SATURDAY, November 30th, 2002, AT 11:59 AM, PT

Everyone's SKY HIGH In Rockford As
Watling & Nevitt Battle 12 Full Rounds For World Title!
IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight World Title In Rockford, Illinois, USA!

IKF Promoter Sky Drysdale (Left) has everyone in Rockford Illinois tonight feeling SKY HIGH! Drysdale just completed one of the greatest shows we've seen from the front door to the back. Treating each and every fighter, trainer and official top class and marketing his event to the hilt to fill the venue full so the fighters could showcase their dynamic skills to a packed house. Tonight Drysdale made his mark in the kickboxing world and it's just the start of more to come. The only problem we see him having is "How do you top tonights performance...?" This will be the only pressure Sky will face for his next event. "I had some great help from some great people." said Drysdale after the event. The one who stood out most was one the IKF holds in high respect, Rob Zbilski (Right, IKF Promoter in Lake In The Hills, Illinois, USA) "Rob was a major help to me in learning the promoting game." continued Drysdale. "I had so many questions and he was always there to answer them and I can't thank him enough."

Having great people around you always helps. Something many involved with the IKF have discovered. We could do an entire article on Drysdale's work alone but we know all you readers want to hear about the fights, so it's time for us to "Bring It ON!"

As most of you know, tonights main event matched up the IKF number 1 Ranked contender Mike "Tension" Nevitt of Sycamore, Illinois USA (Left, waiting for his gloves) and IKF number 2 Ranked James "Pretty Boy" Watling of Morpeth, England (Right, waiting for his gloves). Some of you had your thoughts that this may end in the early rounds, but were sorry to call you wrong. Some of you thought Nevitt's vast ring experience (Nearly 50 fights to Watlings 15) would overwhelm Watling. Were sorry to break this to those who thought this as well, for this couldn't have been further from the truth. BOTH fighters showed tremendous power, speed, quickness, toughness and more importantly, something that cannot be taught to any fighter, HEART!

Lets get to the round by round action;

1. Some would call the first round of a 12 round fight a feeling out round. Well, once again, many would be wrong here if they expected this from these two. From the first touch of the gloves these two provided kick for kick, punch for punch in toe to toe action for the sellout crowd. Although Watling took the edge in total kicks (12 to Nevitt's 9) Nevitt's hand combinations gave him the slight edge winning all 3 judges cards 10-9 for the early lead out of the gate.
2. In round 2, Watling seemed to be seeking what strategy he wanted to use as his kick count went down to the minimum of 8 as compared to Nevitt's 13. However one thing was clear in round 2, Watling had some speed and power on his kicks and so did Nevitt's. With more activity, Nevitt's took round 2 on all 3 judges cards as well for an early 20-18 lead on all the cards.
3. Round 3 was where Watling got back on track but Nevitt's continued to answer his every charge. For each explosive stinging kick Watling would connect with, Nevitt would answer with a jab that seemed to keep Watling at a distance. Watling couldn't seem to penetrate Nevitt's inside after his first kick but Nevitt's seemed to have Watling's number in the counters to him. Watling won the kick count 12-10 but Nevitt put more combinations together and took round 3 on all the cards to jump out 30-27 on all 3 cards.
4. It was round 4 where nearly everyone saw a change. Nevitt had seemed to hit an invisible wall physically for unknown reasons or was it that Watling finally found Nevitt's weakness. Whatever was happening, things were turning, at least to the opinion of 2 of the 3 judges as Watling took the round on 2 of the 3 judges cards to start closing in on Nevitt's. Watling once again was winning the "Number" of kicks (12-10) and in this round, seemed to find a way to follow up after he connected with them. On the cards he closed in with scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 40-37.
5. Round 5 we thought was one of Watling's best but again, failed to win all the judges over. Winning the kick count 12-10, he won the opinion of the judge who never gave him a round, Bill Lassi of Minnesota and kept judge Mike Fitzgerald of Wisconsin but lost out to Al Wichgers of Wisconsin. Now the scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 49-47.
6. At the half way point, things seemed to continue with plenty of non stop action from both fighters, as in previous rounds Watling won the kick count but not by much, 10-9. With this being said, Nevitt's had sort of resurgence in this round as he won back 2 of the 3 judges while Lassi couldn't pick a winner calling the round a 10-10 draw. This should give some of you an idea how close this bout really was... The scores now read 59-56, 59-55 and 59-56 all still for Nevitt's.
7. Round 7 was one of Nevitt's best as he connected with some great combinations. However, to Watlings credit, even some of the strong uppercuts Nevitt's landed, Watling never blinked. It was in this round we all realized Watling's toughness and the simple fact that he had no plans of going to the mat as some in the crowd thought Nevitt's could do at this point. Nevitt won the kick count by 1 at 10-9 and all three judges cards as well pulling ahead now to 69-65, 69-64 and 69-65.
8. As most long fights go, we never expected to see these two warriors get stronger, but BOTH did in round 8. A large part of that can be credited to Watling who came out like a lion and started pressing Nevitt's more than he had in the entire fight. Landing some great combinations of his own Watling took the kick count 15-14 and took advantage of what seemed to be a physically fading Nevitt's who looked tired once again as he did in round 4. Watling won all the judges 10-9 and closed the gap to 78-75, 78-74 and 78-75. Could the tide be turning to across the Atlantic?
9. Round 8 must have been a wake-up call for Nevitt's because when he came back to the ring in round 9 he pressed as if he had never pressed before winning the kick count 13-11 and the round on all 3 judges cards 10-9 to pull out ahead again 88-84, 88-83 and 88-84.
10. Nevitt's and Watling scored evenly on the kicks 11-11 but it was his hands that became smoother and connected more in the round winning all three judges cards 10-9 and jumping ahead 98-93, 98-92 and 98-93.
11. Nevitt's seemed to find more energy from somewhere as he started to smell the leather World Title belt at ringside. Although Watling still had plenty of sting and power on his kicks, Nevitt's was back to finding the openings needed to counter him on the inside. Nevitt's threw more kicks in round 11 than in any other round winning the kick game 15-8 and the round on all 3 judges cards 10-9. With 11 rounds down Nevitt's held a comfortable lead of 108-92, 108-91 and 108-92.
12. As round 12 started the two embraced at center ring. Both had trained for months for this moment. Watling had travelled across the Atlantic to represent England and for 11 straight rounds he did so with the greatest of heart and pride. He wasn't ready to slow down now. Nevitt's had the pressure of a hometown crowd who wanted a knockout but forgot Nevitt's had to fight the BEST (Watling) to become the BEST! If the truth be known, Nevitt was probably a little worried each time he hit Watling with everything he had and Watling stayed strong and tough and never wavered at any moment. On the other side, Watling may have been surprised as well with Nevitt's toughness. When he thought he had his number in round 4, Nevitt found an answer and through Watling's stinging round kicks answered back with a jab - right hand combination. When Nevitt looked to be tired, he dug down deep and found the energy to stay with Watling who never looked tired through it all. Instead, it came down to what many had thought would be the difference, experience. Nevitt went into round 12 as if it was round 1. He stayed composed and patient waiting for Watling to make a mistake so he could counter. Few were made and Nevitt had to work for what he got, harder than he had ever worked in any fight he had fought before. Watling needed Nevitt to make a mistake and when he did, he planned to take advantage of it. However, the opening never came. There was no mistake Nevitt would regret on this night and when round 12 ended it was clear Watling's kicks, although still quick and powerful, were thrown less and less. Nevitt won the kick count 12-8 and with it, won the round and the vacant IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight World Title, 118-111, 118-110 and 118-111.

One thing was clear when the smoke cleared on this battlefield... While only one walked out with the IKF World Title belt around his waist, BOTH of these Gladiators, these ring Warriors won ALL of us over! This was NO Easy win for Nevitt's. Watling had pushed him to his mental and physical limit as did Nevitt's to him. For 12 full rounds these two put it all on the line and left nothing in the ring. They gave their all on this night and Nevitt didn't win it easily. In the end, he gave more than expected, walking away with a broken hand and a possible broken foot with his win. Watling had dedicated the fight to his mother that had past away last year. He promised her that one day he would win a World Title. Tonight he may have fell a little short of this, but there is no doubt in any of our minds that his mom was as proud of him tonight as we were. Tonight, along with us all in attendance, she watched her Champion shine again. Hold your head high James because you made England, Europe and all of us PROUD! We "WILL" see you again and when we do, you may be wearing that World Title belt out of the ring you promised to your mom.

With only 15 fights under his belt he has shown all of us what some fighters never do. He proved to Rockford Illinois tonight that he, as well as Nevitt both have something that no fighter can ever learn. They have PASSION and HEART! Knowing this, we know Watling's (At left in corner with trainer Steve Jessop) future is far from over tonight, it's just beginning. Tonight was the 31 year old Nevitt's night. He is the new IKF World Champion and wore the belt proudly out of the ring and even out of the building. At 28, Watling's time, as did Nevitt's tonight, will come. One thing is for sure, Both Nevitt's and Watling have something they can share forever... The memory of one of the Greatest World Title bouts in the sport of Kickboxing! Welcome Mr. Watling home as a CHAMPION England! He more than proved himself to us here tonight!

Some suggested Watling move up or down in weight and fight for another IKF World Title at a different weightclass. Why? The Rockford fans would love to see him back again with Nevitt on the same event, both fighting other opponents. Not because they fear another 12 round war with Nevitt, but instead, they had a larger plan in mind... In a way, Rockford has become another home for Watling and his trainer Steve Jessop. A place where they made some great friends. If Watling won that World Title here, it would be like winning at home for many of the fans here in Rockford, Illinois, USA. Again.... Just an idea... But what an event that would be!

Before the main event, Watling and Nevitt's had to wait for the other bouts. However as those in attendance can tell you, there was more than enough exciting action in the ring to start the night. Here's the quick results of those bouts in the order they were fought.

