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MONDAY, December 31st, 2001, AT 5:55 PM, PT
The Best Of The
Best In The
IKF For 2001!
The
Announcement of the 2001 IKF Hall of Fame
Inductees!
Well, here they are, the 2001 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees! It was a GREAT YEAR for all of us and with our 10 year anniversary year coming up, we look forward to an even bigger year for the IKF World Team! One thing you may notice is that it was EXTREMELY Hard for us to select just 1 winner in nearly all the categories. More will soon be added yet as we await the final selections from our IKF European Director, Alby Bimpson and IKF Team Europe. One thing we'd like your help on though is the final selection of the Pro and Amateur Fighters of the year. Here are the requirements for these awards.
2001
IKF All Around Pro Fighter Of The Year
Cast
your Vote by clicking HERE!
2001 IKF
All Around Amateur Fighter Of The Year
Cast your Vote by
clicking HERE!
Thank you for your votes. Keep in mind that if we receive
enough votes for certain individuals they could still be added to the list below
of the 2001 Inductees. So now, without further delay, here are the
2001 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees!
2001 IKF
Pro Fighters Of The Year
Pro MuayThai Rules
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Pro Full Contact Rules
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Pro San Shou Rules: Cung Le
(Right) San Jose, CA, USA.
On December 15th, 2001 in San Jose California, USA, Cung Le become the first
IKF San Shou World Champion when he won
the Light Heavyweight Title by unanimous decision over Shoni Carter of Chicago,
Illinois, USA.
USA. Having already
won the 2000 IKF USA National Amateur IR
Middleweight Title, Stitt was back to defend it in 2001 where in his first round
he defeated Jason Lovelace by TKO after the first round when Lovelace couldn't
answer the bell for round 2. Stitt advanced to the Final where he defeated Todd
Whitmoyer by majority decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 28-28.
Jorge
Hernandez, (Right) Aurora, Colorado, USA. At the 2001
IKF USA National Amateur Tournament
Hernandez defeated David Foley of Ogden, Utah in round 1. In the final he
defeated 2000 National Champion Adam Rogers of Seaside, California by unanimous
decision, 29-27, 30-26 & 29-26 to win the
IKF USA National Light Middleweight Title.
(Left) Jose, California, USA.
Kelly was picked this year more for what we've seen him do over the years and
not so much for his 2001
IKF USA Nationals win over John Greaves
who he defeated by TKO at 45 seconds into the 3rd round to claim the Light
Heavyweight Title.
Robert
Elledge (Right) of Roseville, California, USA. At the 2001
IKF USA National Amateur Tournament,
Elledge in round 1 defeated Al Ronnei of Mondovi, Wisconsin. Later the same day
in round 2 he fought and defeated by TKO, then undefeated (And 2000 Champion)
Matt Bentley of Omaha, Nebraska. In the final he took a unanimous decision win
over Curt Mickle of Atlanta, Georgia, USA to win the title.
Trent
Tompkins (Right) of Waterloo, Iowa, USA. At the 2001
IKF USA National Amateur Tournament,
Tompkins in round 1 defeated David Hampton of Calmet City, Illinois by TKO at 28
seconds into the 2nd round to advance to the Final where he met and defeated the
2000 National Champion John Lenamon of Abilene, Texas by unanimous decision,
29-28, 29-27 & 29-27 to win the National Title.
Oklahoma, USA. Like last
year, how could we forget the perfection of McGaughey who continued his
undefeated streak at this years Nationals when he defeated Jeff Bederd of St
Louis, Missouri who had a 24-2 record, by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 &
29-28. In the win, he defended his IKF US
National Light Middleweight title and kept his perfect record in tact at 18-0
with 14 wins by TKO/KO.
Mark Snow of Lake Zurich, Illinois, USA
at this years IKF USA National Amateur
Tournament, few waited for the MC to announce Tim's situation. Nearly everyone
at Ringside at ring 2 stood to their feet and gave Tim a standing ovation for
his efforts. When the applause quieted down, the MC explained how Tim had went
through months of waiting for us at the IKF
to make a decision whether or not to allow him to fight. We had several e-mails
in support of him competing and finally, we made the decision to allow him to
compete. The MC said to everyone there,
"We decided, if Tim Ball wanted to walk the walk, we weren't going to
stop him!"
And the place erupted with yet another standing ovation. If you were there
you would have felt a lot of emotion in the room. Tim represented every fighter
at that moment. What was so special about Tim Ball? He was a fighter with a
paralyzed right arm that simply hung to his side. He proved that if a 1 arm man
could make the effort to "Walk The WALK" than NO ONE else could ever
have a valid excuse. Tim may have lost his bout, but he won the hearts of
EVERYONE there, and more important, he "Walked The Walk" in front of
all his peers. Nothing is more valuable than that.
Carter Williams, (Right) of Modesto,
California, USA. After a poor showing on the K-1 USA undercard, Williams came to
the IKF USA National Amateur
Championships. In round 1 he defeated John Grantham of Athens, Georgia, USA by
split decision 29-28, 29-28 & 28-29 to advance to the final. In the final,
he faced 2000 Champion Kurt Hasley and defeated him by unanimous decision,
29-27, 29-27 & 28-27. In November of this year Williams went to Canada and
defeated Andre Beaulieu of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada at the 1:42 mark of the
second round. In the win Williams picked up an Amateur North American Super
Heavyweight Title.
Rebecca
Preacher (Right) of Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA. It was
billed as "The Ultimate Amateur Women's Showdown!" Why "The
Ultimate?" The bout was a defense of Jennifer Thysen's
IKF Amateur FCR U.S. Welterweight Title.
Thysen of DePree Wisconsin, USA won the title at the 1999 USA National Amateur
Tournament however Preacher won the same title at the 2000 IKF USA National Amateur Tournament by split
decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) in one of the closest bouts of the tournament
over Thyssen. After the bout, there was controversy as to who really was the
best Woman's FCR Welterweight in the Nation. So, on On June 23rd, 2001 in
Carlton Minnesota USA the two met and Preacher defeated Thyssen by TKO round 4.
As many of you know, to win an IKF U.S.
title today, it can only be won at the National Tournament. This bout on a
regular event was the last time a USA National Title was fought for outside the
National Amateur Tournament. At the 2001 IKF
USA Nationals though Thyssen showed up and defeated Terrie Hicks of Augusta,
Georgia by unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 & 29-28 to reclaim the title
back.
Tara
Opielouski, (Right) Norman, Oklahoma, USA. At the 2001
IKF USA National Amateur Tournament, in
round 1, Opielouski, (0-0) defeated Kathy Hagler of Roswell, Georgia by TKO at
1:08 of round 2 to advance to round 2. In round 2, Opielouski defeated Katie
Ehrhardt (8-1) of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. At the final, Opielouski won the
Woman's USA National FCR Super Lightweight Title by forfeit when opponent
Jennifer Woodrome of Imperial, Missouri choose not to fight due to a neck/back
pain she got from her previous bout.
Jenna
Castilo, (Right) San Jose, CA, USA. On July 21st,
2001, San Jose, California, USA, Castilo defeated Katie Meehan of Denver
Colorado, USA by TKO at 1:56 of round 2 to win the vacant IKF
Amateur Woman's Bantamweight Title. In her first defense on December 15th, 2001
in San Jose, California, USA she defeated Christine Yandolli by Unanimous
Decision 4 rounds to 0 on all 3 judges cards. Castilo's only problem is finding
good "Experienced San Shou" competition in the woman's ranks.2001
IKF Trainers Of The Year
This award
is decided by many factors. Most importantly, it is not decided by just 1 single
fighter that may have won a big title. This award is chosen by "Continued"
efforts in the sport within IKF sanctioned
events for the past year. But it is not just this 1 thing that makes one attain
this award, but many things such as;
So with this being known, here, in no particular order are the 2001 IKF Trainers of the Year:
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2001 IKF
Promoter Of The Year
This Inductee is selected not just by number
of events. They are selected by the style and manner of their promotions. This
includes their event organization and presentation which includes, event start
time, event activity schedule timing, event special effects, venue cleanliness,
ringside set up, event programs and officials.
Something to note here. Did the IKF Event
Representative need to do a lot of work to help the event once there or just
their suggested duty? Next they are judged on
their hospitality they provided their guests, fighters, trainers and officials
from travel in, accommodations as well as food and or daily per-diem expenses.
Next they are selected by their willingness to follow the
Rules and Regulations of the
IKF from having qualified officials, good
matchmaking of undercard bouts as well as Title bout
requirements, Pro Purse distribution, IKF
sanction logo appearance on all event ads, (Posters, programs, radio, TV,
banners etc. etc.) following the sanctioning fee time
guidelines. One of the most important selection is their event reports. Did
they send the IKF Headquarters a pre-event
as well as a post event press release so we can pre-post the event before it
happens and after it happens on the NEWS Page
for others to see. In addition, the results sheet should always include all the
fighters info such as name, hometown, record, weight, height, age and contact
number. These are available right here on the IKF
Website for both Amateur Bouts and
Pro Bouts. And finally, these promoters
must do a minimum of 3 events a year (Or only 2 as long as they are directly
associated with the organization of at least 2 others) 1 to qualify for this
award.
After we look at all these things that to us, make a good event promoter, the one with the highest point total per average of event was selected as the 2001 IKF Promoter of the Year. And the winner is...
Mike
& Elizabeth Carlson, (Right)
Augusta, Georgia, USA
HONORABLE MENTION
2001 IKF EUROPEAN Special Acknowledgements
IKF
PRESTIGE AWARD
The IKF
PRESTIGE AWARD is Awarded to the Individuals who have done the most for the
IKF during the year. Who have contributed
the most to the IKF such as bringing in
new IKF Event Promoters, Registering new
IKF Fighters, helping with new ideas for
the IKF as well as helping make them a
reality. Their work "Behind" the scenes to make the IKF grow stronger for everyone on the IKF World Team. This does not include PAID Positions
of the IKF, Paid help or individuals
efforts who knew their work would be financially rewarded. This award is
about WHO has gone the extra mile for the TEAM at their own expense
without expecting or awaiting any return on their investment, for THE TEAM! Some
of them you may know their names while others, you may wonder who they are. Let
it be known that their work and efforts for "THE TEAM", meaning ALL of
you, are Greatly Noticed and Appreciated here at the IKF World Headquarters. Not
that your efforts are not appreciated as well, truly, they are. It's just that
these are the ones who have stood out in 2002 in going the extra mile. This is
the ultimate TEAM AWARD! Now, In no particular order...This years 2001 IKF Prestige awards go to,
Toni
Foster, (Right) Auburn, California, USA. For her work and
time for IKF Graphics, event pictures and
IKF artwork for all IKF
Literature. She has spent countless hours creating designs, logos, brochures and
programs for IKF Events around the world.
If your a promoter and you want a HIGH QUALITY Program, you need to have Toni
and her staff at Foster Graphics
help you.(IKF,
European Director Alby Bimpson and
of
course, IKF President Steve Fossum
are not eligible for this award. )
Congratulations To Our
2001 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees!
More News Of 12-31-01
More News On The Record...
Here's the latest news on the hit record for IKFKickboxing.com As of end of day yesterday, December 30th, 2001, the IKF website had a total of 660,235 Hits. We have 1 more day left in December so we'll see what the final count is tomorrow. So far we have an average of 22,007 hits per day, a slight drop from yesterday of the 22,131 hits per day average.
As we were yesterday, we were glad to see the average time on the site for December rose up even more to an average of 39.08 minutes as compared to an average of 36.40 minutes yesterday. Since May, when we first started tracking our hits on IKFKickboxing.com up to yesterday, December 30th, we have received a total of 4,294,632 Hits.
SUNDAY, December 30th, 2001, AT 7:00 PM, PT
Keeping Watch Of The New Record...
If anyone wanted to know, we thought we'd keep you posted on the new hit record for IKFKickboxing.com As of end of day yesterday, December 29th, 2001, the IKF website had a total of 641,820 Hits with 2 counting days left in December... With an average of 22,131 hits per day, it's not likely we'll reach the next mark of 700,000 hits, but we're looking forward to seeing how close we come to it.
Something we were very glad to see though was that the average time on the site for December came back up again to an average of 36.40 minutes which was up from 34.90 minutes and the 35.10 mark from a few days ago.
Since May, when we first started tracking our hits on IKFKickboxing.com up to yesterday, December 29th, we have received a total of 4,276,217 Hits. As we come closer and closer to that 700,000 Hit mark, we'll keep you posted.
More News Of 12-30-01
More Of The Best Of The Best In The
IKF!
Look For The 2001
IKF Hall of Fame Inductees To Be
Announced HERE Tomorrow...Monday, December 31st!
More News Of 12-30-01

