Glory Sports International (GSI), the parent company of the world’s new premiere kickboxing league, GLORY World Series, today announced that Simon Rutz , the founder and former owner of IT´S SHOWTIME the world championship kickboxing league that GSI purchased in October, has officially stepped down from his role as a consultant to GLORY and retired from the kickboxing business.
“It’s been a phenomenal run and I have so many incredible memories from the time I’ve spent in this great sport,” said Simon Rutz , who launched IT´S SHOWTIME in 1999 with an event at Kennemer Sportcenter in The Netherlands and promoted his 60th and final event in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 10, 2012.
“I am looking forward to watching many of the fighters we built at IT´S SHOWTIME continue their careers in the GLORY ring where the competition is the fiercest in the entire kickboxing universe.”
During his tenure in the sport, Simon Rutz promoted a multitude of kickboxing superstars including top-ranked heavyweights Daniel Ghita and Tyrone KING OF THE RING Spong and lightweight (154 pounds/70 kilograms) contender Robin POKERFACE van Roosmalen, all of whom have since become GLORY competitors.
“strong>Simon built a very strong enterprise with IT´S SHOWTIME, and fans worldwide demonstrated a sincere enthusiasm for his product, so GLORY was fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire the company and place all of its world-class fight talent under the GLORY umbrella to form the most powerful roster in the history of kickboxing, ” said GLORY CEO Andrew Whitaker: “strong>We wish Simon all the best with his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions to the sport.”
GLORY returns to the big stage with a star-studded event at Ülker Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, April 6, headlined by a long-awaited rematch between world No. 2 ranked Daniel Ghita (46-8, 35 KOs) of Romania and world No. 3 ranked Gökhan THE REBEL Saki (79-16, 55 KOs) of The Netherlands . The winner will receive a shot at reigning GLORY Heavyweight Champion Semmy SAM Schilt.
On Saturday, April 20, GLORY heads to the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy with another stacked card headlined by a meeting between world No. 1 lightweight (70 kilograms/154 pounds) Giorgio Petrosyan (75-1, 35 KOs) of Italy and fellow superstar Hafid El Boustati (67-7-3, 18 KOs) of The Netherlands .
On Friday, May 3, GLORY returns to Tokyo, Japan with a one-night, eight-man featherweight (65 kilograms/143 pounds) ‘Slam’ tournament that will award a total of $180,000 in prize money, including a grand prize of $100,000 to the winner. Confirmed for battle in the single-elimination affair at Ariake Coliseum thus far are three-time French kickboxing champion Abdellah Ezbiri (32-6, 11 KOs) of Morocco via France, world Muay Thai champion Mosab THE JAGUAR Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KOs) of The Netherland and KO artist Marcus Vinicius of Brazil .
About GLORY:
The GLORY World Series is the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, plus a groundbreaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel includes a diverse mix of award-winning hedge-fund and private equity investors; principals from pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia; and senior level executives from several leading sports franchises, including WWE, FIFA, Golden Glory, Champions League and It’s Showtime.
TOKYO, Japan (Dec. 31, 2012) – After four fights in one night, two of which he ended by KO, Karate black belt Semmy Schilt (43-6, 20 KOs) of the Netherlands, emerged as the winner of the highly-anticipated GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam. Schilt, a fan favorite of this star-studded, 16-man, one-night kickboxing tournament, claimed the $400,000 grand prize and secured his position as the world’s No. 1 heavyweight kickboxer.
In addition to Schilt, the single-elimination tournament field consisted of numerous other superstars and rising stars, including the likes of legend Peter Aerts (104-31-1, 78 KOs), Remy Bonjasky (78-15, 40 KOs), Gökhan Saki (79-16, 55 KOs), Daniel Ghita (47-8, 36 KOs) and Jamal Ben Saddik (24-1, 19 KOs). Playing out over 15 fights, the tournament saw 8 bouts end by KO or TKO, resulting in a KO ratio of just under 55 percent.