1. JUNIOR Amateur FCR: 'Bad' Chad Monyelle of South Beloit, Illinois, USA (4-1/3, 2000 IKF USA National tournament Junior Champion) defeated Matthew Nickel of Lake In The Hills, Illinois, USA (0-2) by TKO at 1:12 of round 2 with a spinning backhand.
2. Amateur FCR: Kaleb O'Donnell of Chicago, Illinois, USA (2-0/1) defeated Tim Austin also of Chicago, Illinois, USA (0-1/0) by TKO at :46 seconds of round 2. This was originally scheduled to be an exhibition but was changed to a real bout.
3. JUNIOR Amateur FCR: Jennifer Bunk of Machesney Park, Illinois, USA (0-0/0) was scheduled for 3 rounds against Laura Jo Wessels of Beloit, Wisconsin, USA (1-0/0) but Wessels came in 12 lbs overweight. Because of this the bout was changed to an exhibition instead. The weight didn't bother Bunk who seemed to control the action with plenty of crisp combinations.
4. Amateur FCR: Ryan Steinkamp of O'Fallon, Illinois, USA (1-0/0) defeated Justus Keenen of Cable, Wisconsin, USA (0-1/0) by unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
5. Amateur FCR: Tony Horton of Chicago, Illinois, USA (1-0/0) defeated Jason Adams of Rockford, Illinois, USA (0-1/0) by split decision, 30-28, 29-28 and 28-29.
6. Amateur BOXING: Jeff 'Armageddon' Greenwell of Rockford, Illinois, USA defeated Mike 'The Heat' Heeter of Kirkland, Illinois, USA by TKO at the end of round 1.
7. Amateur FCR: Tim Bauscher of Rockford, Illinois, USA (5-1/3) was scheduled to fight Brian Jones but Jones had to pull out and his trainer (Donnie Pendelton) replaced him with Harold Jackson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Bauscher proved far too much for Jackson taking the win by TKO at the end of round 2.
8. Pro FCR: In the first Pro bout of the night Ronnie Deleon of O'Fallon, Illinois, USA, (54-12-3/17) took a surprise decision by the judges coming away with a split decision draw with Muzammal Nawaz of Burlington, Ontario, Canada (17-5-1/10). Judge Al Wichgers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA gave Deleon every round 10-9 and the bout 50-45 despite Nawaz winning all rounds of the kick counts. Of them, 4 of the 5 he won big. Although close in round 1, 10-9, Nawaz won round 2, 16-9, round 3, 16-8, round 4, 13-8 and round 5, 15-8. Judge Bill Lassi of Minnesota scored the bout 49-46 Nawaz and judge Mike Fitzgerald of Wisconsin scored it 48 even.
9. Pro FCR: Fernando 'El Gato' Luevano of Chicago, Illinois, USA (36-4/12) was told if he could make 139 lbs, Tommy Bach of Lake In The Hills, Illinois, USA (9-1-1/2, and current IKF Pro Lightweight U. S. Champion) would fight him. However he weighed in at 142. After trying to lose the weight, Luevano still came in well over at 141. Bach at 132 waived the weight difference despite the spread limit of 5 lbs since he wanted to fight. With a 9 lb difference in weight the two met center stage. The extra weight didn't help Luevano any as he discovered why Bach is a World Title contender after only 10 pro fights (Amateur 8-3/3). Bach only lost 1 round on 1 judges card, round 3 to judge Mike Fitzgerld. The rest was ALL BACH! The most impressive move Bach did was a spinning side kick that smacked Luevano in the face in round 2 dropping him for an 8 count by referee Dan Stell. That same round Luevano missed his minimum kicks as well. In the end, Bach proved why he's in line for an IKF World Title shot taking the win easily 50-43, 50-43 and 49-45.
10. Pro FCR: Some of you may remember (JD) 3 time World Champion Ricky "The Wolf" Haines of Rockford, Illinois, USA (27-8-1/17). It's surprising to see the former champ in the ring at 47 years old but Haines was still lean and trim. He had been scheduled to fight someone else but the fighter had dropped out 2 weeks ago. A quick replacement was found in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Pro boxer and part time kickboxer Alonzo Scott (1-4) accepted the bout. Scott, who is trained by Donnie Pendelton (Not Team Roufus as Scott told the ring announcer) came to the ring at 162 lbs and 5'2... A major difference in height as compared to Haines who came in at 165 and nearly a foot taller at 6'1". When the bell rang, both approached each other at ease, a few tossed out punches by Haines and 1 kick followed by a few "Pitter Patter" (And we do mean "Pitter Patter" because none of them would have hurt a 5 year old) by Scott and his 1 kick... Scott backed up, Haines threw an uppercut that completely missed Scott, but Scott fell to the canvas. Referee Dan Stell, in shock as we all were, asked Scott to get up, thinking he slipped. But Scott wouldn't move, acting like he just took a Dennis Alexio uppercut at full speed... Stell asked him if he could continue and he said no and the bout came to an ugly end at 39 seconds of the first round. Scott's purse was withheld, for obvious reasons... This was a shame because it also made Haines look bad... Man, we wanted to see the "WOLF" run wild! Oh well, maybe another time...
11. Pro/AM - FCR: Dan Erickson is a 2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion (2001 & 2002) and getting him a fight has been difficult. Some circumstances though kept him from fighting for the IKF North American title earlier this month which also led to him not being able to fight for an IKF Amateur World Title. With a record of 19-1, it was decided that it was time for Erickson to turn pro, but not quite yet. Since no opponent could be found, Erickson requested to fight a pro boxer under amateur rules so he could get some ring experience. Boxer Vs Kickboxer... It made for an interesting match-up but Erickson proved a good kickboxer will beat a boxer any day as he played with opponent Will Curry until stopping him at 1:32 of the first round... Erickson had 12 kicks in under a minute and as usual, wins again, but heck... We've seen that before. He'll make his pro debut in January on Mike Labree's IKF event.
12. IKF Pro FCR Light Cruiserweight World Title: Mike "Tension" Nevitt of Sycamore, Illinois USA defeated James "Pretty Boy" Watling of Morpeth, England by unanimous decision 118-111, 118-110 and 118-111.
    • Travis Buckholz (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA, 2-3/0) and Steve Fridh (Rockford, Illinois, USA, 3-3/0) were scheduled to fight but did not.

Once again, GREAT JOB Sky Drysdale for a SKY HIGH event! Look forward to more SKY HIGH Kickboxing in Rockford by Drysdale next year. We hope to be back because as we are with all IKF Sanctioned events, we were proud to be a part of this one. For more info contact Mr. Sky Drysdale by e-mail by clicking HERE

FRIDAY, November 29th, 2002, AT 11:55 PM, PT

Drysdale & Rockford Are
"READY TO ROCK"
And Watling and Nevitt are "Ready To ROCK" As Well In Rockford, Illinois, USA!

Things look strong for tomorrow nights "Rumble In The Park" at the Forest Hills Lodge (9900 Forest Hills Road) in Rockford, Illinois, USA! Looking Lean and Mean, Fit and Trim both of the top 2 IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight (179.1 lbs - 186 lbs. or 81.4Kg - 84.5Kg) World Title contenders are more than ready for their IKF Pro World Title bout.

IKF number 1 Ranked contender Mike "Tension" Nevitt (Left, 22-0/10) of Sycamore, Illinois USA and IKF number 2 Ranked James "Pretty Boy" Watling (Right, 10-4-1/0) of Morpeth, England both made their title weight with ease tonight at the official weigh-ins and held interviews with the local TV press. Both were relaxed and at ease and there was no pre fight glare from either as they both shared respectful conversations during the weigh-in session. One thing is for sure though, these guys are both ready to battle it out for the vacant IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight World Title bout tomorrow night.

Nevitt started boxing eleven years ago with Dave Murphy & Jack "The Judge" Burgess. "We called ourselves "Team Psycho" says Nevitt who was born and raised in Sycamore Illinois. His first kickboxing bout was in November of 1991 where he won by KO in the second round. He won the Rockford Toughman Contest in February of 1992 where he calls the true launch of his amateur career. He has won titles with the PKC, PCK, and WKA as an amateur.

In 1995 he made the decision to turn Pro, under the training of Z's Martial Arts' with Rob Zbilski and brother Jim where he went on to win a U.S Title. The right handed Nevitt stands 6' tall at 31 years old. Tomorrow night his pants will be his country colors of red, white and blue.

On the other side of the ring stands the 28 year old, right handed Watling with a slight height advantage at 6'1. He was born on July 25th in 1976 in a small village called Etal, which is in England, close to the Scottish border. At the age of 12 he took up thai boxing and continued with it for 7 years but never competed. At 19 years old he travelled further south to check out a local kickboxing school. There he met Master Steve Jessop. (Right) Walting was immediately hooked and just could not get over the large array of techniques that he hadn't encountered with MuayThai.

He lost his first fight by points to someone who went on to be British National Champion, a title Walting went on to attain only 5 fights later. As a pro he went on to win the British Super Lightweight Title which he successfully defended last March. "At this point, I stand on the edge of what I believe is my destiny, a crack at the World Title which I promised my mother I would one day become" says Walting. He hopes to bring the belt back home across the Atlantic to share with his partner Wendy, his daughter Kiana and one year old son Rhodes. Walting will wear black pants.

That's pretty much all there is left to know tonight. Now all of us must wait to see who will be the first ever IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight Full Contact Rules World Champion and with that being said... Gentlemen... "Bring It ON!"

IKF Promoter Sky Drysdale (Right) can't be in a better position as the show is already a sellout. If you plan to come to the door all that's left are "Standing Room Only" tickets. Here's the remainder of tomorrow nights fight card;

• Jeff 'Armageddon' Greenwell Vs Mike 'The Heat' Heeter
• Tim Bauscher vs Brian Jones.
• Travis Buckholz (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA, 2-3/0) Vs Steve Fridh (Rockford, Illinois, USA, 3-3/0)
• Tony Horton Vs Jason Adams
• Jennifer Bunk vs Laura Jo Wessels.
• Tim Austin vs Kaleb O'Donnell (exhibition)
• Justus Keenen vs Ryan Steinkamp.
• JUNIOR AMATEUR: 'Bad' Chad Monyelle (Right, 2000 IKF USA National tournament Junior Champion) vs. Matthew Nickel
• Muzammal Nawaz Vs Ronnie Deleon (O'Fallon, Illinois, USA, 45-11-3/17)
• Fernando 'El Gato' Luevano Vs Tommy Bach (IKF Pro Lightweight U. S. Champion)
• Ricky Haynes (Former 3 Time World Champion, Rockford, Illinois, USA, 26-8-1/16) Vs Alonzo Scott.
• Dan Erickson (2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion, 2001 & 2002) was scheduled to fight Carl Davis Jr however due to personal reasons Davis had to withdraw from the bout. A replacement was found but his name was not available at press time.

THURSDAY, November 28th, 2002, AT 5:30 PM, PT

Mason's "Play By Play" From Iowa!
IKF Representative Brooks Mason (Right) Reviews Mihindou IKF Pro US Title Victory
And More From Waterloo Iowa!

IKF/ISCF Waterloo, Iowa, USA, November 23rd, 2002
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been to Waterloo, Iowa, Fight Town, USA. The 5 Sullivan Brothers Convention Center could not have held another person. The Prime Minister of Promotions, Russ O'Connell, (Left) put together a great fight and the people turned out in support. It took me five minutes to wade through the crowd to get out the front door.

Enough about the crowd, we should be used to O'Connell having a great turnout by now. Let's cover some facts.

The referee, Marco Medina, (Right) did a great job and refereed his first pro title fight. Medina was trained by the great Dan Stell about three years ago and has developed into an excellent ref. Good job Marco. On to the fights.

