ranking dropping so low in the IFK and the little red astrek next to my fight record...whatever, get in the ring."
On April 09 someone brought back up the issue that was brought up in the article below about Dixon and Marinoble. Whoever it was they knew some strong facts we know to be true about when Dixon no showed for the fight in Reno, Nevada with now IKF Pro World Champion Dave Marinoble, a few years back. Dixon and another fighter never boarded the plane and have yet to ever speak with the promoter or pay him back for the wasted plane tickets.
Back to the Message Board... Apparently the post got to Dixon and Bailey so much that they called Finney's camp and said they would fight. Now thats what we call "Walkin The Walk!" and the Ultimate response of "Bring It ON!" Today we are happy to announce that on Finney's upcoming July 12th event, Jesse Finney will tee off with Robert Bailey and Marc Mayfield of Finney's will tee off against Bobby Dixon. These are some great match-ups and we suggest if your able, to get your rears to St Louis on July 12th as we see these 4 Amateur Fighters "Bring It ON!" Best of luck to you ALL!
For more info please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking: HERE or visit their website at www.FinneysKickboxing.com
WEDNESDAY, April 9th, 2003, AT 1:10 PM, PST
Martial
Arts May-Hem
-Explosion of Champions-
IKF South Carolina,
USA
Well everyone on May 17th in Greenville, South Carolina,
USA at the Palmetto Expo Center, IronSpirit Promotions will be hosting
"Martial Arts May-Hem, Explosion of Champions".
The show will feature 6 five round fights which four of them
are rematches.
The event will also have several three round fights as well.
Promoter Ray Thompson (Above Right) will also have one MMA match
as well. This will be an exhibition match that promises to be a good one. ALL
the fights are amateur bouts.
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IronSpirit Promotions was fortunate enough to be able to match John Ganner who trains with Ray Thompson out of Simpsonville, South Carolina with Uzi Maman out of Tennessee for a sure to please three round fight in the Cruiserweight division. also on the card will be a great woman's bout featuring Andrea Zalas also out of the Thompson camp against Susan Wood out of Douglasville, Georgia. Susan is trained by her husband and IKF Georgia Promoter, Mike Wood. The last three rounder is a rematch between two 130 pounders that will burn the house down. These guys fought recently and they put on a show. Dallas Crowe out of the Kevin Hudson camp in Lyman, South Carolina will be fighting Nelson Lebron out of Craig Smith's camp in Virginia. Beach, Virginia. Dallas came out on top in there first meeting but Nelson vows to avenge the loss. Now on to the BIG fights. These are all five rounders. A woman's bout that has been needing to happen between Terrie Hicks out of the famous Mike Carlson (AMAA) camp from Augusta, Georgia and 2001 IKF USA National Amateur Champion Jen Thyssen out of Derek Kaio camp from Depree, Wisconsin. These two girls will tear your hearts out..... and then eat it!! This fight alone will be worth the price of admission. Next on the card will be Justin Picket (Upstate Karate - Thompson) fighting Joe Surack out of Kokomo, Indiana. These guys have fought before and Picket frustrated Surack to win by decision. However Surack has learned from his mistakes and will bring it to Picket this time. This next bout is a first time match up and will surely be a chess match. We have "HOT" Rod Llaneza out of Atlanta, Georgia fighting Stevie Dement from Augusta, Georgia. These guys have skills that should be noted. Please somebody make a training video out of this match!! Now there has been a LOT of talk about this next match happening for a couple of years, well it is happening and it is happening in Greenville, South Carolina on May 17th. at the Palmetto Expo Center (thought you needed a reminder). As Promoter Ray Thompson says, "It's between the KILLER and the THRILLER. We have the KILLER, Doyle Gayler out Kaufman, Texas against the THRILLER, John Greubel out of Atlanta, Georgia. Both of these guys are FUTURE superstars in kickboxing!!! " Man I can't wait for this one!!" Gayler is the 2002 IKF USA and 2002 IKF North American Champion while Greubel is a past 2001 IKF USA National Champion. Our next bout is also a rematch between 2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion and 2002 IKF North American Champion Peyton Russell (Right) from the CB Bunkholt camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota and IKF South East USA Light Middleweight Champion Shannon Hudson (Left) from the Kevin Hudson camp. Last November, Peyton edged out a majority decision over Shannon (48-48, 48-47, 50-45) to win the 2002 IKF North American Title last year so Shannon "The Cannon" is looking for a solid victory over Peyton to avenge the loss. The final bout on this post will also be a rematch from the 2002 IKF North American Championships. It will be between "BIG" Bill Jardine who fights out of Mike Linds camp in Mondovi, Wisconsin and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson out of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Stephen stopped Jardine at 1:26 of the 4th round to win the 2002 IKF North American Title BUT before "BIG" Bill stepped out of the ring he asked for a rematch, well here it is!!! Ok folks you got the skinny on one of the HOTTEST fight cards of the year. If you miss it, Shame on you. It has taken the promoters Ray and Gloria Thompson and there staff of IronSpirit Promotions spent countless hours of work and preparation not to mention thousands of dollars to put this fight card together. So come on out and see for yourself what the buzz is all about. The tickets are $50 for the Front row ringside, $30 for General ringside (rows 2, 3 & 4), $15 for General admission (rows 5 & beyond), $10 for children (if sitting in Gen. admission seats-10 & under). For more info, please contact Mr. Ray Thompson at Upstate Karate, Gloria Thompson or Rebecca Preacher at (864) 967-3930, Cell (864) 505-4237, e-mail: tetsushin2@aol.com |
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TUESDAY, April 8th, 2003, AT 1:25 PM, PST
CORRECTIONS
Please
note the date and location corrections to yesterdays (Monday, April 7th)
articles about the IKF South Central Regional
Tournament and the 2003 IKF North American FCR
Tournament below. The corrections have been noted in RED.