“I’ve won many tournaments, but this is the best ever,” the towering (6-foot-11/2.12 meters) Schilt said afterwards. “It was a hard tournament with some very good fighters and some very hard fights for me and for everyone else. But, all the struggle is worth it to win a competition like this. GLORY is home to the best fighters in the world and I am very proud to be the winner of (the league’s) first-ever Grand Slam tournament.
“This was not just a great New Year’s Eve event, it was a great martial arts event,” said GLORY Chairman Pierre Andurand. “I think that the skill and the courage that we saw in the ring tonight is really what the martial arts are all about. Perhaps it’s a bit of cliché seeing as we are in Tokyo, but I really do think we can say that the fighters tonight embodied the samurai spirit which all martial artists aspire to.”
The tournament’s ‘Best of Three’ rule, designed to eliminate needless injuries, mandated that any fighter who won the first two rounds of a bout would advance to the next stage without having to fight the third and final scheduled round of the bout.
Schilt’s run saw him stop Brice Guidon (28-8, 4 KOs) of France in the first round of the tournament’s first fight via a pair of heavy right hands. He then outclassed hot prospect Rico Verhoeven (37-7-1, 8 KOs) of the Netherlands to take a decision win under the ‘Best of Three’ rule before meeting Gökhan Saki (79-16, 55 KOs) of the Netherlands in the semifinal stage of the tournament.
Saki, who had KO’d his opponents in the first round of both his Final 16 and quarterfinal stage matches, respectively, tried to do the same to Schilt but couldn’t overcome Schilt’s significant reach advantage.
Saki landed some good shots, but couldn’t get the clean connection he needed in order to seal the deal. The judges declared Schilt the winner under the Best of Three rule and, although Saki bitterly disputed the decision, Schilt advanced to the championship round of the tournament.
In the championship matchup, Schilt met Ghita, who had finished his semifinal fight in just 10 seconds by stopping the giant Ben Saddik with a left kick to the solar plexus. As a result, Ghita was well-rested and less hurt that Schilt, who had persevered through a war with Saki. But near the end of a close first round, Schilt threw a perfectly-timed head kick and connected his shin cleanly across the side of Ghita’s head.
Ghita went down and struggled to beat the referee’s 10-count. He made it to his feet just in time, but the referee determined that he was unsteady on his feet and that the fight should be stopped for Ghita’s own safety, thereby sending Schilt to the winner’s circle.
In the evening’s Superfights, speed and technique reigned supreme. Robin van Roosmalen (38-14-3, 12 KOs), the runner-up in the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ lightweight (154 pounds/70 kilograms) eight-man tournament on Nov. 3, was matched with the colorful Japanese character Yuichiro Nagashima (17-6, 12 KOs) and completely dominated him from start to finish.
Nagashima had no answer for Van Roosmalen’s forward pressure and awesome power. He showed a lot of heart in refusing to stay down after being knocked down several times and in some instances literally knocked off his feet with low kicks. Nagashima went the distance, but Van Roosmalen walked away the winner by unanimous decision.
Toshio Matsumoto (38-10-6, 30 KOs) gave Jason Wilnis “TYSON” (19-1-2) a stiff test in their middleweight (185 pounds/84 kilograms) match. The experienced Matsumoto is known as ‘The Knockout Artist’ and he did his moniker proud, demonstrating slick boxing skills and fluid combinations. The younger and more powerful Wilnis took a while to get into the fight but, once he did, his superior conditioning put him in front— and by the final bell he was dominating on his way to a unanimous decision win.
Flyweights Sang Jae Kim of Korea and Mutsuki Ebata (17-1-1) of Japan stole the show with a three-round battle that was non-stop from start to finish. The Japanese fighter was by far the better man but his Korean opponent could not be stopped and refused to lie down. Kim lost a one-sided decision but impressed onlookers with his heart and got a big round of applause from the Japanese arena.
