K-1 2002 Rising Tournament.

Who do you think will win this tournament

Who are Hoost going to fight in the K-1 Rising 2002, and is his food already strong and healthy enough to get back in the ring in the end of January?

And what about Leko and Bernado, are the going to fight each other or a Japanese fighter? If anybody knows the draw for the Rising tournament, please tell.... THANKS!

Looking at all the Japanese fighters (Musashi, Nakasako, Nubo and Great), it more or less looks like a revenge from the Andy Hug Memorial Cup.

I wonder why Hiromi Aamada still is fighting or trying to fight in the K-1, he gets KO in every second fight he takes part in? Well... Cant blame a man for trying!

Personal I would like to see Hoost Vs Bernado, and Leko Vs Musashi.

stop dreaming oliver.

this event is for ishii to match c level japanese fighters against a+ level foreign fighters. the foreign fighter will wipe the floor and ropes with the japanese guy and strip him of any confidence he may have developed.

ishii is great at putting on spectacular shows but stinks at developing young talent.

I know that I am dreaming, but still I would love to Hoost Vs Bernado - instead of Hoost Vs Great where he defeats him by KO in the first round, or Mike Vs Aamada and we get another meaningless KO in the first round.

But it is business, so I better wake up!

"I have a dream"

Mark Hunt is going to fight Nakasako at the K-1 2002 Rising tournament.

What a matchup, I mean... Nakasako weights 93 kilos and is far from the best Japanese fighter, he more or less "always" loose to a non-Japanese fighter, and Hunt is about 126 kilos and is the new K-1 champion.

If Nakasako is very very very lucky, he will not get KO in the first round. I will say that Hunt will send Nakasako to sleep in less than one minute in the 2nd round.

What will be next, Jerome Vs Yusuke Fujimoto or Mike Bernado Vs Tatsufumi Tomihira? Well, thats the game and somewhere we all like to watch some action, even do do we also like some excitement. I will not call the matchup between Hunt Vs Nakasako for an exciting match, like if it had been Hunt Vs Bernado.

i just visited k1 homrpage and these are the only matchups they have listed.
nakasako vs mark hunt
amada vs rene rooze(holland)
kusatsu vs muhamad ali(australia)
does anyone know who rene rooze is????

nakasako may have a chance against the champ. hunt is a heavy guy and isn't that hard to read. it takes him a while to load up before he attacks. you can see him bending his knees deeply before he launhes himself. he incorporates that in his bob-and-weave defense. it took leko a while to figure that out. in fact, it took him too long to figure it out. he had one round to make up 4 points.

if nakasako boxes smartly and gives mark angles and retreats laterally, he might be able to grab an upset in the later rounds.

yeah right! nakasako is a chicken shit and will roar like a lion when he is fighting someone who can't hurt him like koyasu and kusatsu. when he is facing someone tough he will look for a nice place to lay down. then he'll do that annoying act of "i can still fight" while his body language says "mom. i want to go home." the only time i've seen him pick himself up off the mat and keep fighting was against musashi. that doesn't surprise me since they've done thousands of hours of sparring and he felt nice and safe. in short, nakasako is heartless and doesn't stand a chance.

hunt by ko.

rooze trains out of mejiro gym. he is kind of a dirty fighter and was dq'd in the k-1 germany last year. if he can keep himself under control this should be a good fight.

azzouzi lost to tomihira last year because he couldn't defend against knees. this year he should protect himself a little better and show his olympic class boxing skills. azzouzi by ko.

Felix:

I agree about Nakasako, he does not have a strong spirit or a lion heart. What about his fight against Andy Hug. Nakasako got hit by a “soft” circle kick on the top of the head, and then he went down. You can not blame Nakasako for going down on a count, but the way he walk around in the ring after the fight was stop by the judge was a big joke.

Just like you say Felix: "I can still fight" while his body language says "mom. I want to go home."