NEWS OF
4-8-03
Mad Man
Smoker
Catches Fire!
Reported by Johnny Davis
Roseville, California,
USA: From start to finish the IKF Smokers bouts seemed to intensify. In fact, the semi main event of the evening set the "House on Fire" with three great knockdowns and one of them from two repeated round kicks to the head! The crowd of about 250 came to their feet several times and were elated to witness all the action! Marinoble and his team are doing great things with his IKF Smoker events. All of the fighters seemed pleased with the idea that their information will be posted on the popular IKF web site. Dave continues to grow his event at his gym and soon hopes to promote larger amateur and possibly professional events. Starting the night off was a three round Woman's IR Exhibition Bout with Olga Mora of San Francisco, CA, 0-0, 160 lbs. sparring with Chris Poole of Roseville, CA, 0-0, 169lbs. Once over the nights bouts got going. Here are all results...
For more info, please contact Mr. Dave Marinoble or his staff at (916) 786-0333 or e-mail at info@marinobles.com. Tickets are $20.00 General Admission and $10.00 Kids Under 12 .You can also visit their website at www.marinobles.com For directions go to www.marinobles.com/Directions.html |
MORE NEWS OF 4-8-03
THINKING ABOUT A WEBSITE?
IKF Web Consultants
Creative
Concepts
Has a Great Spring Deal For You!
Now for a limited time if you purchase a Complete Business System or a Basic Business System and we will give you a 3-Day, 2-night Vacation plus a one-year membership to the Utravel Club! (Contact us for more information.) What is the Utravel Club? Isn't it about time you STOPPED paying full price for travel? When you enroll with the Utravel Club you'll enjoy discounts on:
With your membership you'll receive the Privilege VIP Card &
Directory and other "Utravel" benefits & coupons. Also included,
is a 3 day 2 night Mini Vacation for two! This entitles you and a guest to enjoy
3 fun-filled days and 2 exciting evenings of complimentary accommodations at
your choice of one of the fabulous vacation destinations listed in the
Directory! Choose from Destinations such as Florida, Puerto Vallarta Mexico,
Hawaii, Cape Cod, Nashville...and many more!!
You will be staying at
national chain hotels such as: Ramada, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Radisson!
(*) Airfare not included.
For
more info, please contact Mr. Frank Curtis at
www.thecreativeconcepts.com
by e-mail at frank@thecreativeconcepts.com
MORE NEWS OF 4-8-03
EAST MEETS WEST
SUNDAY,
APRIL 27th at WAT
Special Seminar with Muay Thai Champions
Kru Phil Nurse & Kru
Kongnapa
Experience an all day training session matching Western and traditional Thai Training and Techniques with two well known MuayThai Masters of Thai Boxing, Kru Phil Nurse (R) and IKF Pro MuayThai Light Middleweight World Champion Kru Kongnapa. (L)
Together these two have over 450 Professional Fights between them. Along with being the current IKF Pro World Champion, Kru Kongnapa is a 4 Time Rajadamnern Champion and Warrior's Cup of America Middleweight Champion. Kru Phil Nurse is a European Light Welterweight Champion, British Superlight Welterweight Champion and British All-Styles Superlight Welterweight Champion.
To attend, you must reserve in advance. Lunch will be provided by WAT's in-house nutritional counselor. For more info, contact the WAT Center at (212) 966-4010 or by e-mail at ssecul@qualcomm.com.