Complete GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam’ result:
FINAL
Semmy Schilt def. Daniel Ghita, TKO, R1 (Head Kick)
SEMI FINAL
Semmy Schilt def. Gokhan Saki, Dec. R2, ‘Best of Three’ rule
Daniel Ghita def. Jamal Ben Saddik, KO, R1 (Body Kick)
QUARTER FINAL
Semmy Schilt def. Rico Verhoeven, Dec. R2, ‘Best of Three’ rule
Gokhan Saki vs. Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva, KO, R1
Jamal Ben Saddik def. Remy Bonjasky, Dec. R2, ‘Best of Three’ rule
Daniel Ghita def. Mourad Bouzidi by TKO, R2 (Bouzidi dislocated right elbow)
Tournament Final 16 Bouts:
Semmy Schilt def. Brice Guidon by KO, R1
Rico Verhoeven def. Sergei Kharitonov, Dec. R2, ‘Best of Three’ rule
Gokhan Saki def. Roaumaru by KO, R1 1:00
Anderson Silva vs. Igor Jurkovic by KO, R1
Remy Bonjasky def. Filip Verlinden by unanimous decision after three rounds
Jamal Ben Saddik def. Errol Zimmerman, Dec. R2, ‘Best of Three’ rule
Mourad Bouzidi def. Peter Aerts by TKO, R1 (Aerts retired before R2 with broken right hand)
Daniel Ghita def. Jhonata Diniz by unanimous decision after three rounds
Superfights
Lightweight bout (154 pounds/70 kilograms)
Robin van Roosmalen def. Yuichiro Nagashima by unanimous decision.
Flyweight bout
Mutsuki Ebata def. Sang Jae Kim by unanimous decision.
Middleweight bout (185 pounds/84 kilograms)
Jason Wilnis def. Toshio Matsumoto by unanimous decision.
About DREAM:
Japan’s premier MMA organisation, DREAM has staged 23 top-class events in the course of its four-year history. Fighters that have stepped into the DREAM ring include Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Shinya Aoki, Joachim Hansen, Melvin Manhoef, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Eddie Alvarez, Todd Duffee, Gesias Calvancante, Marius Zaromskis.
About GLORY:
The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely distributed sporting organizations. Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore and soon in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
All sixteen of the world-class heavyweights taking part in GLORY 4 TOKYO – HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND SLAM hit the scales at the official weigh-ins today.
The weigh-ins took place at the Sunroute Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. The tournament fighters were joined by the eight fighters from the four superfights that are taking place on the card in between the group stages of the tournament.
The event is part of a double-header, with the GLORY kickboxing tournament being preceded by the DREAM 18 mixed martial arts event. Both shows are being presented by Glory Sports International, parent company of GLORY, which is committed to continuing the tradition of huge end-of-year shows in Japan. “Its going to be a very long show, nearly eight hours, but I don’t think anyone is going to fall asleep. There is going to be a lot of action,” smiled GLORY chairman Pierre Andurand as he presented the tournament fighters to a packed press conference. “The evening will start with the DREAM mixed martial arts show and then we have the GLORY Grand Slam. We want to revive large-scale shows in Japan.”
Heaviest of the tournament fighters was the GLORY Heavyweight Champion and top seed Semmy Schilt ”SEM”. He hit the scales at 130.2 kilos and will outweigh his opening-round opponent Brice Guidon considerably. Guidon, who already has one loss to Schilt from a fight in Moscow earlier this year, weighed in at 102 kilos.
The second heaviest fighter was Jamal Ben Saddik, the young Moroccan heavyweight who has already been likened to Schilt thanks to being almost as tall as him. Ben Saddik, the second-youngest fighter in the tournament at 22 years old, weighed in at 128.8 kilos.
He faces the hard-hitting Errol Zimmerman “THE BONECRUSHER”, who hit the scales at 114.8 kilos. Zimmerman will be the lighter and shorter man in the fight but he has unbelievable power in his right hand and can KO anybody with one shot.