Mexico's
Enrique Flores...
Shameful Acts
Of A
Jealous Man!
Click Here to read this Story...
FRIDAY, December 28th, 2001, AT 8:30 PM, PT
The Best Of The Best In The
IKF!
The Announcement of
the 2000 and 2001 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees!
Well, we don't have all the IKF Hall of Fame winners yet for 2001 but we thought we'd give you what we have so far for the 2000 IKF Season. Sorry they were announced late but still, here's the 2000 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees!
2000
IKF All Around Pro Fighter Of The Year:
of
Omaha, Nebraska, USA by TKO to win Kuschel's IKF United States Bantomweight
International Rules Title. On July 29th, 2000 in Merraitt, Georgia, USA, Hill
defeated Jacqueline Chavez of Los Lunas, New Mexico to win the vacant IKF
Women's Amateur IR U.S. Featherweight Title. At the 2000 IKF USA National
Amateur Tournament Hill won the FCR Woman's Lightweight National Tournament
Title in impressive fashion with a spinning crescent kick KO at 1:09 of the 3rd
round in what was "The Women's Bout of the Tournament over Katie Ehrhardt
of Lake Zurich, Illinois, USA. Finally on December 2nd, 2000 in Monterey,
California, USA Hill defeated Angela Rivera, Las Vegas Nevada, USA to win the
vacant IKF Woman's MuayThai Rules U. S. Featherweight Title. It was Hill's 4th
IKF U.S. Amateur Title win of the year which should clearly explain why we
choose her IKF Amateur Fighter of the Year!
2 For MuayThai
Rules: Dmitry Shakuta, Minsk Belarus.
only American fighter to go the distance
against a fighter on the Minsk Belarus Team in Belarus in January, Calleros
ended up losing the MuayThai bout to Dmitry Shakuta. But he came back to defeat
Miguel Reyes of Tijauana, Mexico to win the vacant IKF Super Welterweight IR
World Title on June 26th, 2000 in Sacramento, California, USA.
2000
IKF Amateur Fighters Of The Year:
Norman, Oklahoma, USA won his first
round bout at the 2000 IKF USA National Amateur Tournament over Frank Glover of
Lake Zurich, Illinois by TKO at 1:59 of round 3. He went on to defeat Marc
Mayfield of St Louis Missouri, USA by by TKO at 1:22 of the 3rd round to win the
IKF USA National Amateur Tournament FCR Light Middleweight Title and stayed
undefeated at 17-0 with 14 wins by KO or TKO.
Men MuayThai
Rules: Derek Yuen, (Right in a
picture from 2001) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. On February 26th, 2000 in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Yuen won the IKF Amateur Light Heavyweight Wisconsin
State MuayThai Title over Brian Rood of Hudson, Wisconsin, USA. He later went on
to win the IKF USA National MTR Light Heavyweight Title over Kevin Brown of
Omaha, Nebraska, USA by TKO at 1:32 of round 2.
2000
IKF Trainers Of The Year:
Minsk, Belarus. Trainer of
IKF MTR World Champion Dimitri Shakuta (Above).IKF
PRESTIGE AWARD
Awarded to 2 People For the Year 2000

The IKF
PRESTIGE AWARD is Awarded to the Individual who did the most for the IKF during the year. This one is judged by who has
contributed the most to the IKF such as
bringing new promoters, fighters etc. and helped the growth of the IKF the most.
Alby Bimpson,
Merseyside, England (Left)
and Evgeny Kotelnikov, Minsk, Belarus(Right)
Congratulations To Our
2000 IKF Hall of Fame Inductees!
More News Of 12-28-01
Over 600,000 For
IKFKickboxing.com
And Still Counting!
As anticipated, IKFKickboxing.com has past yet another milestone for number of hits in 1 month. The new record is yet another milestone for kickboxing exposure around the world. As of end of day yesterday, December 27th, 2001, the IKF website had a total of 607,892 Hits breaking the old record set in November of 566,087 hits by more than 40,000. This number will of course grow higher as there are still 4 traffic days yet to total to this number (Today, the 28th, 29th, 30 & 31st.)
As anticipated, the average number of daily hits dropped a few notches but not as much as expected from a couple of days ago (22,693). The daily average stayed strong at 22,514 while also as expected, the length of time for each visitor dropped slightly to 34.90 minutes from 35.10 a few days ago. Yesterdays hit count was 21,895.
Web Lingo... Since May 1st when we started tracking our web traffic up to yesterday, December 27th, IKFKickboxing.com has had 4,242,289 Hits from 148 different country domains, 353 Browser Trees, 348 Platform Trees and 500 computer setups combos.
More News Of 12-28-01
More Events Or More Money?
The year 2002 will mark the 10 year anniversary for the IKF which did it's first event on August 1st, 1992 in Roseville, California, USA. To celebrate our 10 year Anniversary we asked ourselves a simple question. "What would we like to see more of, Money or IKF Events?" Well, sure, we'd like to make millions of dollars just like everyone else, but our goal has always been focused on "Re-building" the sport of kickboxing and it's worked successfully so far so why change. We figure if our millions are meant to be, they'll come in time, but for now, we need to look at how we can help the sport grow, so we choose More IKF Events as our answer.
Our next question was "How can we see more World Title Defenses of our current IKF World Champions?" As many know, very few World Champions in any Kickboxing organization are ever challenged to defend their World Titles. In fact, we've noticed that very few Champions (Amateur & Pro) of any type (state, regional, national etc. etc.) are ever challenged. So we decided to make some changes in this area as well.
First, we lowered some of the amateur and pro sanctioning fees to make it easier for IKF promoters to pay for IKF Sanctioning on IKF Title bouts. Hopefully this will get more potential promoters interested in creating fight opportunities for the many kickboxers around the world.
Next, we added a reduced rate for promoters to pay when they're sanctioning an IKF Title "Defense" on their event. Hopefully this will spark more title defenses among the current IKF Title holders of both amateur and pro ranks and of all titles.
To see our new rates for sanctioning fees and Title Defense fees, go to our IKF SANCTIONING FEES Page HERE! We have a lot more in store for our IKF Promoters that will help them put a little more cash in their pockets for the 2002 season and beyond. However, these additional benefits will only be for active IKF promoters that are working with the IKF as of February 1st, 2002. So if you've been considering hosting an IKF Sanctioned event, you need to plan it now to take advantage of some of the things we have in store for everyone in 2002.
Happy New Year
Everyone... And as you can see...
It looks
like it's going to be a BANG of a Year for IKF
Kickboxing!
WEDNESDAY, December 26th, 2001, AT 6:40 PM, PT
New Hit Record For IKFKickboxing.com!
With only 6 Sanctioned IKF Events in December, one would think there would be very little action on the IKF website. Not to mention the Christmas Holiday Season and all with students away from school and people off work and on the Ski slopes instead of behind a computer. However, despite the slow month for events, the IKF website is proud to announce a New Monthly HIT Record, and the month's not over yet!
As of yesterday, December 25th, Christmas day, the hit count on the IKF Website totalled 567,348 HITS! This beat the old monthly record set last month (November) of 566,087 HITS! But it's not over yet since there are still 6 days left in December. Will we reach 600,000?
The average hits per day was up as well with a current average of 22,693. This of course will drop over the next few days since these last few days in December are holidays that will not find too many people behind their computers. So far the best month with the highest Daily Hit Average was again, last month (November) averaging 18,869 Hits Per day. The best surprise for December though is the average time spent on the site per visitor. The current record was set back in July of 36.03 minutes. So far this month, that average is at 35.10 minutes, up over 16 minutes from last month.
As the year comes to an end, look for the postings of the IKF Yearly Hall of Fame Inductees for 2001 as well as the late postings of the 2000 winners.
San Shou
EXPLODES In San Jose, California,
USA!
Cung Le Becomes First
IKF San Shou World Champion... While
Jedeepitak, Ott, Madigan, Soto and
Castillo All Win Their Title Bouts On
"UNITED FOR THE CHILDREN" Event!
Last Saturday night, December 15th, UsH! Entertainment and G-Up Promotions hosted UNITED FOR THE CHILDREN. A Benefit Event for the The Twin Towers Orphan Fund and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the San Jose Event Center in San Jose, California, USA.
A crowd of about 1,500 were treated to a great night of San
Shou Style fighting which featured 12 San Shou fighters from East to West
fighting for 6 IKF San Shou Titles. The
Main event of the night featured the top ranked San Shou Fighter in the Nation,