For more info on Kru Phil Nurse go to www.thaiboxing-nyc.com
MONDAY, April 7th, 2003, AT 4:15 PM, PST
Weekend Results
Coming Later
This Week!
Date REVISED 4-8-03
Date CORRECTION For
USA South
Central Regional!
Memphis, Tennessee,
USA
The IKF USA Amateur South Central Regional Tournament
has been advertised as June 21st. However, the correct date is June 14th. Weigh-ins will be on June 13th from 6:PM to 8:PM at Midsouth Martial
Arts Center, 2771 Clark Road, Memphis, Tennessee. This regional will host
all rule styles and includes the states of;
The event will be hosted by Mr. Jeff Mullens. It will be held at the New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. For more info go to the IKF USA Amateur South Central Regional Tournament Regional page by clicking HERE or contact Mr. Jeff Mullens at (901) 757-0985 or by e-mail at jmullen@memphis.edu
MORE NEWS OF 4-7-03
Finney &
Donaker Happy With
IKF
Team USA vs IKF Team CANADA!
Saturday Night, March 29th, 2003, Springfield, Illinois, USA
Springfield, Illinois, USA
Another
amazing fight show was put on by Finney's
on March 29th. For the third year, the Ansar Shrine was ready for
Kickboxing. The event was sold out weeks before. Here's how the nights action
went below...
With the success once again from this event a date is already being discussed for next year. For more info please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking: HERE or visit their website at www.FinneysKickboxing.com
MORE NEWS OF 4-7-03
Date & Location REVISED 4-8-03
Date Set for
IKF Amateur FCR
North American Championship
Tournament
Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA
The date is set and now all that is left is the qualifying! IKF Promoter Ray Thompson (Right) is
all locked in for the date of the 2003
IKF North American Championships (In
the Full Contact Rule Style).
The date will be NOVEMBER 15th in Greenville, South Carolina, USA at the Palmetto Expo Center. The host hotel will be the Greenville Hilton Hotel. Once again, the event will be filmed and shown at a later date. To read more about the event, click HERE! To read about the North American Tournament system, click HERE! For the Main Tournament Page click HERE!
We hope to announce the date for the IKF International Rules and MuayThai Rules North American Championship Tournament soon as well. Unlike last year, this will be the first year of the North American Championship Tournament for these rule styles. Discussions are also in the works for a JUNIOR (Ages 8-17) Division North American tournament as well, tentaviely set for December, 2003.
For more info, please contact Mr. Ray Thompson at Upstate Karate, Gloria Thompson or Rebecca Preacher at (864) 967-3930, Cell (864) 505-4237, e-mail: tetsushin2@aol.com
MORE NEWS OF 4-7-03
Finney's
Next Fight Card
Features Kickboxing &
MMA!..
Springfield, Illinois, USA
The
Finney Team is already organized for their next event, May 3rd, in St
Louis. The event will include amateur bouts in both IKF
Kickboxing and ISCF
Mixed Martial Arts. Here's the nights fight card that is currently scheduled.
For more info please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking: HERE or visit their website at www.FinneysKickboxing.com
SATURDAY, April 5th, 2003, AT 4:00 PM, PST
Marinobles
Ready For
Tonights Action In Roseville California
Roseville, California, USA
IKF Pro World Champion Dave Marinoble (Right)
has been adding a little more to his schedule over the last year. With the lack
of west coast events, Marinoble and his staff at
Marinobles
Karate & Kickboxing in Roseville, California, USA made the
decision to start hosting their own in house events. This will be their second
IKF Sanctioned event that features amateur
fighters.
The event is entitled an "In House Smoker" because the rules for the event are different than a regular kickboxing promotion event done at a larger venue. At Marinobles, the fighters will all wear larger gloves (16 ounce) than they would in a regular California State Athletic Commission sanctioned event (8 - 10 ounce) for added safety. As always, all fighters will wear headgear and shin pads as required by IKF Rules and Regulations.