Gokhan Saki “THE REBEL”, the tournament’s number two seed, hit the scales at 103.4 kilos. Possibly the most explosive fighter in the tournament, he faces the Japanese Brawler Raoumaru, who weighed in at a slightly heavier 104.2 kilos.
Daniel Ghita is second-favorite to win the tournament according to the odds makers. He tipped the scales at 108 kilos for his opening round match with Brazilian opponent Jhonata Diniz. At 21 years old Diniz is the youngest and least experienced fighter in the tournament but has impressed his coaches at Golden Glory. He hit the scales at 107.8 kilos.
Aerial attack artist Remy Bonjasky „THE FLYING GENTLEMAN“ returned to the ring earlier this year after an absence of nearly three years and took a win over the very tough Anderson ’Braddock’ Silva to prove that he still has all his old magic. He weighed in at 110.2 kilos.
Facing him is Filip Verlinden, a Belgian heavyweight prospect who has generated a lot of excitement among seasoned observers. Verlinden, who hit the scales at 93.1 kilos, is extremely fast and has very good boxing ability, making for an interesting clash of styles with the high-kicking Bonjasky.
Veteran superstar Peter Aerts “THE DUTCH LUMBERJACK” weighed in at 105 kilos for his fight with Mourad Bouzidi, who touched down at 97.5 kilos. An added twist to this fight is that Aerts and Bouzidi are not only good friends but also long-time training partners who know each other’s styles intimately.
Russian bear Sergey Kharitonov wandered onto the scales with his customary expressionless calm and produced a readout of 120 kilos. He faces Rico Verhoeven, who weighed in at 115.8 kilos at 23 years old has already faced and beaten many more established and experienced names.
Anderson Silva “BRADDOCK”, Brazil’s top heavyweight kickboxer, weighed in at 110.2 kilos and looks to build on the respect he earned for performances against Badr Hari and Remy Bonjasky earlier this year. He faces Igor Jurkovic, 99.8 kilos, a young Croatian heavyweight and sparring partner of the famous Mirko Filipovic “CROCOP”.
GLORY 4 TOKYO – HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND SLAM is a one night single-elimination kickboxing competition featuring 16 of the world’s hardest hitting KO artists. It represents an historic moment in the sport of kickboxing, being the first-ever 16-man tournament. The winner has to defeat four opponents in one night to be crowned GLORY World Champion and walk away with $400,000.
In the US it will be televised on Monday, Dec. 31, 2012 at 10:00 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network. In Canada it will air on the Fight Network and in the UK on Premier Sports. In total the show will air in over 200 territories around the world. CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
About GLORY:
The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely distributed sporting organizations. Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore and soon in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
Kevin Ross, Stephane Susperregui, Roman Mailov, Max Baumert, Joseph Valtellini, Eddie Walker and Yong Soo Park join the ranks of the world’s top stand-up fighter.
Singapore (Dec. 20, 2012) – GLORY announced today that it has signed seven new athletes from six different countries to its ever-growing powerhouse roster of elite stand-up fighters.
Four-time Muay Thai champion and flyweight (143 pounds/65 kilograms) sensation Kevin Ross “EL PRESIDENTE” (36-9, 12 KOs) and rising middleweight (187 pounds/85 kilograms) star Eddie Walker “SHOWTIME” (9-1, 7 KOs) of The United States, light-heavyweight KO artist Stephane Susperregui (32-4-1, 27 KOs) of France, surging welterweight Joseph Valtellini “BAZOOKA” (6-1, 6 KOs) of Canada, heavyweight Tae Kwon Do phenom Yong Soo Park (14-7, 8 KOs) of South-Korea, lightweight champion (154 pounds/70 kilograms) Roman Mailov “THUNDER” (23-3, 12 KOs) of The Ukraine and former two-time amateur boxing champion turned lightweight kickboxing champion Max Baumert (17-1, 10 KOs) of Germany have all joined the ranks of the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league.
