You know, people either love or hate Gurkan but I give him the biggest credit because he is the ONLY Australian fighter who has ever fought ANYONE and EVERYONE from any weight, any rules. He has never ever said no to or ducked an opponent and I know for a fact that many of the other fighters which people like to nuthug have ducked their fair share of opponents.

Ozkan HAS fought the best and lost to some and beaten some... sheez, look at Tennis players... one week Hewitt loses to Agassi, the next week he beats Ferreira... the next month he beats Agassi... the next month he loses to Philipoussis... SO WHAT! My respect comes for fighters, like Ozkan and Zambidis who fight anyone, any time, and don't throw it in after losses are give up during bad streaks in their careers... they fight through it, change their training methods, adapt, update, and soldier on.

Ozkan has fought some excellent fighters... off the top of my head:

* CHANGPUEK - KO'd him in one round in the days before Changpuek had taken one thousand punches too many

* PAUL BRIGGS - KO'd him in two rounds in the days when Briggs was at the top of the kickboxing heap

* STAN LONGINIDIS: Yes Stan was past his use by date but he is still Stan, he is still a legend and a heavyweight who had four months fully to prepare for the Ozkan fight. Instead of ducking a fight with a legend, Ozkan pounced on it... and just as Lennox Lewis beat up on a Tyson past his prime; and just as Tito Ortiz owned a Ken Shamrock past his prime; so Ozkan owned Longinidis that night... the fact that he outkicked one of history's best leg kickers made it all the more emphatic

* ADAM WATT: The reigning K-1 Oceania champion also having a good year till he lost to Ozkan... yes it was full contact rules but Ozkan hardly kicks above the waist anyway and Watt often likes to go high... either way, both men accepted and Ozkan won out

* MARK MAY: One of the true powerhouse fighters of the mid-1990s... he beat Ozkan in Sydney and Ozkan beat him in Melbourne... two all time great power fights

* JARROD CURTIS, DALE WESTERMAN and SAM SOLIMAN - all in the one night to win the middleweight 8-man tourney in 1995 at the Glasshouse

* ARTHUR TSAKONAS: Another excellent fighter and solid all rounder

* JASON SUTTIE: A five time world champion, though admittedly Suttie took this fight on short notice, it was an awesome war

* JAYSON VERMOA: Another excellent fighter with all round skill

* DANIEL TAI: He had KO'd Nick Kara and was on a high till he met Ozkan

And there have been the losses:

* IAN JACOBS: Pound for pound Australia's greatest ever... but Ozkan did become the first man to ever drop the great Ian Jacobs when he knocked him down in the first round. Jacobs went on to win by five round decision... he pissed blood for a week after the fight and still says it was his hardest fight ever and that an Ozkan rematch is the only fight he would come out of retirement for

* WARREN ELSON: Ozkan totally underestimated a hungry young Elson and paid for it. This was during a terrible phase in Ozkan's career in which he was all over the place... credit to Elson, he took his chance and beat Ozkan.

* TAIEI KIN: Ozkan's Japan debut... I never saw the fight but it went the distance at a time when Kin was unstoppable

* DENDENAI: Ozkan suffered a neck spasm during the fight (ask Dr Peter Lewis) but this fight showed that Ozkan aint much of a Thai rules fighter... no problem there, at least he stepped up against an awesome Thai fighter and had a go (all the other Aussies got done too on that nite)

* TREVOR AMRBOSE: A world rated boxer, a world champion kickboxer, who taught Ozkan a lesson in timing and ring savvy, no shame in that loss.

* TIBOR VERMES: Silly fight... silly tactics. I'll admit THIS was a lowpoint for kickboxing back in 1998

Why do we BAG people like Ozkan? Why do we bag fighters if they lose a few fights, if they aren't all ask sublimely skilled as Muhammed Ali's or Rob Kamans or Ernesto Hoosts? Why can't we SUPPORT our fighters? THIS IS THE PROBLEM with the sport... tall poppy syndrome... it has always dogged Australian sport and kickboxing is no exception.

This is just my opinion... Ozkan has had his fair share of losses all against excellent opponents and his fair share of wins against excellent opponents all of which deserve credit. Like I said, he has never ever ducked anyone nor has he fought duds... in fact that last time Ozkan fought someone nowhere near his class was waaaay back in 1997 when he KO'd WA's Mark McAllen in one round -- and that was a comeback fight for Ozkan who had been out of action since the Jacobs loss.

anyway, just my two cents worth with GST.

As for Gurkan and Zambidis - I CAN'T WAIT and on the nite I'm sure we'll see thousands of people in the stands and thousands watching on television nationwide who can't wait either and who are excited that two of the best kickboxers fighting in and out of Oz at the moment will GET IT ON for our enjoyment... they won't quip about rules, or weight, or purses, or politics... they will just fight a 12 rounder to see who is the better of the two on THAT PARTICULAR NIGHT.

May the best man win.