The doors open at 5 PM and the event begins at 6 PM. It will be at Marinoble's Kickboxing in the Commerce Professional Park, 600 Commerce Drive, Roseville, California, USA. For more info, please contact Mr. Dave Marinoble or his staff at (916) 786-0333 or e-mail at info@marinobles.com. Tickets are $20.00 General Admission and $10.00 Kids Under 12 .You can also visit their website at www.marinobles.com For directions go to www.marinobles.com/Directions.html
FRIDAY, April 4th, 2003, AT 5:20 PM, PST
2002 IKF Hall Of Fame!
|
OK, yes, it's late to see this headline, but there is a good reason why it took us this long. In fact, this headline is still in waiting because we are not done making our final selections on 2 very important areas. In case you hadn't noticed, we still have not made the decision as to the fighter or fighter's of the year for 2002 on our IKF YEARLY Hall Of Fame Inductees Page. Hopefully we will come to our conclusion soon. If you missed who won some of the other IKF Hall of Fame awards for 2002, here they are;
The IKF
The IKF PRESTIGE AWARD is Awarded to the Individuals who have done the most for the IKF during the year. Who have contributed the most to the IKF such as bringing in new IKF Event Promoters, Registering new IKF Fighters, helping with new ideas for the IKF as well as helping make them a reality. Their work "Behind" the scenes to make the IKF grow stronger for everyone on the IKF World Team. This does not include PAID Positions of the IKF, Paid help or individuals efforts who knew their work would be financially rewarded. This award is about WHO has gone the extra mile for the TEAM at their own expense without expecting or awaiting any return on their investment, for THE TEAM! Some of them you may know their names while others, you may wonder who they are. Let it be known that their work and efforts for THE TEAM, meaning ALL of you, are Greatly Noticed and Appreciated here at the IKF World Headquarters. Not that your efforts are not appreciated as well, truly, they are. It's just that these are the ones who have stood out in going the extra mile. The PRESTIGE AWARD |
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MORE
NEWS OF 4-4-03
Who Can Use The IKF
or ISCF Name?
Only Those Who SANCTION With US!
A Lesson Chad Mason of Iowa Will Lear
The Hard Way
For the Full Story
CLICK HERE!
MORE
NEWS OF 4-4-03
COOPERS
STILL
ROCKIN!
Detroit, Michigan, USA
If you have ever been to the IKF USA Nationals, you have probably met Elliot
Cooper. He's the big guy with the BIG HEART! Elliot has been part of
the IKF for several years now. He has
continued to bring fighters to the USA Nationals and has been very successful
with them as well.
At last years 2002 IKF USA Nationals, Cooper came to town with 4 Fighters (See Right) and walked away with 3 National Titles. Although fighter Mohammed Beydoun came shy of winning his title, the other 3 Cooper Fighters took home the Brass. They were all in the JUNIOR DIVISION (Under 18 years old) Full Contact Rules Divisions and included Heavy-Cruiserweight Division (16-17 Year Olds) Champion Centurium Frost, Super Welterweight (16-17 Year Olds) Champion Kasper Harrison and Super Welterweight Champion (14-15 Year Olds) Jeffrey Turner.
Cooper has always looked for ways to improve his team of fighters and over the past few months, things haven't changed in that plan. Two weeks ago, IKF Pro FCR Cruiserweight World Champion Mike Nevitt of Chicago, Illinois made the trip to Coopers Gym to train some of the fighters for a few days. He also taught several inner city youth kickboxers on the importance of "Saying no to Drugs". The Week before IKF Pro IR Super Lightweight U.S. Champion Raul Lloips of Fort Wayne, Indiana made the trip to Coopers. Lloips and several of his students trained there a few days and later taught several inner city youths MuayThai.
Cooper's Kickboxing and Muay Thai Gym is located at 16849 Warren, Detroit, Michigan, USA. For more info about Coopers Gym, see their web page at instituteofmartialarts.20m.com or at www.kickboxingsites.com/mi. Or you can contact them directly at (313) 581-5085, Fax: (313) 581-2048 or by e-mail at IMADET@aol.com or cooperkickbox@aol.com
THURSDAY, April 3rd, 2003, AT 5:50 PM, PST
IKF
England's
No Where 2 Hide - Part 3
IKF England
IKF Promoter Clive Matthews
is all set to host his IKF Sanctioned
event this Sunday, the 6th of April at the Daventry Leisure Centre on Lodge
Road, Daventry, England. On the line will be the IKF
European MuayThai Rules Title Defense of Champion Danny Byrne vs Ray
Debourgh. Also, an IKF Inland Area
Title bout between
Steve Primrose and Simon Hiller.
For event tickets contact Revolution Records at 01327 706792 or Spin-A-Disc at 01604 63144 in England. Event doors open at 5:PM and the first bout is scheduled to start at 6:PM. There will be an after show party with D J Tim Westwood, Radio 1.
MORE
NEWS OF 4-3-03
It Sucks To Be GREAT!
WHO Is Left To Fight THE BEST?!