“We are excited about bringing this outstanding collection of highly-accomplished world champions and emerging young stars from diverse martial arts backgrounds and nationalities into the GLORY fold and we are looking forward to seeing them compete on the big stage where they will have the opportunity to take their budding careers to all-new, unprecedented levels,” said GLORY CEO Marcus Luer.
The 32-year-old Ross, who fights out of Dublin, Calif. was named Muay Thai North American Fighter of the Year in 2010 and has since been recognized as the face of the sport in The United States. He holds notable victories over decorated Thai champions Malaipet Sasiprapa “THE DIAMOND” and Chunhawat “COKE” as well as American stars Justin Greskiewicz and Chike Lindsay .
Despite an advanced skill set and a handful of highlight reel worthy performances in the ring, Walker of Atlanta, Ga., was relatively unknown amongst martial arts fight fans until Oct. 13 when the protégé of six-time world champion Manu N’toh staged an incredible comeback KO victory against hard-hitting fellow American Joe Schilling “STICH EM UP” in Las Vegas, Nev.
Walker survived a knockdown at the hands of Schilling in the first round and, another in the second stanza, but weathered the storm and suddenly unleashed a monstrous right hook in close quarters that dropped Schilling for the 10-count at the 2:13 mark of the second round.
Mailov is a ferocious 21-year-old battler who is in the midst of a 15-fight win streak after going unbeaten in both 2011 and 2012 while competing mostly in Russia and his native Ukraine. A five-time title holder, Mailov’s last win came on Nov. 8 when he scored a crushing fourth round KO on Armin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport of Thailand with a knee strike to the body during a matchup in Moscow.
Susperregui, a 26-year-old, four-time national champion in his native France, made a big mark in the sport in April, winning a one-night, four-man tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite his relatively young career, the heavy-handed Susperregui has had considerable exposure to the international fight scene, facing rivals Steve McKinnon in China and Nathan Corbett in Australia.
Universally regarded as the hottest prospect out of Canada, the hard-hitting 27-year-old Valtellini stormed onto the professional fight scene after amassing a perfect 11-0 record as an amateur and has since claimed all six of his wins on the professional circuit by way of KO. A high school teacher by day, Valtellini is a lifelong martial artist who began his training in Tae Kwon Do at age seven, eventually earning his second degree black belt in the discipline before transitioning to Muay Thai.
Just 20 years old, Baumert has already made a mark in the martial arts fight world. A veteran of 35 boxing bouts, Baumert has captured stand-up fighting championships on national and continental levels and has competed four times in the last four months, winning each of his bouts by way of unanimous decision.
Known for his dangerous, yet graceful kicking skills, the 31-year-old Soo Park is a veteran of the national Korean Tae Kwon Do team who has claimed the Korea National Invitation Tae Kwon Do Championship at heavyweight. Soo Park established his presence on the international fight scene in his professional debut, scoring a first round KO with a low kick on former Japanese sumo wrestler turned professional boxer, Rikijyo, and then taking out Japanese Karate fighter Daisuke Watanabe, also in the first round of their matchup, with a front kick to the face.
GLORY matchups for each of the newly-signed competitors will be announced soon. In the meantime, GLORY will hit Saitama Super Arena on Saturday, Dec. 31 with its highly-anticipated ‘GSI presents DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 Tokyo – New Year’s Eve Special’ double-header event that will begin at 4 p.m. JST with a stacked DREAM Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card and continue with the GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam that will be headlined by a one-night, 16-man heavyweight tournament
The single-elimination tournament field is loaded with the world’s top heavyweight stand-up fighters, including world No. 1 ranked Semmy Schilt “SEM” (39-6, 18 KOs), Remy Bonjasky “THE FLYING GENTLEMAN“ (77-14, 40 KOs), Peter Aerts “THE DUTCH LUMBERJACK” (104-30-1, 78 KOs), Gokhan Saki “THE REBEL” (77-15, 53 KOs), Daniel Ghita (44-7, 34 KOs), Errol Zimmerman (76-16-1, 41 KOs), Anderson Silva “BRADDOCK” (32-8-1, 22 KOs) and Sergei Kharitonov (22-7, 12 KOs).