Cung Le (Left) San Jose,
California, USA against top UFC competitor Shoni Carter (Right)
of Chicago, Illinois, USA. This was a great bout that saw two warriors going at
it toe to toe. Unlike some of Le's former opponents, Carter was
much stronger and wasn't allowing Le any easy throws as we've seen in
past bouts. Carter was strong in the clinch and had plenty of weapons
from the outside as well. It was sure to be a true test of Le's fighting
skills as well as Carters.
In the opening seconds of round 1, the two banged heads which resulted in a cut over Le's right eye. Immediately the cut started to bleed quite a bit which brought a worry to everyone at ringside, wondering if the ringside doctor was going to request the bout be stopped early due to an accidental injury. If so, the bout would have ended in a "No Contest", but this was not to be on this night. As the round ended, Le's corner did an excellent job of sealing the cut to insure the bout would continue. The first round saw Le ahead in total points on the 3 judges cards. Judge Jon Schorle scored it 18-10. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 31-17 and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 17-4.
NOTE: San Shou scoring is a lot like Amateur Boxing. Each strike that a judge sees as a scoring blow (Kick or Punch) the judge clicks a point on his/her judges clicker. Throw points are also added to the striking points. The throw points are awarded by the referee after each throw. Throw points are 1,2 or 3. All of these points make up the final round score. With this system, there will always be a vast difference in "Counted" points at the end of a round. In final scoring, only 1 point is awarded after each round which goes to the fighter with the highest point total. In round 1, Cung Le won on all 3 judges cards so he lead on all 3 judges cards 1 round to 0 after round 1.
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In round 2, both fighters seemed to pull back a bit to re-think
their strategy. In the end, Le was ahead on

all
3 judges cards again. Judge
Jon Schorle scored it 8-5. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it
23-14 and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 9-4. As the bout continued, Le
proved he was the one with the throwing skills. Carter on the other hand
continued to keep his focus on scoring points in the stand-up fighting which was
soon to be his downfall. Le scored on several of his throw attempts to win round
3 decisively. Judge Jon Schorle scored it 16-8. Judge Susan Thomas
Gitlin scored it 34-17 and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 18-7
In round 4 we saw a lot of the same. Carter continued his stand-up striking and tried to get at Le's cut over his right eye, landing a few good shots here and there. However, the points in the throw category continued to make all the difference as Le won round 4 with ease. Judge Jon Schorle scored it 14-7. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 30-19 and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 10-3.
In the final round the two continued the same pace. Carter still failed to score any throw points and managed little in the stand-up game as Le scored in both stand-up as well as throws. Although Carter was a strong opponent for Le, he was no match for Le's throwing skills. He was able to continue standing both times Le attempted his famous Scissor Sweep takedown but wasn't able to counter some of Le's other throws. At the end of the 5th, Le again won on all 3 judges cards. Judge Jon Schorle scored it 10-5. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 27-14 and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 19-5.
In the end, Le won on all 3 judges cards 5 rounds to 0 to be the first to capture an IKF San Shou World Title in the ring. Carter proved to be one of Le's toughest opponents. Although he didn't have the throwing skills to match Le, his heart and toughness kept him strong throughout all 5 rounds. Great fight by both!
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After this match-up, the question was asked, "Who has the San Shou Skills to match-up against Cung Le?" With that in mind it was clear to understand why many were saying that the future of not only Cung Le as a San Shou Style Fighter, but the fighting style of San Shou itself will be tested in the future competition of this rules style whether it be called San Shou or "Punch, Kick Throw." It's clear that Le is one of the Greatest San Shou style fighters in the World. He's proved this time and time again, but the question is,
"Who's Next?"
The Semi Main Event lost some of it's hype when IKF
MT & IR World Champion Danny Steele (Left) of Los Angeles, CA, USA
didn't make the weight cut off of 147 lbs for the vacant IKF San Shou Welterweight World Title.

Steele made 149.5 but was unable to
drop any more as he was nursing a groin injury he had suffered about 4 weeks
ago. Because of this, Matee Jedeepitak (Right) of Ratchaburi,
Thailand via Indianapolis, Indiana, USA was awarded the World Title by forfeit.
However, both fighters agreed to fight anyway to assure some excitement for the
event.
In round 1, Steele was hit in the head with a knee strike by Jedeepitak which dropped him to the canvas. Referee Marcos Rosalas didn't see the knee and gave Steele an 8 count instead. (Knees were not legal in any of these bouts) As if that wasn't enough to slow Steele down, he also re-injured his groin at the end of the round when he threw a kick. However, as many know, Steele wasn't about to have the injury stop him. Steele tried his best to fight toe to toe with Jedeepitak but it was not meant to be. Unable to move at will Jedeepitak picked his shots against Steele and landed them wherever he wanted to. After 1 the scores were, Judge Jon Schorle scored it 28-27 for Steele. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 47-11 for Jedeepitak and judge Dan Stell scored it 29-8 for Jedeepitak.
Round 2 started strong as Steele tried to put more pressure on Jedeepitak. However Jedeepitak exploded back with an attack of his own. Picking his shots from a simple jab to explosive leg kicks, these two wouldn't get into any kind of Throwing game, but the stand-up action was explosive when they mixed it up. As round 2 continued the two seemed to do more standing around than fighting. Playing a waiting game to see who would commit first. When they did Jedeepitak seemed to always come away with the best. As in the Draka style of fighting Steele fought in the mid 90's, the "Point System" once again hurt Steele as his activity wasn't anywhere near Jedeepitak who scored and scored often with his hands and feet. In round 2, judge Jon Schorle scored it 17-9 for Jedeepitak. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 25-14 for Jedeepitak and judge Dan Stell scored it 18-8 for Jedeepitak.
As the rounds progressed, it all looked the same. Although Jedeepitak
was making a name off an injured Steele, the fact was,
HE WAS MAKING A NAME! Everyone
was impressed at his skill and technique. After round 3, judge Jon Schorle
scored it 20-10 for Jedeepitak. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored
it 31-11 for Jedeepitak and judge Dan Stell scored it 22-9 for
Jedeepitak. After round 4, judge Jon Schorle scored it 15-6 for
Jedeepitak. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 28-9 for Jedeepitak
and judge Dan Stell scored it 14-6 for
Jedeepitak.
when round 5 came around, Jedeepitak didn't want to leave any doubt in the judges minds or the fans. Steele was an injured animal with very little movement and Jedeepitak was out for his prey. He exploded with kick and punch combinations scoring at will and impressing everyone. After round 5, judge Jon Schorle scored it 25-5 for Jedeepitak. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 37-7 for Jedeepitak and judge Dan Stell scored it 25-3 for Jedeepitak. When it was over, the IKF had no problem crowning Jedeepitak the IKF San Shou World Champion.
What we would like to see though is 2 things. 1, a rematch with a healthy Steele, but more important, for Jedeepitak to challenge IKF World Champion Khunpon (right) for his IKF MuayThai Rules Welterweight World Title. This would be a Great Match-up!

Before the two Pro World Title bouts was
the challenge for the vacant IKF Pro San
Shou Intercontinental Title between IKF
Pro US San Shou Middleweight
Champion Rudi Ott (Left) of San Jose California,
USA against Peter Kaljevic (Right) who was born in Montenegro,
Yugoslavia but currently resides in New York City, New York, USA.
This bout was a strong match for both fighters. However, Ott, as Le in his bout, proved to have all the throwing skill in this match-up. Kaljevic entered the match with plenty of experience having a record of 47 wins, 15 loses with 18 wins coming by KO or TKO. He also proved to have a heavy right hand as well, but in comparison, Ott proved he had a chin as solid as a rock. On several occasions, Ott dropped his left hand and Kaljevic saw the opening and went for it, landing several times. However Ott never staggered and answered back with a sort of "That was a good shot" smile but take this as he threw Kaljevic around the ring. After round 1, judge Jon Schorle scored it 20-6 for Ott. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 45-11 for Ott and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 29-7 for Ott.
This fight was clearly
the "Rudi Ott Show" as
he used nearly every throw in the book scoring often as if Kaljevic
never knew a counter. At the end of round 2, the judges scored the round, judge
Jon Schorle 29-12 for Ott. Judge
Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 41-21 for Ott and judge Marcos
Rosalas scored it 18-6 for Ott. In round 3, judge Jon Schorle
scored it 32-10 for Ott. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it
39-13 for Ott and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 23-7 for Ott.
In round 4, judge Jon Schorle scored it 20-11 for Ott. Judge
Susan Thomas Gitlin scored it 31-16 for Ott and judge Marcos
Rosalas scored it 20-12 for Ott. In the final round 5, judge Jon
Schorle scored it 15-7 for Ott. Judge Susan Thomas Gitlin
scored it 20-11 for Ott and judge Marcos Rosalas scored it 17-5
for Ott.
This was Rudi Ott's title to win and he did so with a strong effort. Although the scores didn't sound close, Kaljevic made a great fight out of it. In the win, Ott was awarded the vacant IKF Pro San Shou Intercontinental Title.
Before the Pro bouts were 3 IKF Amateur San Shou Title Bouts. Here's how they scored;
BOUT 3: IKF
Amateur San Shou U. S. Bantamweight Title Defense: Jenna Castillo (Below
- Left, 7-0, 5'5, 123, 19) of San Jose, CA proved once again that she IS THE
WOMAN OF SAN SHOU!
Castillo successfully defended her title and continued her undefeated
streak by defeating Christine Yandolli (9-3/0, 5'7, 20, 123) of
Smithtown, Long Island, New York, USA by unanimous decision.
Ush Entertainment has announced that they would like to promote 3 San Shou style events for the 2002 season. If all are as exciting as this one, we all look forward to seeing more.
For more info on this event, please contact Monica Ortiz at (415) 643-9109 or by e-mail at; monica@unitedforthechildren.com.
Net proceeds from United
for the Children are being donated to the
US Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Foundation
and the The Twin Towers Orphan Fund.
Toys for Tots has been a fixture in holiday charity for needy children
since 1947. Although more recently founded, The Twin Towers Orphan Fund is a volunteer
organization founded to support the orphaned children of the September 11th
rescue workers and victims. All funds are being independently handled by the San
Francisco CPA firm Shea, Labagh, Dobberstein.
THURSDAY, December 13th, 2001, AT 11:00 PM, PT
FOR THE CHILDREN...