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As many here know, we would like to have some Amateur World Title bouts on the Saturday night of this years IKF USA National Amateur Tournament. You can all be assured that we will do our best at selecting "THE BEST" Amateur fighters for these title bouts but the question remains, "Where will they come from?" Sure we would like to match up a top USA fighter against an opponent from another country, but as Alex McDonald (IKF Japan) wrote on our new IKF Message Board the other day, "My main concern is that reigning champions won't be defending there titles. Instead, they will fight for a different title against a foreign fighter who may or may not be as tough as some of the U.S. challengers." So is he correct? Is it possible that the best "AMATEURS" in "SOME" weightclasses and rule styles may very well be from right here in the USA? Maybe so, maybe not, but if not, WHERE ARE THEY? Without a tournament system like the IKF USA Nationals anywhere else in the world, we really don't know who the other GREAT amateur fighters are. The other tournaments (WAKO's world championships for example) allow pros to fight amateurs so that doesn't help us at all. So again, WHERE are these GREAT AMATEURS? We are not saying they are not out there, we just need to know where they are and how to get in touch with them. So far, only 2 challenges have come in for the Amateur World Titles at the USA National Finals and they were from England's Steve Jessop (Right). Jessop has requested Karl Reid (Full Contact Rules, Middleweight) who has a kickboxing record of 17 wins, 8 loses with 9 wins by KO/TKO. Jessop also trains amateur fighter David Elliott (Full Contact Rules, Light Middleweight). Elliot has a record of 22-4 with 7 wins by KO/TKO and an amateur boxing record of 48 wins, 8 loses with 17 wins by KO/TKO. Sad for Elliot that the WKA actually told him he was too experienced to fight for their amateur championships. Apparently they do not like people with more than ten fights to fight for national titles. So in the long run, it will be interesting who we match up with America's Best Amateurs at the 2003 Finals. Where will they come from? Who are they? Are they as good as their claimed records? Why do we ask that last question? How about an example...One we can refer to is a fighter named Bobby Dixon, in Florida, USA. Dixon is a fighter the IKF refused to rank because his fights could never be verified. Heck, we don't even know of anyone who has seen him fight for real... Dixon claims to have a fight record of 31 WINS with only 1 loss as an amateur kickboxer. Adding to this, he claims to have 18 wins by KO/TKO. Yet with all the opportunities out there for amateurs and all the fights we know about, we've never seen him fight... A few years back he was booked to fight now IKF Pro World Champion Dave Marinoble (Left) of Roseville, California, USA on a show in Reno, Nevada, USA. (A non IKF show) Promoter Tim Stell bought his plane tickets for him and his brother and all was set... However Dixon and family never boarded the plane in Florida to come to the fight and in fact, never even informed Stell he wasn't coming, nor has he spoken to Stell since. "Hey BOBBY! Send Tim a check for those plane tickets you still have!" IKF Promoter Jesse Finney had tried to get Dixon up to St Louis to fight his fighter Marc Mayfield (Right) who has a record of 32-5-1. However, Dixon wasn't interested. Makes you wonder if he just keeps fighting the same guys over and over again in Florida to build up his record. Speaking of Finney his team often faces yet another problem in the fight game. EVERYONE knows him and his fighters out there yet he can't find opponents for them anymore. We can name a lot of amateur fighters that have nothing but problems finding opponents. Is it because they are "Feared" by others? Quite possible. If not, than why do their trainers and promoters have a hard time finding them fights? In their case, "It SUCKS to be GREAT!" For example of one of these GREAT FIGHTERS, that's what IKF USA Champion Kevin Engel (Right) and his trainer Jesse Finney think every time they try to book Engel a bout. With Finney's next event only weeks away (May 3rd, at Lucky's Nightclub On The Landing, St Louis Missouri, USA) he has yet to be successful in booking an opponent for Engel for a simple 3 round bout. "We have tried everywhere" Says Finney "Each time we think we have someone, they pull out. We are just over 4 weeks away and are struggling to find someone." Such the case is nothing new for most amateur fighters with a record like Kevin's of 18 wins, 3 loses with 8 wins by TKO/KO. At 172 lbs there should be plenty of competition out there but no one is saying "Yes" to a bout offer. However, it's not so... At 22 years old, the 6'2 Engel has a promising career ahead of him still, but he may have fought everyone willing to fight him as an amateur. It's not like there