About GLORY:
The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of 16-man ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
With television deals spanning every continent, plus a groundbreaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel includes a diverse mix of award-winning hedge-fund and private equity investors; principals from pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia; and senior level executives from several leading sports franchises, including WWE, FIFA, Golden Glory, Champions League and It’s Showtime.
Kick Boxing -85 Kg
Cheick Sidibe vs. Jason Wilnis WIN
by points
Kick Boxing Heavy Weight
Daniel Ghita vs. Brian Douwes WIN
by left hook KO Rround 2
Kick Boxing Heavy Weight
Rustemi Kreshnik vs. Michael Duut WIN
by 3 knockdowns TKO
IT´S SHOWTIME WORLD TITEL
Kick Boxing -85 Kg
Sahak Parparyanvs vs. Andrew Tate WIN
by points
Kick Boxing Heavy Weight
Sergei Lashchenko vs. Salah Edine Kandoussi WIN
by left hook KO Round 1
Kick Boxing -73 Kg
Sonny Dagraed vs. Eric Denis WIN
by points
PRESS RELEASE (08.05.2012): Countdown to IT’S SHOWTIME 56: spectacular world title fight.
Coming Saturday, May 12, marks the day of one of the most controversial IT’S SHOWTIME world title fights ever, as ‘Siam Gym Belgium presents IT’S SHOWTIME 56’ in Kortrijk, Belgium.
The reigning IT’S SHOWTIME world champion 85kg max, Sahak ‘Hak’ Parparyan from Armenia, will defend his title against the challenger from the USA, Andrew Tate.
Tate is not one to be shy on his IT’S SHOWTIME debut, as he suggested to bet Parparyan for € 1000. The tough Armenian showed his determination and even wants to raise the bet to € 5000! Tate, while introducing himself in a self-recorded video, responded in that same video, telling the current champion “you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into” .
The complete video of Andrew Tate and it looks like kickboxing fans get to meet a fighter who knows how to talk the talk, but the inevitable question is: can he walk the walk? Please look PRESS RELEASE (06.05.2012) at the bottom.
It will be a champion-versus-champion fight, as Tate is an ISKA world champion. “He should be happy if he survives 5 rounds with me. And if he does, he needs a visit to the hospital and he’ll have to eat through a straw. Also, after he fights me, he won’t be able to walk for a while,” so said Parparyan.
Tate has scored many victories by (T)KO, but ‘Hak’ is not easily impressed: “Andrew Tate fought nothing but cans. This time he will find out the difference between fighting a champion and fighting a pipsqueak.”
It promises to be a very intense staredown at the weigh-ins on Friday and an action-packed fight on Saturday!
Also starring on the fight card is the current IT’S SHOWTIME world heavyweight champion Daniel Ghita. The Romanian who impressively knocked out Hesdy Gerges, something even Badr “GOLDEN BOY” Hari couldn’t accomplish, will take on Brian Douwes. While Douwes may not be the most well-known kickboxer, he is a tough guy and not afraid of a challenge, proven by the fact that he steps in for dropout Sebastien van Thielen on short notice against a dangerous man like Ghita.
The event will be streamed live on internet PPV. To order your stream, visit SHOWTIME FIGHTS This service is not available in Belgium and The Netherlands.
Team IT´S SHOWTIME
Met vriendelijke groet / Kind regards, Sebastiën van Dusschoten
Coordinator Press & Media
For presale addresses and the latest news: check www.fight.nl or download our free IT’S SHOWTIME app for your smartphone.
PRESS RELEASE (06.05.2012)
Andrew Tate: „Hak, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.“
American kickboxer Andrew Tate will challenge Sahak Parparyan for the IT’S SHOWTIME world title 85kg max at Siam Gym Belgium presents IT’S SHOWTIME 56 on 12.05.2012 in Kortrijk, Belgium.