100 years from now,
it will not matter. . .
what
kind of car I drove,
what kind of house I lived in,
how much I had in my
bank account
or what my clothes looked like. . .
But the world may be a little better
because I was important in
the life of a
Child...

This Saturday night, December 15th, Cung Le's UsH! Entertainment and G-Up will Present UNITED FOR THE CHILDREN. A Benefit Event for the The Twin Towers Orphan Fund and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the San Jose Event Center in San Jose, California, USA.
There will be 3 Elements that will make this a very special night for everyone. Of course the IKF Title Fights are an element we like to talk about in this article and we will, but probably the most important part is who will benefit from this great event, The Children. The third element that makes this such a special night will be all the individuals involved.
The United For The Children (UFTC) event will combine some of the world's best martial artist with Hip Hop sounds and Hollywood style staging. Ush Entertainment has brought together not only some great kickboxing action ("The American Fight Sport") but also some of the areas best DJ's, hip hop dancers and R & B singers who have prepared quite a show. Unlike a lot of fund-raising Benefits, UFTC will be donating 100 percent of the event net proceeds to The Toys for Tots Foundation and The Twin Towers Orphan Fund. Everyone in the USA as well as around the world has been touched by our national crisis and are aware that holidays are the hardest time for children in need. Because of this, UFTC has organized this event as a way of providing needed funds for the Children at the Holidays.

The Main Event will feature San Shou
Superstar Cung Le (Left) of San Jose, California, USA against
Shoni Carter (Right) of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Le's, who's impressive career includes being a Light Heavyweight World Champion and Three Time Captain of the US National San Shou Team has been considered by many as one of the greatest fighters on the planet. On the other side of the ring will be UFC's #2 Ranked Middleweight and former Collegiate All-American Wrestler, Shonie "Showtime" Carter. The two will be fighting for the vacant IKF (International Kickboxing Federation) Light Heavyweight San Shou World Title.
Both Le and Carter are 29 years old. Le stands 5'10" to Carter's 5'9". Both plan to weigh in at about 177 lbs. Le's "Overall" fight record is 38 wins and 2 loses with 26 of his wins coming by KO or TKO. Carter's record is 40 wins with 7 loses and 16 wins coming by KO or TKO. Le's fierce style and athletic prowess is catapulting him and "The American Fight Sport" into the mainstream, prompting Black Belt magazine to proclaim him "San Shou Kung Fu's Top Fighter" in January 2001. Carter is a fighter with power, versatility, and style and is known for his over the top, in-your-face bouts with the toughest competitors in the UFC.

The other co-Main Event will be for the
vacant IKF Pro San Shou Welterweight World
title and will feature 2 Time IKF World
Champion Danny Steele (Left) against #1 IKF Ranked Matee Jedeepitak (Right)
of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, via Ratchaburi, Thailand.
Steele, who was Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Hawaii currently lives in Los Angeles, California, USA and has a fight record of 37 wins with 9 loses and 2 draws with 28 of his wins coming by KO or TKO. He's obviously one of the best fighters on the planet with knockout power in both hands and leg kicks that could drop a tree. His skill has earned him a total of six world titles in five weight divisions and a nickname to go along with his proven toughness, Danny "Hard As" Steele!.
Steele's opponent on the other side of the ring will be top contender Matee Jedeepitak who sports an extensive record of 123 wins with 52 loses, with 38 of his wins coming by KO or TKO. He's ranked #1 in the world in the IKF MuayThai Welterweight division and a former Featherweight World Champion. He's been considered one of Thailand's best fighters. His nickname "Left Dragon Leg" was coined after the many knockouts he has delivered with that leg.
Steele is 32 years old, Jedeepitak is 29. Both stand 5'7" tall and plan to weigh-in at 147 lbs. these are two "POWERFUL" leg kickers and because of this, we may not see a lot of throwing in this bout.

Before the two Pro World Title bouts will
be a Pro Intercontinental Title between IKF
Pro US San Shou Middleweight
Champion Rudi Ott (Left) of San Jose California,
USA against Peter Kaljevic (Right) who was born in Montenegro,
Yugoslavia but currently resides in New York City, New York, USA.
Ott's overall fight record is 25 wins, 3 loses with 7 wins coming by KO or TKO. Kaljevic has a record of 47 wins, 15 loses with 18 wins coming by KO or TKO. Ott is a Three time member of US the USA National San Shou Team and the Current Captain of the US National San Shou Team. He's a versatile and dangerous fighter who has solidified himself as one of the best in the USA. Saturday night he hopes to take another step towards proving he's one of the best in the world, but Kaljevic's extensive ring experience will be his strong point in his attempt to make the headlines in Ott's hometown.
The event will also
feature 2 US National Team members and
IKF U.S. San Shou Champions,
Santos Soto (IKF Amateur U.S. San Shou Super Welterweight
Champion) and
Jenna Castillo.
(Right -
IKF
Amateur Woman's San Shou U. S. Bantamweight Champion.
Soto's was first booked to fight challenger Arturo Ortiz but Ortiz suffered a broken hand in training last week. A quick fix was made when Chris Overby of Bellefontaine, Ohio, USA (13-1/7, 5'9) accepted the bout just today. A special thanks goes out to Chris for saving this bout. The two will be fighting for the vacant IKF Amateur San Shou Light Middleweight U.S. Title.
At only 19, Jenna Castillo will be defending her IKF US Amateur Title is already making her mark as
one of the best young female fighters in the
United States. Her strength in the ring
center around her fierce competitiveness and her unflinching focus on her
opponent. Castillo, (Right, 6-0, 5'5, 19) is a 1999 Pan
American Game Competitor and member of the US National San Shou Team. She will
face challenger
Christine Yandolli (Left, 9-2, 5'7", 20) of Smithtown, Long
Island, New York, USA has won an Amateur World Title, the USKBA North American
Title, Tri-State Title, New York State Title and a Long Island title.
The other element that will make this event such a great "SHOW"
will be the stars who are involved. We won't give out the guest list but expect
to see some very well known faces at ringside. The halftime show that is being
produced by Hip
Hop.com and the
International Turntablist Federation promises to be just as star-studded
as the nights fight action, featuring New York's Hip Hop dance legend Crazy
Legs and the Rock Steady Crew and music's top DJs
Apollo, Vin, and
Ajaxx. In addition will be D'Wayne Wiggins, (Right)
top neo-soul/R&B vocalist, composer, arranger and producer who will be
headlining the halftime show.
Wiggins' career has taken him to the top of the music charts with platinum selling albums as a founding member of the legendary group Tony, Toni, Tone and recently with his solo debut "Eyes Never Lie," which included collaborations with Carlos Santana and Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish. Wiggins was responsible for originally signing multi-platinum artist Destiny's Child to Columbia records and has written and produced several songs for the group. An accomplished and sought after musician, songwriter, and producer, Wiggins has composed hits for Tony Toni Tone, Jody Watley, Tevin Campbell, Karyn White, Too Short, Lighter Shade of Brown, E-40, Richie Rich, and most recently Destiny's Child, India Arie, and Alicia Keys.
As a member of the Tonyies, Wiggins co-wrote movie tracks for "Boys in the Hood," "Beverly Hills Cop III," "The Mask," and "Panther." As a soloist, his soundtrack credits include songs for "Sugar Hill," "Men in Black," and the TV comedy hit "Living Single." He now adds Movie Producer to his list of titles, as Executive Producer for the feature film "Me & Mrs. Jones". The film is scheduled for release in 2002 and stars Brian White, Wandachristine, Victor Williams, and Kim Fields. Considered the creator of "neo-soul", Wiggins deftly combines classic soul vocals, a live band, and a distinct lack of studio-created sounds, making his on-stage performances very personal, unique experiences. His performance is going to be the highlight of United for the Children.
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Net proceeds from United for the Children are being donated to the US Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Foundation and the The Twin Towers Orphan Fund. Toys for Tots has been a fixture in holiday charity for needy children since 1947. Although more recently founded, The Twin Towers Orphan Fund is a volunteer organization founded to support the orphaned children of the September 11th rescue workers and victims. All funds are being independently handled by the San Francisco CPA firm Shea, Labagh, Dobberstein. |
Tickets for United for the Children are available through Bass and Tickets.com. Donations and sponsorships are also available via www.unitedforthechildren.com/sponsors.html or email sponsors@unitedforthechildren.com. There will be a registered press-only press conference and weigh-in the day before United for the Children. Press registrations are complimentary for qualified media representatives and gives you access to all events and the show floor. Contact monica@unitedforthechildren.com for more information.
For MORE info about this Great event and all involved, Click HERE!
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MONICA
ORTIZ
UsH! ENTERTAINMENT
MARKETING & PR (415) 643-9109 or by e-mail at;
monica@unitedforthechildren.com.
Marketing and Press; press@unitedforthechildren.com
More
News Of 12-13-01
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Mullen Ready For KICKSHOOT 2001
IKF Promoter Jeff Mullen of Memphis, Tennessee, USA is closing out his 2001 Promotional Season with a BANG! Mullen is set to host his KICKSHOOT 2001 this Friday night, December 14th, at "Newby's" in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
The nights action will begin at 9:00 PM and will include fight action in the styles of Modified MuayThai, International & Full Contact Rules Bouts. In addition, Mullen will also feature some Mixed Martial Arts bouts as well. For more info on this event, please contact Mr. Jeff Mullen at (901) 757-0985 or by e-mail by clicking HERE!
WEDNESDAY, December 12th, 2001, AT 10:20 PM, PT
WHO Are The Champions?
This last September, over 200 USA
Amateur Kickboxers gathered together in Kansas City Kansas, USA for the Greatest
weekend of Amateur Kickboxing ever in North America. It was the
2001 IKF/RINGSIDE USA
National Amateur Kickboxing Championship Tournament.
In all, each and every fighter would
"Walk The Walk" in hopes of winning one of 61 IKF USA National Amateur Championship Titles.
Last year, their were 41 IKF USA National Amateur Titles to win. Of the 41 2000 IKF USA National Champions, only 18 made it back to the 2001 USA National Finals Tournament. Of them, 15 made it back to the National Championship Bout. Of them, 11 would retain their 2000 Title or win at a different weight and/or rules style. Do you know who they are?
To see them all, check out our new IKF USA National Champions Page by Clicking HERE! To see who ALL the Champions have been for the last 3 years, click HERE!
More News Of 12/12/01
New "HIT"
RECORD For
www.IKFKickboxing.com!