Jay Dinsdale versus Michael Johnson
I recently saw Dinsdale in the ring with Kevin Engel out of the Finney Camp. Dinsdale was a little intimidated by the weight difference but held his own. There was no weight difference with Johnson and Dinsdale showed us what he has learned. Johnson was joining the family for the first time and performed well for a newcomer. He kept his awareness about him with the few exceptions when Dinsdale was bouncing a fist off his head but he did well. His leg kicks were crisp and he was hurting Dinsdale with his right leg but it was not to be enough.
Dinsdale needed a good fight and he got one. Dinsdale's spinning back fist was a thing of beauty. He landed the devastating technique three times and all three sent Johnson to the canvas. Dinsdale has been an up and coming fighter for a while now and I am looking forward to him honing his craft. He faces Green in St. Louis on the 7th. Finney and I have our opinions as to who will win. Drop by the Landing and find out. As for Johnson, He's trained by Mick Doyle. He'll get over the lose. Doyle fighters fix their mistakes and move on. What beats them once will seldom work again. Dinsdale wins by TKO.

JUNIORS: Jake Goro versus Chad Monyelle
These two boys beat the snot out of each other. All three rounds were close and for the most part, could have been held in a phone booth. Toe to toe action dominated the fight but it was Monyelle's experience and pinpoint accuracy with the spinning back fist that decided the fight. Goro pressed the fight often but Monyelle (2000 IKF USA National Tournament Junior Champion) usually took control after the first one or two blows and finished the sets on his own terms. The comparison to his Dad, Craig, (IKF Pro US Flyweight Champion) is undeniable. Counter puncher, good kicker and a well honed spinning back fist. Fights like the old man but thank God he looks like his mom. Great Fight. Monyelle wins by decision.

Nick Anderson versus David Froeber
To tell you the truth, I thought Anderson would win for sure. He is a sharp young fighter out of the O'Connell camp and he is fearless. Good hands and legs and is always in shape. Froeber did not see it quite that way. He caught Anderson early and often. A well-trained fighter with that innate ability to tell his opponent is hurt. Froeber gave Anderson all he wanted and finally sent him between the ropes near the end of the round. I would have liked to see another round but the fight was stopped on a technicality. Hopefully these two will fight again. Froeber wins.

Trent Tompkins verus Matt Levins
Levins biggest weapon in the fight was having Champion Jim Foreman in his corner. Levins was obviously well schooled but that is not enough in the presence of Trent "Thunder Foot" Tompkins. Tompkins (Right with his dad at left and trainer Russ O'Connell. ) fights in the court of the King and Queen of Kickboxing, Roger (On left in picture) and Deb Tompkins and they demand a level of ferocity few fighters can handle. He's a 2 Time IKF USA Amateur National Champion and Current IKF Amateur North American Super Heavyweight Champion.

O'Connell (On right in picture) has continued to develop Trent and you could see a marked improvement in his handwork. Trent scored a knockdown with a right hand at the start of the round but that's not what the crowd came to see. It's those legs baby. How do you fight a kicker like that? For the second fight in a row, Tompkins dispatched his opponent with a spinning hook kick to the chin in the first round.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tompkins will be the next Super Heavyweight Champ of the World. Winner of the fight. Tompkins by horizontal tango.

IKF Pro FCR Featherweight U.S. Title: Eric "Rico" Mihindou of Omaha, Nebraska, USA Vs Jonathan Border (1999 IKF USA National Amateur Super Lightweight Champion) of Memphis, Tennessee, USA
This was a ten round pro fight and it was an eye opener for the crowd. The rhythm and fluid motion of these two pros gave the crowd a look at the future of their young amateurs. Eric Mihindou is one of the best Featherweight Kickboxer in the world. Hallak (Current IKF Pro Featherweight World Champion) may have the title but it is strictly on loan until these two meet. Johnathon Border won eleven of the thirty rounds scored by the three judges. Border is one very tough, very smart young man. He weathered the first couple rounds and changed his fight strategy to fit the fight. Staying inside and keeping pressure on Mihindou, Border showed he is a Champion in training and will have to be reckoned with as he matures. Mihindou, on the other hand, is an animal. Coming to America for one purpose, to train with Mick Doyle. Minhindou showed kicking ability far beyond what you would see in a normal kickboxer. The unmistakable Doyle touch has done its work. The way he turns his hip over, the extension of the leg and graceful downward arch as he kicks to the head says but one thing, MuayThai. The blend of MuayThai kicking and boxing skills has carried this fighter to a new level, a level Americans have to reach to be competitive worldwide.
Ten rounds of solid professional kickboxing but the best shot of the fight came at the end of the sixth round in Mihindou's corner. How do you block that? When Doyle works your corner, you do what he says when he says. If not, the walk to the corner can be longer than the round. Great fights in Waterloo, Iowa? As my Canadian Brother Shawn Tompkins would say "You Betcha" See everyone in St. Louis. Thank you, Brooks.

This event also had ISCF Mixed Martial Arts as well. For those results scroll down to the first results post of this event. For more event info contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 234-1935 or by e-mail at Tkdoc07@aol.com

MORE NEWS OF 11-28-02

POSTED TODAY AT 12:40 PM, PT

World Title Contenders
Get Plenty Of Press
Both Watling and Nevitt are Ready To "Bring It ON" Saturday Night In Rockford, Illinois, USA

IKF Promoter Sky Drysdale reported to the IKF today that the contenders for this Saturday nights IKF Pro World Title have been getting plenty of press. Yesterday both Mike "Tension" Nevitt (Left, of Sycamore, Illinois USA) and James "Pretty Boy" Watling (Right, of Morpeth, England ) were both on three separate radio stations yesterday and they are doing a TV stint with the local ABC affiliate today for the 5:00 news. Drysdale hopes to see some of the news stations at the weigh-ins Friday but he knows for sure at least two of the three networks will be at the fight with cameras rolling Saturday night.

As mentioned in the event article below, Drysdale is doing his best to bring BIG Kickboxing Action back to Rockford Illinois. Along with some great fighters who will be in the ring, other VIPs in attendance include former world champion 'Bad' Brad Hefton, Troy 'Hollywood' Hughes and the founder/guitarist of the band "Cheap Trick", Rick Neilsen.

Buffer may have "Lets Get Ready to Rumble" but come Saturday night, we should all hear Drysdale's signature phrase of "The battles are over, . . .and the WAR is about to begin" as he announces to the already sellout crowd that it's time to "Bring It ON!" Oh, and "YES", this event is already "SOLD OUT" and the only tickets left are "Standing room only"... For more info contact Mr. Sky Drysdale by e-mail by clicking HERE

MORE NEWS OF 11-28-02

Joe Lewis Seminar
At Hurricane Martial Arts Center

Former Kickboxing Champion Joe Lewis will be conducting a seminar at Hurricane Martial Arts Center in Lynn, South Carolina (1121 Gap Creek Road, Lynn, South Carolina) this coming Monday, December 2nd from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

"If you've never gotten the opportunity to work with Joe Lewis it is truly amazing. I work with him every chance I get and never fail to be amazed by the depth of his knowledge. He always seems to have a way to enhance my game." says Hurricane Owner and IKF Pro USA Champion Kevin Hudson. (Left)

In the seminar Lewis will cover Cutting Edge Combative Techniques. The cost is $50 for participants. Bring all your gear and be ready to work. A spectator fee is $10. Autographs, t-shirts, videos and pictures will be available.

For more info contact Kevin R. Hudson oat his Hurricane Martial Arts Center by phone at (864) 879-7916, fax (864) 879-1895 or by e-mail at krhudson@mindspring.com or see their website at

www.teamhurricane.com

WEDNESDAY, November 27th, 2002, AT 6:50 PM, PT

Drysdale Brings The
ROCK Back To ROCKFORD

IKF Promoter Sky Drysdale has been planning for this coming Saturday night since last spring. He's delt with the headaches of matchmaking and the stress that every promoter faces when planning a fight card, but for Sky, this event would have a bit more.

This is an IKF "WORLD" Title Event.

In the past, Drysdale has been best known here at the IKF for his ability behind the mic as an event ring announcer, and a great one at that! His most recent work was at this years televised IKF North American Amateur Championships in South Carolina. In the past though he's announced the names of many well know kickboxing champions such as former IKF Pro FCR Super Heavyweight World Champion "MEAN" Mike Labree (Right, 46-2/40) of Roscoe, Illinois, USA, and many others.

LaBree won his title on May 15th, 1999 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA, when he defeated Kevin Rosier of Buffalo, New York, USA. The win came at 26 seconds into round 10 when 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 IKF title in his retirement bout on February 3rd, 2001 in Hayward, Wisconsin. He won with a 3rd round TKO over the #1 contender at the time, George Randolph of Glenville, West Virginia, USA.

Labree has an IKF event scheduled for January 18th in Hayward Wisconsin featuring Labree's top student Dan Erickson (2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion, 2001 & 2002) in his pro debut after an impressive amateur career going 19-1. Erickson is still scheduled to fight on Drysdale's event this weekend but as of press time, they still had no opponent for him.

Drysdale (Right) has fond memories of the great fights in Rockford years ago and it's his plan to bring the Great Fights back there once again. A region rich in tradition for kickboxing where in the past glory days of the sport saw crowds of 8-10,000 people at arenas featured on network television. However as times changed, the sport in Rockford faded, and with it the crowds. But there are those like Drysdale who have not forgotten what it was like. So far, Drysdale has been a professional and a gentleman to everyone in his dealings, crossing every "t" and dotting every "i" and double checking it again and again. If his pre-event work has any indication of how his event this weekend will run, we hope to see a GREAT SHOW!

Drysdale's plans of bringing back the strong history of the "Rockford nights of Rumble" will soon be a reality. He plans to feature some of the already great local talent as well as bring back some names of the past for special bouts. One of those names from the past will be Ricky 'The Wolf' Haynes! Haynes made quite a name for himself over the years and although the 47 year old Haynes may not be in his prime, he's sure to excite the crowd against Saturday night when he meets Alonzo Scott in the ring.

Drysdale's event, "RUMBLE IN THE PARK" this Saturday night will help introduce the world to 2 top ranked fighters who will enter the ring for the vacant IKF Pro Light Cruiserweight World Title. The top 2 IKF contenders are number 1 IKF Ranked Mike "Tension" Nevitt (Left) of Sycamore, Illinois USA and number 2 IKF Ranked James "Pretty Boy" Watling (Right) of Morpeth, England.