are no other fighters out there in his league. If were talking just USA Fighters, below him at Middleweight is IKF North American Champion Petyon Russell of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA with an outstanding record of 28 wins, 4 loses and 6 wins by KO/TKO. However Russell is already booked to fight in South Carolina in May so he's not available. In Russell's same division is Lemont Davis of Greenville, North Carolina, USA who registered into the IKF Rankings with a record of 30 wins, 9 loses and 4 draws with 16 wins coming by KO/TKO. However, we have yet to confirm this record. A bout with Engel would prove whether he is valid of such a record or not. What about Middleweight Demond Wade of North Chicago, Illinois, USA with a record of 10 wins and 5 loses, or Michael Galbreath of Daytona Beach, Florida who has a record of 14-4/2, but maybe he's no longer fighting since we haven't heard from him... In his own weight class Engel could match up against Jason Ransom of Beloit, Wisconsin, USA with a record of 10-2. There's always Rob Bailey of Orlando, Florida, USA who "CLAIMS" to have a record of 17 wins, 2 loses and 1 draw. However, Finney tried him for a previous event and he and his trainer "No Showed". Who was his trainer? Bobby Dixon! Above him Engel could match up with 3 Time IKF USA National Champion and 2002 IKF North American Champion Stephen Thompson of Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA with a record of 26 wins against NO LOSES with 16 wins coming by KO/TKO. However Thompson is already booked to fight in May so he's not available. But the question can come up, "What about Thompson and Engel for that Amateur World Title at the 2003 IKF USA National Finals? Maybe so... Although David Pareja (Left) of Flossmoor, Illinois, USA has a great kickboxing record of 20-0 with 17 KO/TKO's and a great boxing record as well with 15 wins and 5 loses. However Pareja may soon be coming out of the rankings. Why? Because he's only boxing now. Who else can Engel match up with on paper? What about Ruben Lopez of New York, USA who claims to have a record of 18 wins and only 2 loses with 12 wins coming by KO/TKO? Where has he fought recently? Roy Jones of Chicago, Illinois, USA who says his record is 16 wins with 4 loses and 4 wins by KO/TKO, Robert Carlton of Arlington Texas, USA with a record of 17 wins, 5 loses and 10 wins by KO/TKO. Darrell Baker of Memphis, Tennessee, USA, who has a posted record of 14 wins and 5 loses. Are these guys fighting or are they retired? In the end, we can add former 2000 IKF USA Tournament Champion and IKF Promoter Jesse Finney (Below Right) of St. Louis, Missouri, USA to the picture. Finney holds a kickboxing record of 23 wins against NO LOSES with 18 wins by KO/TKO! He hasn't fought for awhile because he can't find a fight either. Remember Rob Bailey of Orlando, Florida, USA who "CLAIMS" to have a record of 17 wins, 2 loses and 1 draw. Remember we told you he "No Showed" at one of Jesse Finney's events? Well, his opponent was suppose to be Jesse Finney! So if there is anyone out there willing to step into the ring against Kevin Engel, in or around the amateur Full Contact Rules Super Middleweight (165.1 lbs. - 172 lbs.) weightclass... "BRING IT ON!" You can call Jesse to make travel arrangements at Finney's Kickboxing, (314) 351-5226 or e-mail them at finneys@finneyskickboxing.com. |
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WEDNESDAY, April 2nd, 2003, AT 6:00 PM, PST
Best
Brothers Prepare To
Defend "Home Turf"
On
Gayler Undercard
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Richardson, Texas USA Asher "The Mongoose" Best (0-0, age 10) will face Mason Buzan (0-0, age 12). For those who would otherwise worry about Asher being out-gunned by an older opponent, it's not the first time for him. Asher actually has fought in a number of exhibition bouts here, not the least of which was his convincing victory last August over a heavier and taller Casper Fuego. Asher's brother, Levi, makes his return to the ring after a successful outing just days ago when he out-pointed Jerry Romero of Grand Prairie, Texas on all 3 judges cards. Levi "The Cobra" (2-0) will face Gregory "The Bear" Liflyandsky in a rematch of an exhibition bout at Southfork Ranch last Summer, which saw "The Bear" come away with a narrow 1 point decision. In another exhibition before that, the two squared-off and Best was able to stop Liflyandsky in the 2nd round of that exhibition match, so there's a bit of history here. Additionally, Nathan "Gangsta" Bagby (1-2-1) will face Gabe Ratcliffe (1-0), then of course the night's finale with Gayler toeing "the square" against Calvin Pitts in a 5 rounder. For information, call Chuck Best or Steve Goin at (972) 889-0129 or e-mail Best at sirkikman@juno.com |
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NEWS OF 4-2-03
Former IKF
Nationals Champ
Williams Featured In
Ultimate Athlete Magazine!