We are proud to announce that the IKF web site (www.IKFKickboxing.com) just set it's own
personal best record for number of hits IN 1 DAY. On
Monday, December 10th, the total hit count for the day was 35,372
Hits! This mark broke the old record of 30,052 set back on Tuesday, May 8th,
2001.
Wait, there's more great news...We are even more excited to
announce that "Yesterday", Tuesday, December 11th ALSO broke
the old record with a total hit count for the day of 32,006. If this
keeps, we may break last months (November, 2001) TOTAL hit record of
566,087 Hits in "1" Month. This has been the best monthly Hit
Count since we started tracking our web site hits back in May of 2001. So far,

for
the first "11" Days of December, we already have 265,527 Hits!
For December, our average number of hits per "DAY" so far as of END of Yesterday, November 11th, is 24,138. For additional "DETAILED" Web Traffic info please see our IKFKickboxing.com Web Traffic info page by clicking HERE!
More News Of 12/12/01
TEAM Z
DRAWS
IN IRELAND!
Non IKF Event - November 2001, Dublin Ireland: Head Coaches, Rob (Pictured far Right) & Jim Zbilski (Pictured far Left) of Team Z Kickboxing, once again, brought a team of fighters representing the USA to Dublin, Ireland for an evening of International competition. Representing the team from the USA were none other than IKF US Champions Joe Taylor, Kyle McElroy, and Peyton Russell, IKF US finalist Renee Broadacz as well as Tim Mazurkiewicz, Rick Bloyer, Jim Klauba and John Ohnona. The team from Ireland consisted of fighters from Gallway, Dublin, Waterford and Belfast. The event was hosted by Joe Canning.
In attendance
were several key members of the Irish government, including the Lord Mayor of
Dublin, Michael Mulcahy, (At Right with Coach Rob).
Only 6 of the team of 8 competed in Team Competition (USA Vs Ireland). Of the 6 bouts, the outcome of the evening was a draw with 3 victories to Team USA and 3 to Team Ireland.
For the second year in a row, this friendly competition has grown to such a success that plans are already in the works for 2 more share events for 2002. Plans include Team Z's traveling to Gallway in May, 2002 and the Irish Team to come to Chicago in November.
TUESDAY, December 11th, 2001, AT 11:50 AM, PT
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Finney's Sivumaki
& Winfield
Get 5th Wins At
Sauget,
IL, USA Event!
IKF Promoter Jesse Finney completed another successful IKF Amateur event last night in Sauget, IL, USA. The two main events had Cory Sivumaki and Mark Winfield showing fans why Finney's Championship Kickboxing is one of the top gyms in the country to train with. One of the two main events showcased Cory Sivumaki -vs- Ron Govoro (Columbia, MO). Sivumaki came out looking to end this fight early. Trying to use his reach to his advantage, Sivumaki kept Govoro off by using his front kick to keep his distance to utilize his punching power. After landing numerous punches Govoro couldn't answer to the standing 8 count with :35 seconds remaining in the 1st round.
The second main event showcased Mark Winfield -vs- Jake Gebes (Jefferson City, MO). Winfield came out landing many kicks trying to get Gebes to drops his hands in hope of landing the one big shot for the KO. In the 1st round Gebes received one 8 count and another in the 2nd. The third Winfield came out working the body, and cornering Gebes many times, and continuing to land body shots. The judges decision was 30-25, 30-25, 30-25 for Winfield.
For more event info, please contact Finney's Championship Kickboxing at 5029 Gravois St. Louis, MO, USA or Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking HERE!
MONDAY, December 10th, 2001, AT 9:50 AM, PT
Mark Hunt
Crowned 2001 K-1 Grand Prix Champion
By Alex MacDonald - IKF
Japan
When opportunity
knocks, Mark Hunt knocks back, knocks down and knocks out.
Hunt won the K-1 Oceania with three knock outs then got eliminated in
the Melbourne GP by Ernesto Hoost. He didn't even qualify for the
Fukuoka Repechage tournament, but when Filipovic withdrew he got a
chance. There he lost to Ray Sefo who was unable to continue and
opportunity knocked for the last time. He clobbered Adam Watt to qualify
for the Grand Prix and hasn't looked back since. Grand Prix wins over Jerome
LeBanner, Stefan Leko and
Francisco Filho mean that Mark Hunt is not only a K-1 superstar
but also the first new champion since 1997. He joins Branko Cikatic (1993),
Peter Aerts (1994, 1995, 1998), Andy Hug (1996)
and Ernesto Hoost (1997, 1999, 2000) to become the fifth
kickboxer to win the K-1 Grand Prix Tournament. Here's the bout by bout recap;
Ernesto Hoost vs.
Stefan Leko (The Finesse Fight)
Hoost
and Leko are two of the best all round heavyweight kickboxers in the
world. They put 'boxing' in the word 'kickboxing'. The contrast that made the
fight dramatic was the fact that Hoost, in the twilight of his career,
was trying to build on his already impressive legacy while Leko, in the
dawn of his, was trying to
overcome
years of bad luck.
This classic young lion-old lion battle ended with the old lion making no errors defensively and shutting out the young lion. To make matters worse for Leko, he was hit while throwing a high kick and lost his footing. The referee originally called it a slip then changed his mind and called it a down. As quick a Leko was, he just couldn't solve the puzzle in time or make up for the spread in points. Hoost by decision.
Jerome LeBanner vs.
Mark Hunt (The Impact Match)
Lots
of fighters have knockouts on their records. These two however send doctors
scrambling into the ring. Ask anyone from whom they would least like to receive
a free punch and they'll invariably say LeBanner or Hunt.
Last year, as the winner of the 2000 Oceania tournament, Hunt got his first trip to Japan. In his first match, he met K-1 superstar Jerome LeBanner and by his own account was star struck in more ways than one. This year the repeat Oceania champion surprised everyone by choosing to meet LeBanner again when others were available.
Jerome LeBanner was the favorite to win not only this match but the whole tournament. He even modeled for the official K-1 poster rather than reigning K-1 champion Ernesto Hoost. Jerome is 13-0 (1 no contest) in the last two years thanks to his punching power. It was therefore interesting to see him throw 14 kicks in the first round. His obvious game plan was to beat Hunt on points and it was working. Hunt however got through with one solid punch in the second round and followed up with a barrage until the French giant collapsed. Hunt by KO-2.
Alexei Ignashov vs. Nicholas
Pettas (The Styles Clash )
Ignashov has faced
some high quality competition in his short career. His claim to fame is beating
Lloyd Van Dams twice, the first time by knockout. Knowing this put a
tremendous amount of pressure on Pettas as it would anyone who depends
primarily on low kicks. The pressure on Alexei himself was that, as a
classic muay thai style fighter, he claims karateka are unpredictable. There was
some evidence of Pettas doing the unexpected; he threw low kicks in
pairs with Ignashov checking the first and taking the second. The fight
was decided when the Red Scorpion using his hold-and-sting strategy broke Pettas'
nose with a knee, thereby stopping the fight. Ignashov
by TKO-2.
Peter Aerts vs.
Francisco Filho (The Rebirth Bout)
Both
Peter Aerts (three time K-1 Grand Prix champion) and Francisco
Filho (Kyokushin Karate Champion) entered this tournament mid-slump.
For Aerts, it goes back to the 1999 Grand Prix when a revamped LeBanner
knocked the reigning champion out in one round. After that, losses to
Cyril Abidi, Mirko Filipovic
and Stefan Leko coupled with unimpressive wins over Nobu Hayashi,
Noboru Uchida, and Maurice Smith, created the need for Aerts
to prove he is still a top contender. For Filho, it was more a case of
hot and cold. He was knocked cold by LeBanner, fought hot in the 2000
Block B tournament, then showed up cold in the 2000 Grand Prix. This year he was
frigid in the Las Vegas GP and lukewarm in the Fukuoka Repechage tournament. He
too had something to prove.
Filho threw 13 low kicks in the first round and 14 in the second, the kind that you can hear anywhere in Tokyo Dome. With 40 seconds remaining in the first round Aerts' left foot started to swell and by the end of the second, even he had to accept that heart alone wasn't enough to win. Unfortunately, Aerts will have to endure one more L on his record. Filho by TKO-2.
Hoost receives a doctor stop.
Suffering an injury
nearly identical to fellow Dutchman Aerts, Hoost was forced to withdraw.
With Aerts and LeBanner also out, this meant that not only a new
champion would be crowned but that both finalists would be first timers. Stefan
Leko was then set to test his speed against Mark Hunt.
Semi Finals
Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Leko
Hunt is not undefeated. He has
lost fights before. The formula is simple; don't get greedy, hit and run, and
win on points. Power punchers also have ways to win on points though. As Hunt
demonstrated, scoring two knockdowns in a three round fight creates a point
spread that is impossible to recover. The second was another case of being
tagged while kicking and Leko was livid at the referee's call... with
reason but without avail. Hunt by decision.
Francisco Filho vs.
Alexei Ignashov
Ignashov
undoubtedly felt very confident entering the ring for this fight. He'd beaten
Lloyd Van Dams twice and just stopped Pettas. All he had to do
was stick to the usual game plan. Filho, however, suffered the
indignity of twice fighting poorly against Sergei Ivanovich, Ignashov's
stablemate. This time he was better prepared. The Brazilian scored his low
kicks, landed his overhand rights and held off the knees. By the third round,
the Belarussian was warned for stalling and the final decision meant that he
would never match Aerts' record of winning the Grand Prix at 23 years of
age. Filho by decision.
Final
Mark Hunt vs. Francisco Filho
Each came with their own game plans.
Filho would keep his hands up and throw low kicks in spite of the fact
that they had lost
some of their snap
in the two previous fights. Hunt, it surprisingly turns out, had no
intention of headhunting; he was going to work the body. In the first round,
Filho threw 10 low kicks to Hunt's 6 body blows. In the second
round, Filho picked the pace up to 15 low kicks and Hunt
responded with 9 body blows. In the third, Filho was warned for
inactivity and the low kicks dropped to 9 while the New Zealander's body strikes
increased to 11. The judges then called the fight a draw and in the overtime
round, Filho was warned again for inactivity as he only produced a
paltry 4 low kicks. Hunt, on the other hand, attacked the body 15 times
en route to a $400,000 payday. The judges reached an easy unanimous decision,
Mark Hunt of New Zealand, 2001 K-1 Grand Prix Tournament Champion.
More News of
12-10-01
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Finney's
Bring
Excitement
To Sauget, IL, USA Tonight!
IKF Promoter Jesse Finney (Right) of
St Louis Missouri and his associates are all set to bring some Exciting
Kickboxing to Sauget, IL, USA this coming Monday night, December 10th.
Although there are no titles on this event, the event will feature, as usual, exciting amateur kickboxing action from fighters around the Midwest as only a Finney Production can Promote.
For more event info, please contact Mr. Jesse Finney at (314) 351-5226 or by e-mail by clicking HERE!
SATURDAY, December 9th, 2001, AT 8:30 PM, PT
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The Power Of The "BIG"
Right Hand!
Photos By Cal Cooper