At 32 years old, Nevitt's is the local boy and as in any event, the hometown favorite. He feels it's his "Prime Time" to win the World Title! As a professional kickboxing he has compiled an outstanding fight record of 22 wins, *0 loses and 10 wins coming by TKO/KO. The * indicates an unconfirmed loss at the WAKO amateur World Championships long after he was a pro. We know, "Why did he fight as an amateur if he was a pro?" Well, don't ask us, ask WAKO. Seems they have a different definition of who can be called a pro fighter and who are amateur fighters over there... His amateur kickboxing record though was as impressive as his pro record with 27 wins and only 2 loses with 16 wins coming by TKO/KO.

For 28 year old James Watling, he may not be local and may not be the hometown favorite but he has no worries of being an underdog if you could call him that. Watling didn't come all the way from England to lose to Nevitt's and were sure he could care less who the crowd favors at fight time. He plans to introduce the USA crowd to winning the English way and as IKF European Director Alby Bimpson and the rest of our British friends would say, "At the End of the day" Watling plans to be the new IKF World Champion! Although he's only had 15 pro fights, don't count him short in the skill category. With a top trainer like Steve Jessop in his corner we can assure you these two have come to the show to WIN! His small record speaks volumes to the fight world when you know who he's fought with 10 wins, 4 loses and 1 draw. Watling has no problems stepping into the ring against such an experienced Nevitt, and once the bell rings, records won't mean a thing.

The referee for the event will be the head of IKF Officials worldwide, Dan Stell (Right) of Fairfield, California, USA. Although the bout judges will all be from the USA, none of them will have any ties to the Illinois region. All 3 will be neutral to both fighters from other parts of the USA for the World Title bout. The IKF event representative will be IKF President Steve Fossum.

According to Drysdale the event is getting lots of press. So far several articles have been in the local papers and they had Nevitt on the local CBS morning show last week and the local ABC affiliate did a story as well. At least two, if not all of the stations will cover the event Saturday night. The event is this Saturday night in Loves Park, Illinois, USA and the doors open at 6:PM with the first bout beginning at 7:30 PM. Speaking of those other bouts, here's the rest of the nights match-ups.

• AMATEUR: Mike 'The Heat' Heeter vs. Jeff 'Armageddon' Greenwell
• AMATEUR: Tim Bauscher vs Brian Jones
• AMATEUR: Steve Fridh vs Al Zuehlke
• AMATEUR: Jason Adams vs Tony Horton
• AMATEUR: Jennifer Bunk vs Laura Jo Wessels
• AMATEUR: Tim Austin vs Kaleb O'Donnell (exhibition)
• AMATEUR: Justus Keenen vs Ryan Steinkamp
• JUNIOR AMATEUR: 'Bad' Chad Monyelle (Right, 2000 IKF USA National tournament Junior Champion) vs. Matthew Nickel
• Dan Erickson (2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion, 2001 & 2002) vs. TBA (now probably in an exhibition bout)
• PRO: Tommy Bach (Right, IKF Pro Lightweight U. S. Champion) vs Fernando 'El Gato' Luevano
• PRO: Ronnie Deleon vs Abu zayd Nawaz
• PRO: Ricky 'The Wolf' Haynes vs Alonzo Scott
• PRO IKF Light Cruiserweight World Title: Mike 'Tension' Nevitt vs. James 'Pretty Boy' Watling.

For more info contact Mr. Sky Drysdale by e-mail by clicking HERE

TUESDAY, November 26th, 2002, AT 6:30 PM, PT

AMATEUR
SAN SHOU FIGHTER
NEEDED!

With less then a month until showtime the IKF is scrambling to assist IKF Promoter Lou Moua in placing an Amateur San Shou Fighter for an IKF Amateur Intercontinental Title fight this December 28th in Fresno, California, USA. The two top contenders are San Shou Welterweight Vang Moua of France (46-0/25) and San Shou Super Welterweight San Song Moua, (Right) also of France (28-1/4). One thing hampering the booking is the timing." As anyone can see, December 28th is sandwiched between the Christmas and New Years holidays and very few fighters want to fight at that time of the year, and we can't blame them." Says IKF President Steve Fossum.

The event is to celebrate Hmong New Year and will be a feature attraction at the Hmong Festival in Fresno, CA. The last time the IKF sanctioned this same event they had a crowd of around 1,800 people. So far only one of the bouts has been matched. It will be for the vacant IKF Amateur San Shou Intercontinental Light Welterweight Title between Zang Moua (France) and Robert King of Houston, Texas, USA. However, the IKF and the promoters have had no luck in finding a qualified opponent for the Amateur San Shou Intercontinental Super Welterweight Title (147.1 lbs. - 153 lbs) against San Song Moua.

Two time IKF USA Amateur San Shou Champion (Welterweight and Super Welterweight) Santos Soto (17-2/12) of San Jose, California, USA will be taking a break during the holidays as will several other top ranked IKF Amateur San Shou fighters from the USA such as Max Chen of New York, NY, Mike Norman of Boston, MA and Richard Acosta of New York, NY. However, an acceptable contender/opponent would not be limited to the United States. "We've had some great help from some of the top san shou trainers here in the USA such as David Ross and others, but we have all found it difficult to find fighters for an event at this time of year." said Fossum.

If you are an amateur san shou fighter or a trainer of one who weighs between 142 and 159 lbs and has an amateur san shou record that would qualify for such a title shot, please contact the IKF as soon as possible to be considered for this bout. The IKF phone number is (916) 663-2467, fax (916) 663-4510 or easier yet, by e-mail at Main@ikfkickboxing.com

MORE NEWS OF 11-26-02

Cowtown Productions
Welcomes the IKF Back to K.C.
And Welcomes for the First Time, The ISCF
SATURDAY, November 16th, 2002 - By IKF Representative Russ O'Connell

First time IKF and ISCF Promoters Oren Gautreaux, Dan Tharp and their Cowtown Fight Promotions Company did a outstanding job for their 1st event in Independence, Missouri, USA. Over 800 in attendance which was of course an awesome turn out. Here's the nights results...

1. FCR: Troy Astle vs Darren Cassidy: A strong round kick to the body by Cassidy that set up his right hand that sent Astle to the canvas to give Cassidy the win by TKO at 1:02 of the first round.
2. ISCF: Rob Kimmons vs Mike Searcy: Kimmons was just too strong with his hand combinations as he sent Searcy to the canvas and referee Mike Kelly stopped the fight 9 seconds into the first round.
3. Taekwondo: Pinky Admire vs Jodi Brown: Both girls threw hard body shots, but Admire skills were a little better. Brown ran out of gas by the end of the 2nd round giving Admire the win by unanimous decision.
4. FCR: Jason McCullough vs Freddie Walker: Both fighters showed good skills with 3 rounds of good kickboxing but Walker's skills were better by all judges score cards winning by by unanimous decision.
5. ISCF: Josh Hargis vs Ken Richards: Hargis took Richards down into the mount. Richards rolled to his stomach and Hargis choked him to a tape out at 1:24 of the first round.
6. ISCF: Bobby Voelker vs Ryan Begg: Round 1: Voelker came out throwing his hands then took Begg down. Round 2: Good take down by Voelker to the mount Begg then the hands started flying. Referee Mike Kelly stopped it giving Voelker the win at 2:39 of the second round.
7. IR: Ron Griffey vs Bryan Fahnestock: Good leg kicks by Griffey but Fahnestock's counter punching was to much for him. Fahnestock took this one by unanimous decision.
8. ISCF: Steve Schnider vs Lance Nichols: Round 1: Schnider took down Nichols to the guard. Once on top, Schnider started throwing some great hand combinations. Round 2: The same action back to the guard, then Schnider set up a key lock winning it at 2:18 of the second round.
9. FCR: Carl Norris vs Johnny Burns: Norris started out looking pretty good for his first fight but Burns had something waiting for him... His right hand. Good body work by Burns set-up the right hand to Norris' head that sent him to the canvas for the 3rd time in 2 rounds. Norris did not answer the bell for the 3rd round giving Burns the win by TKO.

For more event info please contact Mr. Oren Gautreaux at (816) 229-6611 or by e-mail by clicking Here.

MONDAY, November 25th, 2002, AT 11:30 AM, PT

Mihindou Takes IKF Pro US Title
In 10 Round Decision Over Border In A WAR!
- Tompkins Wins by First Round KO... What's New... -

The full story by IKF Representative Brooks Mason will be posted later this week but the results are in and what a night! IKF/ISCF Promoter Russ O'Connell (Right) should get use to holding up that "NUMBER ONE" finger if he continues to hosts events like he did this past Saturday night at the 5 Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, USA. According to Mason his event was packed to the walls and even the walls were packed in the Standing Room Only crowd.

O'Connell didn't disappoint them either as the crowd watched a 10 round WAR for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Featherweight U.S. Title between the top 2 USA contenders. In the end, Eric "Rico" Mihindou of Omaha, Nebraska, USA took the unanimous decision victory over the always tough Jonathan Border (1999 IKF USA National Amateur Super Lightweight Champion) of Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The round by round report by Mr. Mason will be posted later this week.

On the undercard, IKF North American Amateur FCR Super Heavyweight Champion Trent Tompkins won "AGAIN" by spinning hook kick KO in the first round. Read about these bouts and more later in the week. For more event info contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 234-1935 or by e-mail at Tkdoc07@aol.com

MORE NEWS OF 11-25-02

Hard Knocks Gym IKF Champions
Are Champions AGAIN!

Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Two time (2001 & 2002) IKF National Full Contact Champion Alyssa DeFazio (*Left) recently won the Arizona State Silver Gloves Tournament (Amateur Boxing) for the third year in the row.

Also 2001 IKF International Rules Champion Brook Locklear (*Right) won her Championship match with a second round TKO. Now Alyssa and Brook will be going to the Silver Gloves Western Regionals in California in January for the Regional Championships.

For more info about the Team at Hard Knocks Gym in Phoenix, Arizona, USA please contact chief trainers and owners Mr. Clement Vierra or Mrs. Rhonda Vierra at (602) 493-1567 or by e-mail at HARDKNOCKSGYM@aol.com

(*) Both pictures are not current. Both are from the 2001 USA National Tournament.

FRIDAY, November 22nd, 2002, AT 11:45 AM, PT

Midwest Martial Arts Extravaganza
SATURDAY, November 23rd, 2002
Waterloo Iowa, USA

Former fighter and current IKF Promoter and championship trainer Russ O'Connell (Right) and his promotional team are all set to host another night of exciting kickboxing action this Saturday night at the 5 Sullivan Brothers Event Center in Waterloo Iowa, USA.

The main event will be the quest for the vacant IKF Pro FCR Featherweight U.S. Title. The two top USA contenders are Eric "Rico" Mihindou of Omaha, Nebraska, USA and former 1999 IKF USA National Super Lightweight Champion Jonathan Border of Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

The co-main event will be under the ISCF Mixed Martial Arts rules. Up for grabs will be the ISCF Amateur Iowa State Title between Jon Hoppes and Roy Prazak. The event will feature other bouts under both full contact rules and MuayThai rules along with some exciting matches in Full Contact Taekwondo.