In case you haven't seen it, former IKF USA National Amateur Champion Carter Williams (Right) of Modesto, California, USA has a big feature article inside this months Ultimate Athlete Magazine. At the 2001 IKF USA Nationals, Williams first faced 6'4", 259 lb John Grantham of Athens, Georgia, USA. Williams defeated Grantham by split decision 29-28, 29-28 & 28-29 to advance to the final. In the final the next day, Williams defeated previous champion Kurt Hasley by unanimous decision, 29-27, 29-27 & 28-27. Williams turned pro last year and has never looked back. In all, (Amateur & Pro) he has compiled a combined fighting record of 24 wins, 6 loses and 2 draws that includes kickboxing, boxing and MMA bouts. Williams is scheduled to be in this May's K-1 USA Qualifier Event in Last Vegas, Nevada. "I want to take K-1," said Williams of Modesto, California. "I want to go there and eventually to Japan and become the king of K-1. This is my passion and this is my whole life." Williams is trained by Gene Fields (Left) at Field's AAA Kickboxing Academy in Modesto, California, USA. To contact Mr. Fields call (209) 579-5425 or e-mail him at themonkeymaster@hotmail.com. For more about Carter, the same writer (Michael Afromowitz) that did the Ultimate Athlete article did one for K-1 USA as well. To read the story click HERE. |
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MORE
NEWS OF 4-2-03
IKF
England Showcases
Future Kickboxing Champions!
Report J. Hall IKF Europe Administrator
Coventry,
England:
Dons & Fury Promoter Steve Donnelly
hosted a Great night of IKF Kickboxing on
Sunday, March 30th to kick off the first IKF
England event for 2003. Thirteen action packed bouts that thrilled the capacity
crowd, commencing With 2 Exciting Junior Bouts. Here are the nights results
below...
For more information on this event, contact Mr. Stephen Donnelly at 07939 048 038.
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NEWS OF 4-2-03
Minus One BEAST
At K-1 USA...
And a TANK!
Edited
From
Zach Arnold -
www.puroresupower.com
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At 6' 7" tall and 374 lbs, very few thought he could be stopped but this last weekend, Bob Sapp, (Pictured at right & below) the big hype for K-1 was stopped BIG! At the K-1 show in Omiya at Saitama Super Arena, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Left, 6'2, 227lbs) had little trouble in defeating Sapp in the 1st round in 1 minute, 26 seconds by KO from a straight left punch. Once Sapp hit the mat, he couldn't move and the 10-count was given for the KO win to Filipovic, as Mirko jumped up and down in the ring from excitement. Sapp was taken to the hospital in Saitama right after and it's confirmed that he did in fact suffer a broken eye socket. He bled under the crushed eye socket and in fact started tearing up. The Japanese media billed Mirko's win over Sapp as if a normal human being had defeated Godzilla. Excuses were made in the papers that Sapp had no time to train because he was spending 15 hours a day for publicity work. K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa said that he has all intentions of booking a re-match between Filipovic and Sapp. Sapp is out for at least six weeks after suffering a fractured right eye socket and a lacerated eyelid and is not expected to fight this coming May 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Especially since the KO is well inside the International Rule of a 45 day KO/TKO suspension, something the K-1 organization is sure not to ignore. He has cancelled all future publicity events in Tokyo for the near future and was not at K-1's press conference on Monday. He made his first public appearance in Tokyo since getting KO'd (Right) wearing a pirate patch over his eye and said that he would be willing to confront Mirko in a PRIDE ring, saying "With that policeman guy, I'll fight him again and finish him." He said that Mirko got lucky with his straight left punch and that the punch was a one-in-10,000 shot of KOing him. For more on the story see the K-1 USA page by clicking HERE. That 45 day KO/TKO Suspension rule looks like it will cause even more damage at K-1 USA this coming May. As of 3-24-03 the tournament consisted of; Sapp, Michael McDonald, Rick Roufus, Dewey Cooper, Giuseppe DeNatale, Chad Bannon, Jefferson Silvia and Carter Williams. However, at the same event Sapp got KO'ed on, Ernesto Hoost KO'ed Silva (See Right) at 2:55 of round 1 so he's out of the line-up now too. Worse yet, the word on the street is that Chad Bannon (Venice, California, USA) will be fighting this weekend. Lets hope he doesn't meet the same fate as Sapp and Silva... Bannon has been an actor and stuntman on the show Battle Dome. Our question is, "Why would these fighters take such a risk fighting so close to another high profile event?" Oh well, looks like they will learn their lesson now... |
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TUESDAY, April 1st, 2003, AT 2:45 PM, PST
IKF
Amateur Champion
Adam Rogers
Retires!
