Felix:

I will NOT say that Hoost would have won the 1998 Grand Prix if he were healthy and fit.

I don’t think that there was no one stronger than Peter Aerts at the 1998 K-1 Grand Prix. The Dutch Lumberjack was the best fighter back in 1998, and they way he won the title, talks for it self. He won all his fight by KO in the first round, he beat up every fighter that got in his way!! It was "the" night for Aerts - and Hoost would not have been apple to take the title away from Peter, not even if he wasn’t sick.

A fighter like Andy Hug was also very sharp, fit and strong at the 1998 Grand Prix, and I don’t think that Hoost could have defeated Mr. K-1 if they were to fight in the opening rounds. Andy defeated Sam Greco in an amazing fight, he took out Ray Sefo easily – but Andy was to tiered when he was to fight Peter in the final, otherwise I think that he would have stand a good chance to have won the title for the 2nd time. But we will never know!

But agree with you about the lack of respect he gets from Ishii, and then again... Jerome is the biggest name in the game today, even do he hasn’t won anything big in the K-1.(Grand Prix). Jerome is the people choice right now because of his big success, but lets see where he stand after December if he looses in his first fight against Mark Hunt. The best way for Kancho Ishii to promote his sport, is to show the best and the strongest on his poster, and like it or not – Jerome is the strongest today, and the one with the biggest success.