For more event info contact Mr. Russ O'Connell at (319) 234-1935 or by e-mail at Tkdoc07@aol.com

MORE NEWS OF 11-22-02

RESPONSIBILITY & RESPECT...
Or LACK OF!
Steve Fossum, IKF President

This news will hit home with every promoter (Kickboxing, MMA or Boxing) and a lot of fighters as well. As promoters know, it's a lot of work to promote an event. There are the unseen tasks that many don't see unless you have ever promoted an event before. On the other hand, there are the many tasks that everyone knows goes with promoting. One of of the most important tasks is matchmaking. Matchmaking is not just 1 phone call to a fighter or trainer and confirming a fighter. It's keeping in constant contact with the fighters trainer/manager to assure he/she will be at the event they "Promised" to show up at. For pro fighters, there's a fight purse involved which makes the desire to show up a lot more. With amateurs the responsibilities vary. On most amateur events the promoters cover travel expenses for the fighter and trainer. However on "Tournament" style events, there are simply too many fighters to cover any travel expenses so instead this burden is put on the fighters and their trainers. At the IKF USA Nationals, everyone knows that to "Walk The Walk" they have to pay their own way to get there. Those who do prove themselves as TRUE CHAMPIONS against their peers. Those who don't remain unproven within their own fight circles fighting whoever they can get matched up against on local events. No matter what the circumstances though, everyone has a certain amount of responsibility and obligations to fulfill to make an event work. In other words, EVERYONE is important in the events success. Which brings us to our story here today...

Although it wasn't planned to be done until 2003, with the work of South Carolina, USA Promoter Ray Thompson, (Right) the first ever IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships was recently held on November 16th, 2002 in Simpsonville South Carolina with great success. However, the success could have and should have been even greater. That lack of success in many ways came due to bad judgement by some of the pre-registered fighters and or their trainers. Of the fighters who were pre-registered, several pulled out of the event before it even happened. Some had true valid reasons for pulling out while the decisions of others may be a question of ethics and respect. Those who were registered but couldn't or didn't make the event included;

• Super Lightweight: Cody Cook of Venus, Texas, USA, was a no show at the Friday night weigh-ins and had never called promoter Thompson to inform him he wouldn't be there. It was discovered after the event that Cook's trainer (Dorsey) was unable to make the trip. However, a simply phone call to promoter Ray Thompson would have been the respectful thing to do, but was never done.
• Light Welterweight: Omar Ballard of Columbus, Mississippi, USA was a no show at the Friday night weigh-ins. Ballard was called repeatedly throughout the week and over the weekend to find out what happened but until today, we had no idea what happened to him. His absence left his opponent without a bout, but we have a lot more on this below.
• Welterweight: Joe Surack of Kokomo, Indiana, USA had to withdraw when his trainer (Eddie Bethea) informed him the week of the event that he could not attend. Surack has since left his trainer.
• Welterweight: Tommy Alcozer, Jr., Plainview, Texas, USA had to pull out of the event after his trainer's grandmother past away and his trainer (his father) could not attend.
• Welterweight: Ivan Alvarez, Durango, Mexico, had to pull off of show on 10-12-02 because he could not get his visa to come to the USA for the event.
• Super Welterweight: Walter McCall, Adel, Georgia, USA had probably the most acceptable reason not to fight of everyone. He was forced to withdraw from this event on 10-31-02 due to his fiance being in a serious car accident. Our prayers went out to her as well as Mr. McCall however, she past away the week of the event.
• Super Welterweight: Sergio Alvarado, Durango, Mexico, had to pull off of show on 10-12-02 because he could not get his visa to come to the USA for the event.
• Light Cruiserweight: Jason Ross of Southaven, Mississippi, USA, was registered and scheduled to fight in the first morning bout on Saturday. The winner of their bout would fight again in a late morning/early afternoon bout. The winner of that bout would go on to fight the USA Champion (Jardine) in the Night final. This would mean, to win it all, Ross or his morning opponent would have to fight 3 times in 1 day. A faxed letter was received from Ross' trainers (Mr. Blann) on October 24th, 2002 that stated, "After review of the Tournament format, Mr. Ross will not attend the event." We of course were sad at this, however, we respect the decision of Mr. Ross' trainers and agree, three fights in one day is a lot. Although we stated in the beginning of this event, some fighters may have to fight as many as 3 times on Saturday, this would have been the only situation where this could have happened.
• Cruiserweight: Andy Foster of Dalton, Georgia, USA pulled out the week of the event because he said he was cut in a sparring session. WHY was he sparring the week of the event.....?
• Heavyweight: Dan Erickson, Cable, Wisconsin, USA, took another bout in Ireland 2 weeks before the event and was knocked out making him ineligible for this bout leaving his opponent without a fight.

Of all these, there were two that stood out to us. Heavyweight Dan Erickson is a great fighter. He had an undefeated record of 19-0 and was starring at a shot at the IKF Amateur Heavyweight World Title against a European opponent for early 2003. However his choice for taking another bout so close to the IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships was a bad one, no questions asked. Sure, it was probably fun to go to Ireland and fight, but to risk what happened when he had already made a "COMMITMENT" to fight on another event?

As mentioned, Erickson had never lost in his life so were sure losing wasn't even on his mind in Ireland, let alone a loss by KO. In Erickson's lone defense if there is any at all, he and several other fighters on the trip came down with food poisoning. Erickson's decision to save the Ireland promoters event by fighting sick was nice, but in the end, it hurt the promoter of the IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships, Ray Thompson over here in the USA. Making things worse for him was that after he returned from Ireland he didn't even take a moment to contact Thompson or the IKF to inform us of what happened and that he couldn't fight in North American Tournament. Thompson and the IKF only found out after Thompson's Team made several calls to him. And as if it couldn't get any worse, it does... For Erickson...

Erickson had to win the North American Tournament to be able to fight for the IKF Amateur Heavyweight World Title. Now he destroyed all hopes of that for now and what did he get for it? A trip to Ireland where he got sick and knocked out.... Not only did the promoter Ray Thompson get hurt here and Erickson's opponent (Mike Marinoble (Left) who traveled from California) but Erickson hurt himself tremendously as well.

However compared to Erickson, what someone else did made Erickson's act seem trivial to a point. Someone else crossed the line even more when it comes to professional responsibility in the fight game. As all promoters know, it's a major loss when a fight drops out of their show. This loss is also felt with the scheduled opponent who was to fight this individual who dropped out. WORSE YET though is when a fighter chooses not to show up at an event, leaves the promoter and other fighter hanging and goes and fights on another event without bothering to call the other promoter. This would be a shameful lack of professional respect and a total lack of professional responsibility right? Of course it is... and it just happened...

As mentioned above, North American contender, Omar Ballard (no picture on file) of Columbus, Mississippi, USA was a no show at the North American Championships on November 16th, 2002 in Simpsonville South Carolina for an IKF North American Amateur Title bout. The night of the weigh-ins, Friday, November 15th, 2002, everyone waited for Mr. Ballard and his trainer to show up, however he never did. Mr. Ballard was scheduled to fight for the IKF North American Amateur Light Welterweight title against Doyle Gayler (Right) of Kaufman, Texas, USA. Mr. Gayler and his trainer Mr. Chuck Best "DROVE" all the way to South Carolina for this fight only to discover that Mr. Ballard was a "NO SHOW" leaving Gayler without a fight, winning the title by forfeit. As all promoters know, this cost the event promoter, Ray Thompson, a valuable fight for the night time finals. None of the phone calls the Thompson Team made were returned and no one ever heard a thing from Mr. Ballard. NOTHING! Until today...

Today we received an e-mail that noted something of great interest to us here at the IKF and answered a question as to "Where was Mr. Ballard at the North American Championships?" The e-mail listed some results of an event held in New Orleans on November 15th. The promoter of this event was Mr. Joe Ancona. Mr. Ancona promotes a show a week in New Orleans and is a very active promoter. What we are about to tell you, to the best of our knowledge is not the fault of Mr. Joe Ancona. In fact, we feel he may even be surprised, at least we hope so. An attempt to reach him by phone was made today 11-22-02 at 11:12 AM PT) but we only got an answering machine. Here is what was written in a portion of the e-mail;

RESULTS OF THE BIG EASY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD ON FRIDAY NOV 15TH;
"OMAR BALLARD WINNER OVER CHRIS GRIFFIN IN A KICKBOXING MATCH!!!"

As everyone might expect we were sickened and shocked that Mr. Omar Ballard and his trainer Mr. Miller not only didn't show up for his scheduled IKF North American Amateur Tournament bout, but never even called to inform anyone that he wasn't going to show up. Now, WORSE YET, we see that he shunned promoter Ray Thompson and his scheduled opponent, Mr. Doyle Gaylor by taking a fight on the night before this event without saying a word to anyone. This is totally unacceptable and a lack of professional respect for all who were shorted here. Mr. Ballard and his trainer, Mr. Miller should be ashamed of themselves to have done this to the event promoter and Mr. Gaylor. There is NO EXCUSE for this and it will be remembered with all of us involved.

This is not about the IKF here. This is an issue that can relate to EVERY Promoter in the World for EVERY Organization in the world. The IKF lost nothing here. The promoter Mr. Thompson and Mr Gaylor did. This article is not about the IKF crying over a fighter who choose not to show up to fight for an IKF title. It's about our anger towards a fighter and a trainer who would do such a disrespectful thing to ANY PROMOTER!

In regards to the New Orleans promoter Mr. Ancana, the question is, "Did he have any idea that Ballard had been booked to fight on another event the night after his in South Carolina?" Regardless if he did or not, the fault here lands on the fighter (Ballard) and his trainer (Miller).

NO FIGHTER, trainer or manager should EVER BOOK a fight inside the 45 day mark of another previously scheduled bout.

The reason for this is in case the fighter were ever to be knocked out (Like in Erickson's case) or injured in the first event. The 45 day time-line gives time for the fighter to recover. However some times, more time could be needed.

All of us in this sport or any sport need to act responsible and respectful to those around us in order to earn the respect we need to succeed. Heck, we all need to do this in any act of our lives for that matter. There's a saying that's known as the "The Golden Rule". Some may have heard it or read it, some maybe not. I remember it well since it hung by the door of our family home as I was growing up. Since it was by the door I saw it everyday I left the house and it reminded me how to treat others every day. . If you know it, I ask you to remember it. If you never seen it, I ask you to learn it. The saying to me is as simple as asking "How hard is it to do the right thing." It reads;

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..."

I'll never forget it. Hopefully you won't either.