No, this is no April Fools joke.. On March 31st, 2003, IKF Amateur Champion Adam "Elder" Rogers (Right) of Seaside, California, USA announced his retirement from the ring. Rogers has not left the sport though. He's been swamped with running his school (BODY WORX Kickboxing & Martial Arts Academy) and training fighters of his own. This along with raising his children has kept him very busy. Although he still has the fighting spirit in him, he no longer has his trainer and no one to spar with in his area. With such a busy schedule, he has no time to travel to train either. Rogers told us, "I retire with a heavy heart because I know I still have it in me. Perhaps if I get a trainer here near me I can make a come back." Rogers has been a name in the IKF for a long time. At the announcement of his retirement, he still held the IKF Light Middleweight Amateur International Rules California Title. A title he won on May 20th, 2000 in Fairfield, California, USA when he defeated Tony Sanza of Fairfield, California by TKO at 1:03 of the second round. Rogers was ranked number 6 in the IKF Amateur International Rules Rankings as a Light Middleweight with a fight record was 8 wins, 3 loses and 3 wins by KO/TKO. He was trained by another well know and respected name to the IKF and the sport of kickboxing, trainer Rick Noble. Rogers has been teaching martial arts for over 20 years. He holds black belts in African American Shadow Boxing, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, and Hapkido. His last "Scheduled" bout was back on December 7th in Roseville, California, USA against against Maurice Hooks of Modesto, California. However a leg injury forced Rogers out of the bout. He won the 2000 IKF/RINGSIDE USA International Rules Light Middleweight Title when he defeated Kurt Leda of Omaha, Nebraska by unanimous decision, 30-26, 30-25, 30-25. In 2001 he fell short of defending his title when he lost in the final to Jorge Hernandez of Aurora, Colorado, USA by unanimous decision, 29-27, 30-26 & 29-26. That same year (2001) Rogers also cornered and trained 4 of his fighters at the same event including 2 Time IKF USA National Champion Narayan Stitt (Right - 2000 & 2001 National Champion) who retired from the ring last year on October 23rd, 2002 to pursue a career in Law Enforcement. Stitt was also the IKF Amateur IR Middleweight California Champion. Although unknown at the time, his bout against Hernandez at the 2001 IKF USA Nationals was Roger's last bout. In November
of 1998, the
IKF News Staff wrote (Regarding one of
his bouts in Medford, Oregon, USA): In December
of 1998, the
IKF News Staff wrote; Rogers had also defeated Rich Helm of Fresno, California, USA that same year (March - 1998) by KO in round 3. One of his loses came as no shame at all. It was a loss to now IKF Pro Light Middleweight World Champion Anthony Bartanalli (Left) of Phoenix, Arizona, USA on March 4th, 1999. Bartanalli won the bout with a 4th round KO in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. To this day, Bartanalli remains undefeated in Kickboxing. Whether in the ring or out, we
will always see you as a TRUE Champion for not
just the IKF, but for the Sport of
Kickboxing! |
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NEWS OF 4-1-03
HOOTERS
To Sponsor SE Regional!
Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Once again the IKF SE Regional Promotional Team is happy
to announce that
HOOTERS of Valdosta is going to support
the June 21st event. The Valdosta
HOOTERS management plans to provide ring
card girls for the evening finals and a location for the after fight party on
that Saturday evening. A map to the Valdosta HOOTERS
can be found by clicking
HERE!
For more information about the Valdosta HOOTERS email Bridgett at valdostahooters@aol.com. Georgia area HOOTERS have demonstrated a lot of support for IKF events.
Recently, the Washington Road HOOTERS in Augusta, Georgia, provided a location for the Winter Wars 2003 after fight party. The 2002 South East Regional in Valdosta had almost 100 entrants and featured an amazing 57 matches. This year's regional promises to be as well attended and more. The kickboxing tournament will commence about 9:00 AM on June 21st. An evening fight card will feature selected kickboxing finals of the Regional tournament and ISCF mixed martial arts/no holds barred action. Valdosta's own world champion fighter Jonathan Wiezorek, also the ISCF Pro U.S. Super Heavyweight Champion, is looking to defend his U.S. title on the evening fight card.
For more information on this event, go to
www.valdostamac.com/newregional.html
or e-mail South East Regional
Director,
Mr. James Corbett
at
sensei@valdostamac.com
or call (229) 245.8622.
***Special Update: Clubhouse Inn requires a password
for the special IKF SE Regional Rate. It is KICKBOX.
MuayThai
Peoria, Illinois, USA
The cost for the camp is $60.00 for both days and all participants must be registered by April 21st. Openings are limited to 30 people. For more info on the camp or to register, please contact Mr. Ryan Blackorby at (309) 444-1512. | ||
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