We sent Tate some questions, to which he responds in a self-recorded video. Tate gives his view on the fight, betting with opponents and more. Tate wanted to bet Parparyan for € 1000. The reigning champion even wants to bet for € 5000. Tate’s reaction is in the video.
SIAM GYM PRESENTS : IT’S SHOWTIME 56 – KORTRIJK
We zijn erin geslaagd om het grootste kickboxing evenement ter wereld voor het eerst in de geschiedenis naar onze streek te brengen!! De datum staat vast op Zaterdag 12 mei!
Op dit gala zullen de beste vechters ter wereld aantreden alsook enkele lokale athleten!
Op deze editie zullen we de eer hebben om Daniel Ghita te laten aantreden! Ghita is de huidige wereldkampioen bij de
zwaargewichten en is topfavoriet om dit jaar het K-1 tornooi te winnen in Japan!
Ghita heeft ook het wereldrecord op zak van snelste winst op een K-1 tornooi!! Hij versloeg 3 tegenstanders in 5min 15sec!! Het vorige record stond op naam van Peter Aerts die het klaarspeelde op 6min 43 sec.
In In het hoofdprogramma zullen 6 wedstrijden plaastvinden met professionele athleten uit maar liefst 10 verschillende landen,
Ook zal de wereldtitel uitgevochten worden in de klasse „85 kg
Dit alles zal aangevuld worden met wedstrijden van absolute wereldklasse en een ongeziene spectaculaire show!!
IT´SHOWTIME Simon Rutz presents the last Kick Boxing fight of Badr Hari.
28.01.2012 in The Netherlands / Leeuwarden
PRESS RELEASE 28.09.2011
Badr Hari retires from kickboxing and will be heading to the US for a boxing career.
Badr Hari has decided to retire from kickboxing to start a new career as a boxer. On January 28, 2012, Badr Hari will fight his last kickboxing match on the IT’S SHOWTIME event in WTC Expo in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. After this fight, he will go to the United Stated to fully work on his boxing career.
This announcement will be a shock to the millions of kickboxing fans all around the world, but the sport of boxing will welcome and embrace this charismatic fighter. In the U.S., many see Badr Hari as the man to relaunch the popularity of boxing, and he’s being seen as a mix of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
Badr doesn’t just want to say goodbye to kickboxing and therefore he has chosen Gökhan Saki as his last opponent in kickboxing. Many millions of fans of combat sports have been waiting for this fight for years, and now they have the opportunity to see it.
If K-1 will host a World Grand Prix this year, Badr will also participate to that. The Grand Prix Final is scheduled for December 10 in China. If this World Grand Prix will take place, depends if K-1 will be able to pay its debts to IT’S SHOWTIME and others. If not, the fight on January 28 will be Badr’s only remaining fight as a kickboxer.
An amazing combat sports arena will be built in the WTC Expo venue in Leeuwarden, in which all spectators have the feeling they are in the ring themselves. Unfortunately, only 5000 people can watch this event live in the venue. The presale starts October 15, and only on this day, the € 125 tickets will be available for € 100.
Fight card January 28, 2012 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands:
Badr Hari vs. Gökhan Saki
Daniel Ghita vs. Hesdy Gerges (IT’S SHOWTIME world title heavyweight)
Tyrone Spong vs. Melvin Manhoef
Errol Zimmerman vs. Rico Verhoeven
Ben Edwards vs. Ricardo van den Bos
Murat Direkçi vs Robin van Roosmalen
Lhoucine ‘Aussie’ Ouzgni vs. Yohan Lidon (IT’S SHOWTIME world title 73kg max)
Gago Drago vs. Hinata Watanabe
Chahid Oulad El Hadj vs. Harut Grigorian
Danyo Ilunga vs. Mourad Bouzidi
Michael Duut vs. Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva
Henry van Opstal vs. Hafid el Boustati
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