Atlanta, Georgia, USA: It was a late night in Georgia when the main event took center stage. It was 1:AM Eastern Time. However it would be the final touch of a FULL HOUSE/SELLOUT event that had already seen 12 great bouts in Full Contact Rules, International Rules, MuayThai Rules and ISCF Mixed Martial Arts at the Atlanta Brewing Company in Atlanta Georgia. Nothing is better than a sellout other than great bouts, which is exactly what the full house crowd witnessed... This event had EXCITMENT!
Atlanta Georgia, USA Promoter Lane
Collyer had stepped back from his familiar position of "Event Promoter"
so he could fight on this event, putting this job title into the hands of his
Sukotai Inc. partner, Ron Gaiteri
(Right). The night was a MAJOR Success for all involved which included
the events major sponsors Spondivits Food &
Spirits of Atlanta, Georgia (who has the greatest seafood we've
ever tasted!!!) and the Atlanta Brewing Company
(Venue sponsor) located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. It was a first
class event that featured great seafood and hamburgers catered by Spondivits and free Microbrewery Beer for all those
of age from theAtlanta Brewing Company (except
officials of course...) and of course, a lot of great fight action!! It was
truly a night of Fights, Food and Spirits.
As we said, the main event had to wait until after midnight, but it was
worth it all as Goutiar, Mississippi's #13 ranked (IKF Pro MuayThai
Division) "BIG" John Dixon (245,
18-1/18) and #11 ranked (IKF
Pro MuayThai Division)
"Lightning" Lane
Collyer (Left, 18-3/11, Atlanta Georgia) stepped into the ring to
contend for the vacant IKF Pro MuayThai
Rules Super Heavyweight United States Title. Although Collyer's had all
of his ring success in the Heavyweight division, (Under 210 lbs) he
wanted to move up in weight to the Super Heavyweight division, (Above 209.1
lbs.). At the weigh-ins,
Collyer barely made the minimum
weight for the Super
Heavyweight Pro MuayThai Rules Division, weighing in at only 209.5
lbs. On the other side of the ring, Dixon was a true Super Heavyweight
weighing in at an even 245 as planned. If Dixon's record wasn't
intimidating enough, his size was.
However, when the two stepped into the ring, it was clear to everyone that Collyer was a lean 210 lbs while Dixon looked a bit soft around the middle. To most, it would appear that the big man may get winded early, but who knows in the fight game. We all know Dixon didn't get here by being winded early and losing. With only 1 loss in his 17 kickboxing bouts of which all 17 were won by TKO/KO, Dixon was here because he's a winner, as was Collyer. Better yet, when the fighters are this big, anything can happen... Here's the round by round action of the main event....
ROUND 1: As the round started, the two showed respect with a tap of the gloves and went into action. From the outside, Collyer went to work on Dixon's legs seeming to hit his target at will with Dixon making little, if any attempt to block any of the kicks. In return, Dixon was 90% hands, mixing up jabs, hooks, uppercuts and a strong right hand which was just missing it's mark throughout the round. As the two worked into the clinch, Collyer scored well on repeated knees to Dixon's body and a few making it to Dixon's head. As round 1 ended, Collyer won on all 3 judges cards 10-9.
ROUND 2:
With a slight rest and adjustment of his game plan, Dixon came out as
strong as a bull, again throwing mostly hands. Although he appeared to have Collyer
on the ropes, Collyer weathered the storm and took the game to the
clinch again. Here again was Collyer's strong spot as he scored
repeatedly on knees to Dixon's body. From ringside, it appeared Dixon,
due to his size, wasn't feeling any sting from Collyer's kicks and
punches as he continued to not check/block any of Collyer's kicks
allowing Collyer to fire away. It was clear that if Collyer was
going to win, he would win in from the clinch. If Dixon was going to
win, it would be by landing one of his heavy punches which seemed to be getting
closer and closer to finding there mark as he landed more often in round 2. At
the end of 2 though,
Collyer did enough to win the round again and lead on all 3 judges
cards, 20-18.
ROUND 3: As the round begin, Collyer did a spinning side kick that Dixon caught under his elbow. As his leg came down Collyer limped gingerly but continued the fight. What he, and all at ringside didn't know was that he had just broken the top bone in his right foot, (Later confirmed by medical staff at ringside) however Collyer's heart kept him in the bout. Dixon seemed to sense something wasn't right as Collyer started dropping his hands more and his movement slowed in the ring. The experienced Dixon started to push the fight more at this point scoring on the inside with some knees of his own and several strong punches to Collyer's head. Collyer came back landing more knee strikes. This time some found Dixon's jaw that rocked him hard and later, another to his forehead. However the pain in Collyer's foot was becoming more and more noticeable as his ring movement slowed considerably and his hands begin to drop more while Dixon's hands found Collyer's head more and more. The bout had memories of the Rick Roufus Vs Stan Longinidis (1997) bout where Longinidis broke his foot in the middle of the fight which Roufus went on to win to claim the IKF IR Heavyweight World Title.
As the round came near the end, Dixon landed the shot he was looking for all night long. A "BIG" right hand that dropped Collyer to the mat. This bout should have been over at that moment but referee Richard Trammell made a costly error as he waived it off due to the bell sounding the end of the round. (In the IKF, the fighter can only be saved by the bell in the FINAL round) Tremmell made not only a costly error that should have been a Dixon win in round 3, but was soon to prove a safety error for Collyer. Although Collyer seemed to have a slight edge in round 3, Dixon's knockdown turned the judges minds who all gave Dixon the round 10-8.
During the break, Collyer
never informed his corner of his foot injury, vowing to continue on despite the
fact he had no ring movement left and worse yet, that he was still in a sense,
out on his feet from Dixon's big right hand at the end of the previous
round.
ROUND 4: While Collyer questioned himself to enter round 4, Dixon appeared as if he had just started the round like he just walked into the ring. He wasn't breathing heavy and continued to look extremely composed as he did throughout the entire fight. He may not have a 6 pack stomach, but don't be fooled... Dixon was in "FIGHTING" shape. As round 4 started, Dixon did what any ring veteran would do. Like a hungry animal, he went after his wounded prey. Dixon moved in and landed the last needed "BIG" right hand on Collyer, dropping him to the canvas. This time, referee Trammell made no error in judgement, immediately stopping the bout at 17 seconds into round 4.
Dixon's belt was presented
by special guest Frank Shamrock (Right). The win gave "BIG
John" the IKF Pro Super
Heavyweight MuayThai Title and brought some attention for him as being a
potential contender for the K-1 North American Tournament. Question is, is there
an opening for him? Well, there just so happens to be one we know of... From
what we found out last Thursday, a day before this bout, Collyer had
pulled out of the
K-1 North America
Qualifier event in Milwaukee Wisconsin in February of 2002. If
there's still an opening where
Collyer's name once was, we'd like to suggest Dixon be the one
to fill it. Under the circumstances, it would only seem fair.
As far as Collyer, he already had plans to stay in the Heavyweight Division (Under 215 lbs.) which is where we feel he's the strongest. Once again, nearly every title in the heavyweight division is vacant and Collyer's proved he's a contender in any of the rules styles at that weight. We're sure to see Collyer back again in the heavyweight division after his foot heels and if Dixon can't get his shot in the K-1 North American Tournament, there's always the chance of him going to England to face Matt Skelton in March for Skelton's IKF MTR World Title. Here's a review of all the nights bouts.
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BOUT 1: FCR: George Munn (156, 7-1/6) of Woodstock, Georgia defeated Monty Powell (150, 4-5/2) of Sampson, Alabama by a questionable referee stoppage at 1:51 in round 2 after Powell went down from a clubbing style punch. He rose up quickly to take his 8 count and after the 8 count, referee Gerald Bush stopped the bout. Although Powell kicked more in round 1, (19-13), Munn won a very close round 1 on all 3 judges cards in round 1, 10-9.
BOUT 2: IR: Robert Myers (153, 2-1/0) of Snellville, Georgia defeated Kenny Allen (154, 4-4/2) by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28 & 29-28.
BOUT 3: ISCF: Shawn Porter (150, 6-3) of Spartonburg, South Carolina defeated Shawn Gay (159, 6-3) of Valdosta, Georgia by unanimous decision, 12-3, 12-3 & 10-5.
BOUT 4: FCR: Brenda Harrison (110, 7-3) of Woodstock, Georgia defeated Teri Prunty (112, 2-2/1) by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 & 30-27.
BOUT 5: FCR: Rod Llaneza (164, 7-2) of Snellville, Georgia defeated Toty Otarola (165, 1-4) of South Carolina by TKO at 1:45 of round 3.
BOUT 6: IR: Steve Hall (169, 3-1-1) of Snellville, Georgia forced an 8 count on John Greaves (173, 2-2, runner up at the 2001 USA Nationals in the IR Light Heavyweight) of Chattanuga, Tennessee in round 1 in route to a majority decision victory, 28-28, 30-26 & 29-28.
BOUT 7: FCR:
Andrea Zalas (*138, 17, 4-1-1,
2001 FCR Junior - Light
Welterweight USA National Champion) of Simpsonville South
Carolina defeated Penny DeGraw (*126,
32, 1-2, runner up at
the 2001 USA Nationals in the IR Lightweight Division) of
Atlanta, Georgia by split decision, 30-27, 29-28 & 30-27. This was a very
exciting bout in the kicking department with Degraw throwing over 50 in
the 3 rounds and Zalas over 40.
(*) This bout was a special Exhibition bout. The IKF would not sanction this fight due to the weight
spread difference. However, both fighters and their trainers still wanted to
keep the match. The IKF decided, due to
their age difference compared to the weight difference as well as fight
experience, they would allow the fighters and trainers to make their own
decision. Since both accepted this match as a real bout, the result was
recorded on their records.
BOUT 8: FCR: Shannon Hudson (172, 5-2) of Lyman, South Carolina and Mike Wood (168, 1-3-1) put on what many thought was the most exciting fight of the night. In the end, Hudson got the win by split decision, 29-28, 28-29 & 29-28.
BOUT
9: MTR: Zack Day (162, 16-2,
runner up at the 2001 USA
Nationals in the FCR Super Middleweight) of Augusta Georgia had
never fought anything but Full Contact above the waist rules before tonight.
However a previously planned opponent for MuayThai veteran Phillip Botha
(161, 7-3) of Atlanta, Georgia had dropped off the card. After a few
quick calls, event matchmakers booked Day by surprise who was willing to
give not just leg kicks, but MuayThai rules a shot. In the end, Day
surprised everyone, including Botha with his strength of the new rule
style as he took a unanimous decision victory 29-28, 30-27 & 29-28.
BOUT 10: IKF IR: Amateur USA South East Region Light Heavyweight Title Bout: Daniel Ancheta (175) of Athens, Georgia defeated Will Ivey (173) by majority decision, 38-38, 39-36 & 39-37.
BOUT 11: ISCF Pro USA East Coast Light Heavyweight Title Bout: Kent Hensley (Below, 196, MMA: 8-0) defeated Jared Pettitt (190, MMA: 3-1) of Huntsville, Alabama by TKO when Pettitt didn't answer the bell for round 2. Hensley dominated round 1 and showed so on the judges cards as well where all 3 judges had him ahead after the round, 5-0, 5-0 & 4-1. In the round, Pettitt found himself in trouble several times, twice scooting himself under the ring ropes to avoid submission. Hensley also dropped Pettitt with a devastating forearm strike which was heard across the room.