THURSDAY, November 21st, 2002, AT 3:30 PM, PT

PRESS RELEASE
November 20, 2002
From The Retired Boxers Foundation
Nevada State Athletic Commission Hears More Than
Fernando Vargas
"The good people in boxing who care more about the fighters than the money - but think the fines should benefit the sport and NOT the General Fund."
Meet Jacob "Stitch" Duran

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

TUESDAY, November 19th, 2002, AT 4:00 PM, PT

Battle in Paradise 3...
The Lords of the Ring

From IKF Barbados: On Saturday, December 14th 2002 the National Kickboxing League of Barbados and the IKF will be hosting its Battle in Paradise 3: The Lords of the Ring Pro-Am Kickboxing tournament. The event will feature international kickboxers and mixed martial artists from Canada, Haiti, the United States and host country Barbados.

The main event on the evening's card will be a professional Muay Thai contest between Barbadian Kirk Bovell and Greg Ardon of the United States. Professional Muay Thai bouts consist of five 3-minute rounds and contestants are allowed to punch, kick and knee their opponents to the legs, torso and head. This will be the first official Muay Thai contest to be held in Barbados.

Bovell (Left & Right) is Barbados' most prominent kickboxer. His reputation as a powerful kicker has earned him the ring name 'Thunderfoot'. He is the former amateur National Lightweight Free-style rules champion having amassed an amateur record of 6 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw before his ascension to the professional ranks in 2001. To date, Bovell has won both of his professional bouts the most recent being a Super-Lightweight contest against Stefan ButinBik of Holland. This bout was the main event of the Shin Do Kumaté Bouts held in Pinellas Park, Florida on July 20th of this year.

His opponent, Greg Ardon, (Making his Pro debut) has been a student of Muay Thai for the past five years and trains at the Muay Thai Lug Sitnarong Camp in New York. His trainer is British and European Welterweight Muay Thai champion Phil Nurse. Ardon holds a fight record of 4 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.
The Barbados contingent will comprise members of the Kime Kan Karate School and the Unified Martial Art Academy. They are the amateur national champions and top rated fighters of the NKL. They include Leon Mcgarrell - National Bantamweight champion, Damion Williams, Shane Garner, Dale Prescod - National Welterweight champion, Randolph Boyce, Emmanuel Boyce, Sean Carrington and former National Light-Heavyweight champion Charles Rudder.

The North American fighters consist of Darren Cassidy of Pennsylvania, Adam Rogers, the IKF Amateur California Light-Middleweight International rules champion and Mark Durant the North Canadian Amateur Middleweight champion. Odias Dumezil heads the Scorpion D'Haiti kickboxing club and will compete in the Middleweight division. The team includes St. Juste Smith and heavyweight Elysee Kinny Dominique.
Another feature event on the evening's card will be a light-heavyweight mixed martial art contest between Roland Jones of Barbados and James Wakefield of Oklahoma, USA. This event will include striking, throwing and grappling and a contestant may win by knockout, submission or on a point decision. This amateur contest will comprise of two 4-minute rounds.
Battle in Paradise 3: The Lords of the Ring Pro-Am Kickboxing tournament is sanctioned by the National Kickboxing League of Barbados (NKL) and the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF). It is sponsored by BWIA West Indies Airways, Wings & Tings Restaurant & Bar and All About Attitude sportswear. The event commences at 7:PM and general admission is BDS $20.

MORE NEWS OF 11-19-02

DragonFest… An Event for All Martial Arts!
By Johnny Davis

Mr. Gerald Okamura's (Right) 25 years in movies and television makes him a standout among many martial artist. However, its his passion to bring the entertainers to the fans that really seems to be his forte'. He speaks passionately about his commitment "My goal is to give the fans the opportunity to meet some of their movie star heroes, I recognize that this may be the only chance many will ever get to meet them."

Mr. Okamura was in deed successful with his 2002 installment of DragonFest!

This past weekend, Glendale, CA, USA was humming with movie stars and martial artist from across the nation. The Civic Auditorium was surrounded by hundreds aspiring fans at least two hours before the start of the event. Moreover, it never seems to amaze me to how loyal martial arts fans are. There were some who came as early as 5:AM in the morning to get first peak at the lineup of who's who in the martial arts. Most of them were armed with cameras and pens anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get the autographs and pictures of their idols.

The movie stars really came out to give support to this great event.

Some of them well known to most of us like; Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, one of the greatest Kickboxers to grace the ring; Multiple World Champion (Including former IKF World Cruiserweight Champion) and movie star Don "The Dragon" Wilson (Left); Women's World Champion, Kathy Long; (Right) World Champion Kickboxing Great, Pete "Sugarfoot" Cunningham and underground street fighting legend (The Jean - Claude Van Damme movie BloodSport was made in his honor) Mr. Frank Dux… (Left) whom I had the pleasure of joining for dinner after the event. The list goes on and on and there were far too many names, companies and actors to list. But know this, it was a star studded and well organized event!

The IKF actually made a stunning introduction to many martial artist who were not familiar with our work. We set up a well merchandised table displaying our championship belts, pictures and banners from our graphics dept. Additionally, we had other IKF logo items like water bottles, license plates and T-shirts that enhanced our appearance at the event. Everyone seemed impressed with our pamphlets and Press Packets as well as the general setup of the IKF.

It is one of the goals of the IKF to reach out and work with all in the martial arts community, our attendance at this weekend's DragonFest event was a major step in that direction.
I had the pleasure of talking to hundreds of people about the IKF and my Kickboxing training manual. To my surprise, I met some of the people who had e-mailed me, read my articles and remembered some of my fights. Some attendees had purchased the manual and had great things to say about its contents. Heck, I was actually humbled by so many requests for my autograph and photo opts.
The DragonFest is indeed an event for all who love the martial arts! I had a great time making new acquaintances and contacts and will be sure to make it an annual event to attend…you should too!
For more information on DragonFest go to www.DragonFest.com or e-mail Gabe Frimmel Promotions at gabe@dragonfest.com or call (626) 795-3147.

MONDAY, November 18th, 2002, AT 8:00 PM, PT

Assassins Presents...
England Vs Ireland - England Vs Hungary
2 IKF European Title Fights
Promoted by Mark Barlow, Melton Mowbray, 16th November 2002
Report By IKF Europe

1. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing Junior: Troy Attwell, Melton, Mowbray, England Vs Richard Mustard, Kirk By Liverpool, England. Result - Majority Decision Troy Attwell.
2. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing Junior: Ricky Newton, Melton, Mowbray, England, Vs Danny Mcadam, Kirkby, Liverpool, England, Result - Unanimous Decision Ricky Newton.
3. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing Junior: Richard Harris, Melton Mowbray, England, Vs Anthony Lister, Maryport, England, England. Result - Majority Decision Richard Harris.
4. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing Junior: Fahid Maniar, Melton Mowbray, England Vs Brian Creighton, Kirkby Liverpool, England. Result - 1:01 into the 3rd Round TKO Winner Brian Creighton.
5. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing Junior: Adam Pritchard, Melton, Mowbray, England, Vs Daniel Pattinson, Maryport, England Result - 1:05 into the 1st Round TKO Winner Adam Pritchard.
6. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing: Jamie Cartwright, Melton, Mowbray, England, Vs Richard Corden, Derby, England. Result - 1:07 into the 2nd Round TKO Winner Jamie Cartwright.
7. 3 X 1½, MuayThai/Thaiboxing - Demo Kevin Stott Melton Mowbray, England Vs David Macliston Wales.
8. 5 X 1, MuayThai/Thaiboxing, Junior Age 9 Years. IKF Junior Girls European Middleweight Full Contact Title: Iman Barlow Melton Mowbray, England Vs Donna Price, Wales. Result - Unanimous Decision Iman Barlow.
9. 5 X 1½, Full Contact: Simon Chambers, Melton, Mowbray, England Vs Kevin Smith Ireland. Result - 38 Seconds into 1st Round (Dr Stopped Fight Facial Injury) TKO Winner International...? Winner not listed in press release... TBA
10. 5 X 1½, Full Contact: Dion Joyce, Melton, Mowbray, England, Vs Pat Mccann, Ireland. Result - 41 Seconds into the 1st Round (Referee Stoppage) TKO Winner Dion Joyce.
11. 5 X 3 MuayThai/Thaiboxing, IKF European Super Lightweight Thai Boxing Title: Jamie Knox, Melton Mowbray, England Vs Viktor Czako, Hungary. Result - 35 Sec's 2nd Round (Corner Retired Fighter) TKO Winner Jamie Knox. Knox totally dominated the fight from the sound of the bell to the echo's of the home crowd. This sustained attack completely confused Czako putting him under pressure with the 3 judges giving the 1st round to Knox. 2nd round - Knox came out the same, preventing Czako from settling into the fight, Czako went down with a sustained attack of kicks and punches. The Hungarian corner throwing in the towel, and the crowd lifting the roof with their cheers. New IKF European Thai Boxing Super Welterweight Champion Jamie Knox.

For more info, please contact IKF Europe at Phone/Fax: 44 174 473 9043 or by e-mail

MORE NEWS OF 11-18-02

JUNGLE WARS 6
"BEAUTY & THE BEAST"
England, November 3rd, 2002 - Promoted by Morris Young
Report By IKF Europe

1. FC 3 X 2: BRIAN ANDERSON, Coventry, England Vs TOM RYAN, Liverpool, England: Results: Unanimous decision TOM RYAN.
2. FC 3 X 2 LISA BEANEY Northampton, England V JENNY HIGGINS Liverpool Academy, England. Results: Unanimous decision LISA BEANEY.
3. BOUT THREE FC 3 X 2 RON GREEN Northampton, England Vs STEPHEN JONES Liverpool Results DRAW.
4. BOUT FOUR TB 3 X 2 LIAM ROBINSON Northampton, England Vs MATTY ROMSON Liverpool Kirkby, England. Results: Majority decision LIAM ROBINSON.
5. BOUT FIVE FC 3 X 2 DANIEL KENNEDY Northampton, England Vs ANDY WEBB Liverpool Martial Arts, England. Results: 14.6 seconds into 2nd Round corner threw in towel - winner TKO ANDY WEBB.
6. BOUT SIX FC 3 X 2 GARY STEVENS Northampton, England Vs MARTIN COX Stevenage, England. Results: 1:04 in 1st round - WINNER by TKO MARTIN COX.
7. BOUT SEVEN FC 3 X 2 PETER HOBBS Northampton Vs JAMIE MILLER Liverpool KIRKBY. Results: Majority decision JAMIE MILLER.
8. IKF ENGLAND WELTERWEIGHT FULL CONTACT TITLE. 5 X 2 MOHAMMID ATIK Northampton, England (5-3) V ROB HORTON Liverpool Martial Arts, England (5-1-1): Results majority decision ROB HORTON This was a hard fought fight of five rounds. The fight could have gone either way. 1st - draw, 2nd - 2 judges scored draw, 3rd - Atik minus point for holding, 4th - Horton minis point for holding, 5th - Atik minus point for holding.
9. IKF BRITISH SUPER WELTERWEIGHT FULL CONTACT TITLE, 7 X 2: GREG MEAD Northampton, England Vs DARREN FORREST Rugby, England: Results Unanimous decision GREG MEAD. Again a hard fought fight that went the distance. Forrest showing a great flurry of kicking techniques which would put the film stars to shame, but it was not enough as the more powerful techniques from Mead just edged each round.