BOUT
12: ISCF East Coast Middleweight
Title Bout: Jason Miller of Atlanta, Georgia, USA (185) defeated Todd
Carney of Moundsville, West Virginia, USA (172) by submission at 2:53 of
round 2.
BOUT 13: IKF Pro MTR Super Heavyweight United States Title: John Dixon (245, 18-1 with 18 KO's) of Goutiar, Mississippi defeated Lane Collyer (209.5, 18-3 with 11 KO's) of Atlanta Georgia by TKO at 17 seconds into the 4th round.
For additional event info contact Mr. Ron Gaiteri by e-mail at this link: Rgaiteri2@aol.com.
TUESDAY, December 4th, 2001, AT 4:30 PM, PT
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Collyer
Faces Dixon In
"BATTLE
AT THE BREWERY"
Plus 3 Other Title Bouts: 1
IKF & 2 ISCF
IKF Promoter and East Coast FCR Heavyweight Champion
Lane Collyer (Right) is quickly becoming a household name here
on the IKF News pages. From putting
together several dynamic promotions to winning the award for the largest IKF USA Nationals Regional Event this year, Collyer
knows the promotional game.
However this Friday night at the Atlanta Brewing Company in Atlanta Georgia, Collyer will take a step back and let associate Ron Gaiteri take over the promotional duties of their "BATTLE AT THE BREWERY" as he steps into the ring again in hopes to win another IKF Title. Collyer (18-2/11, 6'2", 211) is currently ranked in all 3 rule styles of the IKF. He's #2 in the IKF Pro Full Contact Heavyweight Division, #3 in the IKF Pro International Rules Heavyweight Division and #11 in IKF Pro MuayThai Division. The heavyweight division in the IKF FCR & IR Divisions breaks at 215, however in Pro MTR, it's at 209, putting Collyer in with a little bigger competition and with all the big K-1 Names as well.
Win or lose, this bout
will test Collyer's strength against the bigger competition for his
quest for a K-1 berth. Collyer's coming off of an impressive win over
Mark Miller back in September of this year. Collyer (Left
throwing an AX kick on Miller) opened up a strong knee attack on
Miller's body and head, followed up with some strong leg kicks and good
hand combinations that included strong body shots and a spinning backhand the
bout was stopped at the 2:35 mark of the first round giving Collyer the
win by TKO. Collyer hopes to repeat this call again Friday night.
Friday night Collyer will face one of those "Bigger"
opponents in "BIG" John Dixon (17-1/17) of
Gautier, Mississippi, USA. A win for Dixon would bring him back into the
picture as a potential K-1 North American contender. Dixon is currently
ranked #13 in the IKF Pro MuayThai Division.
We plan on seeing him weigh-in at around 245 on
ISCF
his 6'4" frame, but Dixon has
weighed as much as 273. Dixon has a world title on his resume from an
unknown kickboxing organization along with being the All-Army Tae Kwan Do
Champion and 2 x National Judo Champion. He's also fought and won on a World
Extreme Fighting event (WEF #7), an event the IKF's
sister MMA (Mixed Martial Arts - NHB) organization (
ISCF)
sanctions in the South East. He's been mostly active recently on the MMA
fighting circuit where he' experienced mixed success. He was a competitor on
Pride 1 losing to Kazumari Murakami 1:34 - 1st round via submission and
has also lost to Dan Severn and Ukraine's
Igor Vovchanchyn. Earlier this year in Russia Dixon defeated
Russia's Igor Sharahov in a Free Style Rules bout in Moscow and beat
Alexandar Mandek and and Igor Gueras by submission in Kiev,
Ukrane. One thing we will say, we hope that the John Dixon that's
scheduled to face Collyer Friday night is not the same John Dixon
scheduled to box Thursday night against Tracy Telligman in Bay St.
Louis, MS. If it is, and he gets stopped before the final bell, Collyer
may be looking at a win by forfeit...
Regardless of what their
future may bring, on Friday night the two will be fighting for the vacant IKF MTR Super Heavyweight United States Title. A win
here would justify Collyer to get a direct entrance into the K-1 North
American Tournament. However, due to a new system for the 2002 event, he may
have to win 3 more bouts to get there instead. He's currently scheduled to fight
in the new K-1 North
America Qualifier event in Milwaukee Wisconsin in January, 2002.
Three other title bouts will be featured on the night which include "Ill" Will Ivey Vs "Dangerous" Daniel Ancheta for the vacant IKF Amateur International Rules South East Region Cruiserweight Title. There will be some ISCF titles on the line as well. They include Kent "The Norsman" Hensley Vs Jared "The Prodigy" Pettitt fighting for the vacant ISCF East Coast Light Heavyweight Title and "Crazy T" Todd Carney Vs Jason Miller for the vacant ISCF East Coast Middleweight Title.