For more info, please contact IKF Europe at Phone/Fax: 44 174 473 9043 or by e-mail

MORE NEWS OF 11-18-02

NOTE:
The Liverpool England Show scheduled for 17th November was Cancelled Due To Dual Booking At The Venue.

SUNDAY, November 17th, 2002, AT 1:50 AM, PT

History Has Been Made!
Success Is Too Small A Word For The First Ever
IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships!

History has been made and those involved will be remembered forever! IKF North American Championships Promoter Ray Thompson (Left) finally took a moment to rest his feet as he sat along the wall of the venue and watched part of his Iron Spirit Promotions Team picking up chairs and cleaning up after their event tonight. He had the look of success and contentment in his eye that twinkled like someone who just took on the world and won, and he did!

Thompson's Team from his Upstate Karate School in Simpsonville South Carolina were the hosts to one of the greatest Amateur kickboxing events we have ever been a part of and with it, have set the standard as to what will follow with more IKF Championship Tournament events for the years to come. No, there were no fighters from Canada or Mexico there for this "North America" Championship event, but no worries. No offense to them but hey, they weren't needed to make this a great event. This was all USA tonight and the fighters who "Walked the Walk" this time knew the prize was higher and showed it in their performance as well.

We saw some wars tonight that made the crew from Charter Communications proud to be a part of IKF Kickboxing. Charter was so pleased with the event that they are now going to show the event on their South/East sports channel which includes all the south eastern states of the USA. In addition, the show may be released nationally to other Charter affiliates. Simply put, this event was the start of something big! Not just for the North American Tournament system but for the major plan of IKF Kickboxing events on TV!

Sometime event reports tend to brag a bit too much about sellout crowds when there are clearly seats available. Well kickboxing fans, if you were there, you were witness to a TRUE sellout, standing room only crowd. If you weren't there, well... simply put, you missed out BIG!

There were a total of 7 IKF Amateur North American Championship Bouts accompanied by 2 woman's exhibition bouts. We'll be writing more on this event later in the week but for those who are eager for the results lets get to them.

Due to several no shows at the weigh-ins there was only 1 prelim bout for the event that took place Saturday morning. It was in the Light Cruiserweight division between Stephen Thompson of Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA, (23-0/13) and John Scanlon of Chicago, IL, USA (3-2/1). In the bout, Thompson won by head kick TKO at 1:37 of round 1 to advance to his night time championship bout against Bill Jardine of Mondovi, Wisconsin, USA, (8-0). We'd like to point out the heart of a lion in Scanlon. With only 6 amateur kickboxing bouts he's had 3 loses. Two of them now have come from Thompson and the 3rd from National Tournament Champion Kevin Engle (14-3/8) in 2001. Our point is, is that while these other fighters "No showed" for this event, here's Scanlon, matched up against probably the best fighter of the tournament (Record wise at least, if not overall) and he shows up as promised. Talk about "Walking the Walk!" Lets give a round of applause to Mr. Scanlon who knew what he was getting into, but stayed strong as he faced Thompson's storm as long as he could. This is what makes Warriors out of men.

NIGHT EVENT: Before the night's Championship bouts 4 women fighters put on a show for the crowd in 2 exhibition bouts. In the first exhibition Andrea Zalas of Mauldin South Carolina sparred with Lisa Advent of Fountain Inn, South Carolina. In the second exhibition bout, Nicole Hess, Alexandria, Virginia showed why she is the 2002 IKF USA National Junior Girls Flyweight Champion with a strong sparring session against Rachael Preacher of Simpsonville, South Carolina. When the ladies smoke cleared the ring it was time for the men to take the stage and what a performance they gave. Here's the nights results...

BOUT 1: 1. Lightweight - 128.1 lbs. to 132 lbs.: Kicking off the night was Brent Hess of Alexandria, VA, USA (5-0/2, 131, 5'7", 17, 6-25-85, Mike Hess) Vs Joseph Balkis of Robbins, IL, USA (9-7/4, 128, 5'5", 33, 6-28-69, Glenn Hudson) Hess was this years 2002 IKF USA National "Junior Division Featherweight champion at ages 16-17 Year Olds. At the nationals he successfully defended his 2001 National title by defeating Jason Adam of Ean Claire, WI, by TKO at 1:20 of round 1. Balkis was this years 2002 USA Nationals Featherweight runner-up when his bout was stopped due to a cut over his eye at :50 seconds into the 1st round giving the title to Billy Byrd of Aurora, IL. In tonights bout, there was no early stop but plenty of strong action, and most of it all from Hess as he took the title easily by the score of 50-44, 50-43 and 50-42 to become the first "Fighting" IKF North American Amateur Champion. We say "Fighting" because remember, 2 fighters, Light Welterweight Doyle Gayler of Kaufman, Texas, USA and Heavyweight Mike Marinoble of Fair Oaks, California, USA won their titles by forfeit when their opponents were no shows at the weigh-ins. After the event Marinoble announced he will now be turning pro which will make the title vacant again.

BOUT 2: Super Lightweight - 132.1 lbs. to 137 lbs.: This was a straight across rematch from this years 2002 IKF USA National Championships between 2002 IKF USA National Super Lightweight Champion Robert Elledge of Roseville, CA, USA (10-0/3, 136, 5'9", 17, 7-28-84, Dave Marinoble) Vs Justin Pickett of North Augusta, GA, USA (8-1/3, 136, 5'5", 18, 8-18-83, now training with Ray Thompson) These two are currently ranked 1 and 2 in this division. At the 2002 IKF USA National Championships, Elledge won by split decision, 29-28, 29-28 & 28-29. Previous to the final though Pickett had to earn his way there by defeating Joe Surack in the opening round by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all 3 judges cards. Surack was scheduled to be here at the North American Championships but had to withdraw last week when his trainer informed him he could not attend. With the stage set, the two were ready to rock. It was in round 1 that made the scoring difference in this bout as Elledge forced Pickett to a standing 8 count giving him a strong 10-8 advantage on the score cards. From there out the two traded rounds but in the end Elledge would be awarded the belt by unanimous decision, 49-45, 49-46 and 48-46 to claim the IKF North American Super Lightweight title.

BOUT 3: Welterweight - 142.1 lbs. to 147 lbs.: This title matched up Jarett "JP" Perelmutter of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA (AKB: 3-0/2, AKB: 3-0/2, 147, 5'6", 27, 4-5-75, Mike Hess) Vs Neil Halmstad of Wrenshall, Minnesota, USA (10-5/0, 152, 5'10", 27, 2-9-75, Self) This was the height and reach of Halmstad (4 inches taller) against the strength of Perelmutter. Coming into the bout ranked number 7 in the super lightweight division Perelmutter had a strong desire to prove he should be ranked higher. As far as Halmstad, at the 2002 IKF USA National Championships he was registered in the light middleweight division where he first defeated Lucus Larson of Mondovi, Wisconsin USA, by unanimous decision 30-27 on all 3 cards but lost to eventual champion Anthony McGaughey by unanimous decision 30-27 on all 3 judges cards. For this event he moved down to a more natural weight for him which was a smart move as far as being crisp on his kicks and punches but at the lower weight, lacked the punching power he had when heavier. Halmstad set the pace early winning the first 2 rounds on 2 of the 3 judges cards but in rounds 3 and 4 he seemed to play into Perelmutter's inside fight game instead of using his reach which cost him dearly as Perelmutter took rounds 3 and 4 on all 3 judges cards. This one came down to who had what in the final round and in the end Perelmutter took the round on all 3 judges cards and with it, took home the belt with a unanimous decision win, 48-47, 48-47 and 49-45.

BOUT 4: Light Middleweight - 153.1 lbs to 159 lbs.: When it comes to winning, Anthony McGaughey of Norman, OK, USA (20-0-1/14, 159, 5'11", 24, 9-27-77, Scott Mincey) may not know how to. McGaughey is the 2002 IKF USA Light Middleweight Champion. At the nationals he successfully defended his 2001 National title by defeating Neil Halmstad by unanimous decision 30-27 on all 3 judges cards. Across the ring was a very game Shaun Gay of Valdosta, GA, USA (3-6/3, 159, 6'1", 23, 5-6-79, James Corbett) Gay is currently ranked number 9 in the super welterweight division. Like at the national championships, McGaughey took his time getting started against Gay and although McGaughey forced Gay to a standing 8 count in the round, he allowed Gay to land some good shots. In round 2, McGaughey decided to turn up the heat and did so with precision which brought an end to this bout at 1:02 of the second round giving McGaughey the first IKF North American Tournament win by TKO. In his defense, Gay could have been like the other "No show" fighters when he read about McGaughey's fight record. But give him credit for being true to his word and showing up to "Walk the Walk" with one of the best.

BOUT 5: Middleweight - 159.1 lbs to 165 lbs.: Have you ever been a judge and thought once a round was over you wish you could just toss a coin in the air to determine who won because it was so close? Well if so, you can relate to the action we all saw in the bout between 2002 IKF USA Middleweight Champion Peyton Russell of Minneapolis, MN, USA (26-4/6, 165, 6', 32, 9-11-69, C. B. Bunkholt) and 2002 runner up Shannon Hudson of Greer, SC, USA (9-5/4, 165, 5'8", 22, 10-11-79, Kevin Hudson) At the 2002 USA Nationals Russell successfully defended his 2001 National title by defeating Travis Buchlolz of Eau Claire, WI, by unanimous decision 30-27 on all 3 judges cards. Hudson was the 2002 USA Nationals runner up in the super middleweight division. At the Nationals in round one he first defeated Brett Crosby of Clinton, MD by TKO at 1:34 of round 3. In the final he lost to Kevin Engle of St Louis, MO by unanimous decision 29-28, 30-27 & 30-27. Hudson choose to move down in weight for this event since no one else registered in his division. It was probably the best move he's made in his fight career. At this weight he was quick, strong and aggressive and his energy level seemed to never go away. On the other hand, remember who he was up against... Peyton Russell has been around the world in his career and has come home a winner 26 of 30 times. Many thought Russell would be too strong for Hudson but to the surprise of many, Hudson turned out to be the strong one. This was yet another great battle between two warriors with strong hearts and plenty of skill to go to war with. We can't tell you what bout one judge was watching who gave Russell all 5 rounds scoring it 50-45, but the other two judges saw the fight we saw. One judge gave them each 2 rounds and couldn't come to an answer in round 3 giving them both 10 for an ending score of 48-48. The third judge forced himself to a decision and it was the small difference that gave the bout to Russell by majority decision with a score of 48-47 Russell. With the question of the one judges scoring in mind (50-45), do all of you hear what we hear in the echoes of our heads..."Rematch... Rematch..." What a GREAT FIGHT!