Special guests on the night will include MMA
Superstar Frank Shamrock (Left) and Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Chris
Chandler (Right).
The event will be held at the Atlanta Brewing Company, 1219 Williams Street, North West, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. As of today, the event is 85% sold out so don't plan on getting any tickets at the door.
For additional event info Contact Mr. Ron Gaiteri by e-mail by clicking: Rgaiteri2@aol.com. For TICKET INFO Call: (404) 767-1569.
More News Of
12-5-01
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Lassi AND
Fonnest
Featured On IKF
Minnesota USA Event!
IKF Promoter Tom Sullivan is all set to host his Minnesota Madness Kickboxing event this Saturday night in Forest Lake Minnesota USA. The main event will feature 2 familiar faces in the IKF as Aaron Lassi of Duluth, Minnesota, USA and Heath Fonnest of Forest Lake Minnesota, USA will each face separate opponents in non title bouts.
Lassi became the 1999 IKF USA National Amateur Light Middleweight Champion after defeating Jean Baptiste of Orlando Florida by split decision, 30-27, 29-28, 28-30 and later in the day, Paul Pearman of Augusta Georgia by unanimous decision, 30-28, 30-27, 29-28. Lassi was registered for the 2000 USA Nationals but was a no show at the weigh-ins. Anthony McGaughey (17-0/14) of Norman, OK went on that year to win the title. McGaughey came back to defend his title in the 2001 USA Nationals and defended it successfully defeating Jeff Bederd of St Louis, MO in the final by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 & 29-28.
Heath Fonnest made his appearance in the 1999 IKF USA Nationals as well but fell short of the title losing to Charles Baron of Chicago Illinois by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
For more info on this event, please contact Mr. Tom Sullivan at (218) 349-4644
More News Of
12-5-01
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Barbados
To
Hosts First IKF Event!
First time IKF Promoter
Wayne Quintyne is ready to host his IKF
Pro and Amateur Kickboxing event in St. Michael
Barbados this Saturday night, December
8th. The event entitled
"The Pain Makers...
Fist
of Lightning
Feet of Thunder"
will feature both pro and amateur bouts and will be co-sanctioned by the National Kickboxing League of Barbados. All the bouts are prelims for IKF Barbados National Title Bouts due to be hosted in 2002.
The location of the event is the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex. Event doors open at 7 PM. General admission is $15 and Ringside is $25.00. For more info on this event, please contact the National Kickboxing League of Barbados and Mr. Wayne Quintyne at (246) 429-3027 or by e-mail by clicking this e-mail link: nkl_bds@hotmail.com
TUESDAY, December 4th, 2001, AT 4:00 PM, PT
Olympic Kickboxing?
OK... some of you may call this a "Hit Piece" or an "Attack" article". Well, we call it NEEDED NEWS! We feel the content of this news is important to EVERYONE in the sport of kickboxing because it seems there has been a lot of "Claims" made over the years in regards to kickboxing and the much desired venue of the Olympic Games. So with this being said, let us continue with putting a STOP to yet ANOTHER Olympic rumor...
He said, she said, "We're doing Olympic
Kickboxing..." ete. etc. The rumors continue to fly as to WHO is or
WHAT organization is sanctioning, organizing etc. etc. kickboxing for the
Olympics... Let us set the record STRAIGHT as told to us by the
IOC (International
Olympic Committee)
themselves.
"There are NO organizations, clubs, associations or individuals at all
associated with us or in our favor of bringing the sport of Kickboxing into the
Olympic games at this time."
As discouraging as that sounds, "At this time", this is the truth everyone. Of course we hope it will change in the future, but again, "At this time", it's NOT even being considered by the IOC. To add to this, NO one is being considered, endorsed or approved by the IOC to make it happen. So when you hear the next "RUMOR" that's usually made up to spark an organizations membership drive to get you to fund their Christmas expense account, keep in mind, the TRUTH is only a few phone calls away. Which is what we did today...
We've all heard the "CLAIMS" to this crown in the past from WAKO, WMTC, ABC etc. etc. who have "CLAIMED" to have dozens of countries supporting their bid to the Olympics and that THEY will be "THE" Olympic's choice for organizing kickboxing en route to the Olympic Games. Again, This IS NOT TRUE! Now... the latest one coming from a small Midwest USA based organization. An organization that is only active in a few Midwest USA states and in those states, "MAYBE" sanctions 10 events a year... Maybe... The organization is called (KICK. (www.kickinternational.com).
Some of you may remember KICK from the Golden Age of kickboxing when it was on Prime Time TV. About 20 years ago, KICK was part of the so called "Big 3" (KICK, ISKA & WKA) as far as kickboxing sanctioning organizations. Well, we don't need to get into how Greed and Power took America off of prime time TV for the personal financial gain of certain individuals. That story has already been done and we don't want to get into it again in this article. Today, the IKF sanctions more events around the world than all 3 of these organizations combined. Sad, but true. Today, when KICK's name is brought up in kickboxing circles around the world, people reply, "We've never heard of them." Which as you will see, will also be the story to end this story.
Over the last couple of days we've received several calls from
fighters, trainers and promoters in the Midwest "OUTRAGED" at the
pressure associates of the KICK organization has been putting on them in recent
weeks. Pressure? OK, a more precise word would be "Threats." These
individuals are claiming that associates of the KICK organization have put out a
threat that if ANY kickboxer fights for ANY other sanctioning body other than
KICK,
they will be "BANNED" from
Olympic competition since KICK is the now the USA national and international
governing body for Olympic amateur kickboxing, as recognized by the
United
States Olympic Committee.
OK, we've heard stuff like this before, so of course we had to go to the KICK website to see if any such "Olympic Claims" were being made. Shocked we were when right there on their site, it read;
"KICK International will comply with all requirements imposed by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. We are a not for profit corporation organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. KICK International seeks to serve as the national and international governing body for Olympic amateur kickboxing, as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee."
Wow... Impressive bunch of words. But very misleading to say the least. Notice the words we highlighted in RED? This is what may protect them from a lawsuit as we were told by the United States Olympic Committee today. However, the words in BLUE are what tend to be VERY Misleading to all readers. Not to mention what they are "Telling" everyone...
Well, such a claim can't be ignored, especially when there are
threats involved and especially if those threats are being made to associates of
the IKF! So our staff went to the work
today to research this claim. We called the
United
States Olympic Committee
in Colorado, USA as a start. We asked for their answer/response to the latest
rumor of KICK being recognized by them... Their answer? "We've
never even heard of them." Heck, WHO HAS! We and others are OUTRAGED
at their threats to all these fighters and trainers who are already booked on
other Midwest IKF events. Our report here
to all of you Midwest USA kickboxers out there is to inform you and warn you
that these promises are "far from the truth" and appear to be
a Christmas membership drive attempt by KICK "AND" an attempt to
attack "Former" KICK Promoters, Trainers and Fighters who are now
associated with the IKF.
KICK is pushing web visitors to sign up NOW for their new Charter Memberships with promises of getting these members into Olympic Competition. The Charter Membership Fee is $39.95 plus an additional charge of 4.95 for what they are calling a "p&h"... ??? But they say you need to do it NOW before January 31, 2002 because on February 1, 2002, their annual membership fee returns to $45.00 plus the mystery $4.95 p&h, which will be without charter benefits. What do they give you for this membership? A dog tag that has your medical info on it... and THAT'S IT! We have yet to find ANY KICK Rankings. ANY KICK Members list. But we did find a "JOIN NOW" page...
We were also told that KICK had become partners with
USA Boxing.
So, of course we called USA Boxing.
We spoke to "THE MAN" in charge of USA Boxing, Mr. Mike Stone.
From what we were told, KICK has "Applied" to become a "Group
Member" with USA Boxing to give them a "hoped for" better
association with an Olympic Sport. However, KICK has not been approved and if
they are approved, it wouldn't happen until they pass 2 different associate
boards (Which they have not past either as of today) and the final one
wouldn't be until August of 2002. So to answer this question... No, they are
NOT associated with USA Boxing.
In addition, the United States Olympic Committee also called USA Boxing's associate staff, and got pretty much the same response... "We know NOTHING about this."
KICK is also telling everyone in the Midwest that they have a "BIG" TV event coming up and that if anyone fights for someone else, they will not get the opportunity to fight on TV. A quick investigation into this one discovered, "Yes", they do have an event planned for TV... However, it's nothing more than a local cable channel, far from the big National exposure everyone in the sport is seeking.
Finally, KICK is also claiming to be a part of the Pan Am Games... Since we couldn't find a contact for the Pan Am Games, we couldn't get a quick answer here, but you can be assured, we will soon. However, from what our research has told us, we expect the same response, which seems to be the same from everyone more than 100 miles from Missouri... "We've never heard of them..."
MONDAY, December 3rd, 2001, AT 9:50 PM, PT
ACCLAIMED
R&B STAR
D'WAYNE WIGGINS
HEADLINES
CHILDREN'S BENEFIT UNITED FOR THE
CHILDREN
San Francisco, CA -- December 3, 2001:
D'Wayne Wiggins, (Right) top neo-soul/R&B vocalist,
composer, arranger and producer, announced today he will be headlining the
United for the Children
half time show on Saturday, December 15, 2001 at the San Jose
Event Center, San Jose, California.
"This is a terrific event that I am proud to be a part of," said Wiggins. "United for the Children is THE event that puts R&B, Hip Hop, and live martial arts at center stage. It also carries the important message that we care about our communities and our children during the holidays and all year."
Wiggins' career has taken him to the top of the music charts with platinum selling albums as a founding member of the legendary group Tony, Toni, Tone and recently with his solo debut "Eyes Never Lie," which included collaborations with Carlos Santana and Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish. Wiggins was responsible for originally signing multi-platinum artist Destiny's Child to Columbia records and has written and produced several songs for the group. An accomplished and sought after musician, songwriter, and producer, Wiggins has composed hits for Tony Toni Tone, Jody Watley, Tevin Campbell, Karyn White, Too Short, Lighter Shade of Brown, E-40, Richie Rich, and most recently Destiny's Child, India Arie, and Alicia Keys.

As a member of the Tonyies, Wiggins
co-wrote movie tracks for "Boys in the Hood," "Beverly
Hills Cop III," "The Mask," and "Panther."
As a soloist, his soundtrack credits include songs for "Sugar
Hill," "Men in Black," and the TV comedy hit "Living
Single." He now adds Movie Producer to his list of titles, as
Executive Producer for the feature film "Me & Mrs. Jones".
The film is scheduled for release in 2002 and stars Brian White,
Wandachristine, Victor Williams, and Kim Fields.
Considered the creator of "neo-soul", Wiggins deftly combines classic soul vocals, a live band, and a distinct lack of studio-created sounds, making his on-stage performances very personal, unique experiences. His performance is going to be the highlight of United for the Children.

"Having the support of artists
like D'Wayne Wiggins is what this event is all about," said
Cung Le, (Left) Martial Arts superstar and coordinator for
United for the Children.
"This is truly an event that brings together all the world of music,
athletics, and Hollywood."
Benefiting the Marine Toys for Tots and the Twin Towers Orphan Fund, United for the Children will be a spectacular evening of live music, pyrotechnics, and world class martial arts as Cung Le challenge Shonie "Mr. International" Carter (Right) for the IKF World Title.
With the support of corporate giants including G-Up, Hyatt Hotels, and ClearChannel Wild 94.9 FM, United for the Children will be THE event of the Holiday Season. Tickets are available online with Tickets.com and Bass. More information about United for the Children is online at www.unitedforthechildren.com. or see this page on the IKF web: United for the Children.

More News Of
12-3-01
Below Posted At 10:00 AM, PT
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Lenamon Takes Title
When Childs
Suffers Injury!
First time IKF Promoter B.J. Huffman completed his first IKF Promotion on November 24th at the Capitol Ballroom in Jefferson City, Missouri, USA. The main event featured the challenge for the vacant IKF Amateur South Central Regional FCR Super Heavyweight Title between Leroy Childs (Jefferson City, Missouri, USA, ) Vs IKF FCR #2 Ranked John Lenamon (Abilele, Texas, USA, ) Lenamon (7-3/6, 6', 216, 29) took the title with a TKO win in the 2nd round when Childs (4-2/0, 6', 245, 23) pulled a hamstring after he threw a kick. A rematch is a possibility due to the circumstances that ended the bout.
In September of 2000, Lenamon had been scheduled to face Rick Culver of Janesville, Wisconsin (26, 6'3", 270, 3-3/2) at the 2000 IKF USA Nationals. However Culver pulled out a week prior of the Finals due to an injury leaving Lenamon without an opponent. Plans were made for the two to fight in the Fall of 2000 however Culver's trainer never scheduled the bout as promised so Lenamon was announced the winner via Walkover.
Here's ALL the results of the nights bouts;
Additional results of the nights undercard will be posted soon. For more info, please contact Mr. B.J. Huffman at (573) 896-2566.


SATURDAY, December 1st, 2001, AT 3:30 PM, PT
Two More Regional Events
Confirmed For The
2002
IKF USA
Nationals Amateur Championships!
Two more Regional Director/Promoters have confirmed their Regional events for next years 2002 USA National Amateur Tournament Season. South Central Director Jeff Mullen's has confirmed his South Central Regional Event for the 4th year in a row which will accept fighters from Tennessee (Western), Arkansas and Mississippi. Also, Sven Bean has confirmed his Central Mountain Regional Event as well accepting fighters from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and sharing New Mexico with the South Mountain Regional, if one is confirmed.
There are still several regionals open, including the popular Central USA Regional which currently, 3 promoters are requesting. We are currently accepting bids for hosting the remaining IKF Regional events. Please see below for the regions that are still available. If you are interested in hosting a regional event in one of the non confirmed areas, please contact our IKF Nationals Director staff by e-mail at; USNDirector@IKFKickboxing.com. Thank you once again and again, we look forward to a GREAT 2002 National Tournament Season!
REGIONAL "EVENTS" FOR THE USA NATIONALS