BOUT 6: Cruiserweight - 186.1 lbs to 195 lbs.: Adam Sylvia of Alexandria, VA, USA (11-0/8, 194, 5'11", 28, 11-5-73, Mike Hess) is a 2 time IKF USA National Amateur Champion. At this years nationals he fought one of the most memorable and classic kickboxing wars we can remember against Tim Mazurkiewicz of Beloit, WI, USA (16-3/13, 190, 6'1", 30, 5-4-72, Pete Hetrick, Butch Elliot). This bout could have gone either way and on this night, the odds favored Sylvia as he walked away with a majority decision victory, 30-26, 30-26 & 28-28. Tonight he faced across the ring a fighter we've seen for several years now come up just short of attaining a deserving title, Adrian Turpin of Anderson, GA, USA (6-6/0, 192, 6', 34, 1-4-68, Ben Turpin) At this years nationals, Turpin had lost to in the opening round to Mazurkiewicz by unanimous decision 29-28, 30-26 & 30-26. The odds makers had Sylvia way ahead to win this bout and win it quick, but on this night, there would be a new Turpin who showed up for the show that would surprise and even at times, confuse Sylvia with his hear, desire and some strong kicks. As expected, Sylvia took rounds 1 and 2 on the cards, but not by much. Turpin hung tough and toe to toe all the way through them. The surprise came in round 3 where Turpin took 2 of the 3 judges scores. Although he hung tough, tough wasn't enough as Sylvia picked, jabbed and sliced his way to the end to take home the title with a unanimous decision win 48-43, 49-45 and 50-42. NOTE: Our prayers go out to Adrian's father who was put into the hospital last night and is in critical condition. We can only hope for him to recover soon.

BOUT 7: Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs: Can you say "MAIN EVENT?!" This was the bout the hometown crowd had been waiting for. It was champion against champion and neither had ever lost a bout. Between them they had 31 wins but in the end, someone would have to lose and with it, experience their first ever kickboxing loss. 2002 IKF USA National Light Cruiserweight Champion Bill Jardine of Mondovi, WI, USA (8-0/0, 186, 6'3", 24, 9-22-77, Michael Lind) had no plan to see that 1 loss on his fight record, but than again, he never faced Stephen Thompson of Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA (23-0/13, 179, 6', 19, 2-11-83, Ray Thompson). They call Thompson "The Wonderboy" and well, you just have to see him face to face to know why they dare to call him "Boy" but after you see him fight, you'll see where the word "Wonder" came from. Thompson was this years 2002 IKF USA National Light Heavyweight champion and had registered for this event in the light heavyweight. However, his only challenger was the same person he beat in 44 seconds of round 1 to defend his Nationals Title (A title that he's held for 3 years in a row) this year, John Scanlon. No offense to Scanlon but Thompson knew he wanted to be challenged more so he moved up to Jardine's weight bracket and Scanlon followed him. As mentioned, above, Thompson had to face Scanlon in a prelim bout and defeat him again before moving on to face Jardin, which he did.

For Jardine, at this years 2002 IKF USA Nationals he first defeated Scott Christopher of Cudaley, WI by unanimous decision, 30-25, 30-26 & 29-25. In his championship bout he defeated Jason Ross of Southaven, Mississippi by unanimous decision 30-27 on all 3 judges cards to win the National title.

When the bell rang, the two went to work and Jardine saw a different level of competition then he had ever seen before. Although he has a champions skill, Jardine encountered something usually seen by opponents of pro IKF Heavyweight Champion Dennis Alexio. When your on the ropes and Thompson starts a combination, he doesn't quit until you either move, throw a successful counter or, as happened in this fight, have a referee like Dan Stell step in to give you a deserved 8 count. Although he was strong in round 1, Jardine had no answer to Thompson's non stop punch and kick attack in rounds 2 and 3 forcing referee Stell to give him standing 8 counts in both rounds. Still game with heart to match, Jardine had no plans of stopping early as he entered round 4 with his eyes wide open. However Thompson just gets stronger the longer he fights and by now he was just warming up. He was too much for Jardine who fought like a warrior, but this night belonged to Thompson as referee Dan Stell stopped this one at 1:26 of the 4th round giving Thompson the title and Jardine his first loss.

As we close this story we need to say something to all of you. We have "NEVER" see such heart, such effort and such passion in the ring as we saw tonight for not just those who won, but for those who didn't. Fighters we thought may be stopped early fought to the end and made us all respect them more as warriors for it. We are "PROUD" to be associated with such a great cast of fighters as we were tonight. Fighters who kept their word and "Walked the Walk" to fight for the IKF Brass! For those who won, congratulations on your accomplishment tonight. For those who didn't, may we remind you that one fight does not dictate your career. It's not that you lost but how you learn from your loss that will be the important lesson of your life. As the martial arts saying goes, "Fall down 6 times, get up 7." Any trainer knows, you can always improve a fighters skill, but you cannot teach HEART, PASSION and DESIRE. These are things we saw from EVERY fighter we saw today. Were sure to see you all again and maybe next time, we will see the IKF Brass around your waist.

On behalf of Ray Thompson's Upstate Karate and Iron Spirit Promotions Team, Charter Communications, Foothills Ford of Simpsonville South Carolina, the officials, the IKF and of course, kickboxing fans around the world, we bid you goodnight from yet another great night of IKF Championship Kickboxing from Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA!

For more information on this event please Upstate Karate, Inc. Ray & Gloria Thompson or Rebecca Preacher at (864) 967-3930, Cell (864) 505-4237, e-mail- tetsushin2@aol.com.

SATURDAY, November 16th, 2002, AT 2:20 AM, PT

After Weigh-Ins... Several
"No Show"
To "Walk The Walk"

Like at any Tournament, last minute drop outs are bound to happen. However, when a North American Title and a $240.00 Title belt is on the line, we rarely see any fighters pull away... Well, sadly to say, after weigh-ins yesterday there were some missing fighters who failed to show up to the first ever, IKF North American Amateur Championships. Some of them had their reasons while others have yet to even return a call to explain why they are missing here today...

Of them, they include, 2002 USA Nationals Champion Cody Cook (Left) of Venus, Texas who we have no reason why he didn't show up. Andy Foster of Dalton, Georgia who informed Promoter Ray Thompson that he suffered a cut in a sparring session and Omar Ballard of Columbus, Mississippi who as well is missing without any reason given.

Doyle Gayler (Right, 2002 IKF USA National Champion, 36-5/25) of Kaufman, Texas drove all the way here only to find out his opponent Omar Ballard was a "No Show!" Because of this, Gaylor automatically wins the IKF North American Light Welterweight title making him the second (Marinoble below being the first) North American Title winner by Forfeit.

The outcome of all this meant a major change in the morning portion where there will now only be 1 morning prelim bout between Light Cruiserweights Stephen Thompson of Simpsonville, South Carolina against John Scanlon of Chicago Illinois. The winner of which will fight Bill Jardine of Mondovi, Wisconsin in the Main Event on tonights show. Below is the revised fight card schedule...

• SATURDAY MORNING 3 ROUND PRELIM BOUT ORDER;
  1. Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs.:
     • Stephen Thompson, Simpsonville, SC, USA, 23-0/13 Vs John Scanlon, Chicago, IL, USA, 3-2/1
• SATURDAY NIGHT FINALS - All 5 Round Bouts.
  • 7:00 PM: 2002 IKF North American Amateur Championship Title Bouts Begin.
  1. Lightweight - 128.1 lbs. to 132 lbs.:
     • Brent Hess, Alexandria, VA, USA, 5-0/2 Vs Joseph Balkis, Robbins, IL, USA, 9-7/4.
  2. Super Lightweight - 132.1 lbs. to 137 lbs.:
     • Robert Elledge, Roseville, CA, 10-0/3 Vs Justin Pickett, North Augusta, GA, USA, 8-1/3.
  3. Light Welterweight - 137.1 lbs. to 142 lbs.:
     • Doyle Gayler, Kaufman, TX, USA, 36-5/25 Vs Omar Ballard Columbus, MS, USA, 9-1/5.
  4. Welterweight - 142.1 lbs. to 147 lbs.:
     • Neil Halmstad Wrenshall, Minnesota, USA, 10-5/0 Vs Jarett "JP" Perelmutter, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA, AKB: 3-0/2.
  5. Light Middleweight - 153.1 lbs to 159 lbs.:
     • Anthony McGaughey, Norman, OK, USA, 20-0-1/14 Vs Shaun Gay Valdosta, GA, USA, 3-6/3.
  6. Middleweight - 159.1 lbs to 165 lbs.:
     • Peyton Russell, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 26-4/6 Vs Shannon Hudson, Greer, SC, USA, 9-5/4.
  7. Cruiserweight - 186.1 lbs to 195 lbs.:
     • Adam Sylvia, Alexandria, VA, USA, 11-0/8 Vs Adrian Turpin, Anderson, GA, USA, 6-6/0
  8. Light Cruiserweight - 179.1 lbs to 186 lbs:
     • Bill Jardine, Mondovi, WI, USA, 7-0/0 Vs Winner of Morning Prelim Bout number 3.

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

FRIDAY, November 15th, 2002, AT 4:30 AM, PT

IT'S HERE!
The First IKF North American Amateur FCR Championships!

As for the fighters, all the training is done but the work has just begun for IKF North American Amateur Full Contact Rules Championship Promoter Ray Thompson (Left) and his promotional staff. By tonight, all the fighters will be in Simpsonville South Carolina USA, checked in, weighed in and given final instructions before laying down for the night. By Saturday morning, all of them will be ready to fight in the first IKF Amateur North American Championship Tournament.

Along with Thompson and his staff will be IKF Referee Dan Stell (Left) who gave an officials seminar last night. Stell is one of the top referees in the world and will share duty with Referee Tommy Seigler.

Also on hand will be IKF Representative and World Ambassador Brooks Mason (Right) who will handle some of the Charter TV "Play by Play". Since there was some problems with the phone line hook-up, Mason will not be teaming up with IKF Internet Radio Chief Johnny Wall as they did at this years IKF USA National

The event will be filmed by Charter Communications out of the South East Region of the USA. Charter is one of the largest cable companies in the Nation and if the company likes the event there is a possibility of it being shown around the USA through other Charter affiliates."It's a start for something big as far as TV goes" says Fossum. "TV is no easy task to attain for the sport of kickboxin