I am sure that Nakasako is nice guy, but to me he is a weak fighter, and he do not stand a chance in hell against the champion.

he's got all the tools. but he is gutless. it takes a lot to get knocked down and get up and win.
lebanner did it against greco and aerts.
andy did it against bernardo.
most great fighters make the effort. they don't think about quitting.

this may be ishii's fault. he's responsible for nakasako getting some pretty bad beatings. terrible matchmaker when it comes to his own guys.

i think that bernardo vs hunt would be a great match up also a real test for new champion no disrespect but nakasako vs hunt is a deffinition of a mismatch i think that the champ should be fighting top opponents not easy picks but that is just my oppinion

Yes, Mark Hunt should fight Mike Bernado or Ernesto Hoost. But I guess that Kancho Ishii would like to give Hunt some "easy" fights first in the new year, before he test the new champion in some hard fights, against "real" opponents. I am sure that we will see Hunt fight some of the big names latter in the year, at least that is what I hope!

There have always been many mismatches in the history of the K-1, and I will say that this is one of them. But then again... Hunt can not fight Jerome, Sefo and Hoost every time he enter the ring, so it is ok for the new champion to build up a pretty record-list, just like all the other stars in the game has done it in the past.

Never the less, I would sure like to see Hunt fight some of the heavy boys in the game, so he can prove that he is the true champion, and that the Grand Prix only was step one in his career. Bring on Skelton, Van Dams, Bernado and Ignashov, and not Nakasako, Aamada or Kusatsu.

Mark Hunt is meant to be fighting at the Oceania K1 in Feb, and hes got K1 Rising in Jan? Isn't there meant to be a couple months between fights, or does that only matter if you get KO'ed?

Seido,
Rene Rooze is a very big Dutchman who trains under the
Mejiro Gym family.He is strong and will fight NHB or
Thai.He has fought K-1 a few times.

Hello Oliver my old friend. You've got a point there mate. It would be great and it would happen for sure. By the way, have you seen some of Andy Hug's (God bless his soul) opponents during the early part of every year in building up to later part of the year bigger shows at K-1? My point is, Hunt would end up fighting those guys later on the year anyway. I guess they just don't wanna do it at smaller K-1 shows. If he fights all the big names now, who would he fight in the bigger shows later on the year? They've done the same with Aerts, Hoost, etc. etc.

Hi Lollo.

Nice hearing from you again my friend. I am sure that Mark Hunt will fight some of the "heavy" fighters in year 2002, and I am looking forward to see the brave champion in action again. I really like Mark Hunt, and I most say that he surpice me positive at the 2001 K-1 Grand Prix.

I agree with you Lollo, Andy Hug did also fight Nakasako and what you call smaller K-1 shows. I have nothing against smaller shows as I also says in my message above, I just don’t think that the fights are very interested to watch.

The really don’t show anything important, other than the big guy is beating the little guy. Once in viel "we" get a surprise, but to be honest, I think that it is more or less meaningless to put a big "monster" like Hunt (or Andy, Jerome, Skelton, Van Dams etc.) to fight a 30 kilo easyer and weaker opponent like Nakasako. I can not see the concept or the point in the fight.

But this has NOTHING to do with Hunt, who I respect, for what he is: the K-1 Champion. Just my personal point of view. Let him fight the pittbul Jurgen Kruth, at least there is no more than 15 kilos in difference between the two fighters... LOL.

I am glad that I am not Nakasako! Should we say a first round KO to the new champion, or will Hunt wait until the 2nd round before he slam Nakasako to sleep.

Any one ever seen MUHAMMAD "ALI" AZZOUI fight?? I have never heard of him! He is going to fight Great Kusatsu at the K-1 Rising 2002 Tournament.

he knocked out felix savon who knocked out david tua. the man has skills.

i saw him fight tomihira. he has good hands but tomihira tried leg kicks. azzoui handled them well. then tomihira tried knees and got through. three knock downs ended the fight.

the guy got up to fight each time. a lot of heart from what i saw.

since then i don't know what he's done but i expect he's improved.

nakasako is in for another beating that will do little to progress his career.

Thanks for the informations Felix!

It sounds like Great Kusatsu are going to fight hard for his money. (Just like Nakasako... LOL)

K-1 JAPAN SERIES, K-1 RISING 2002
Date : Sunday, January 27, 2002
Time : 12:00 Open / 13:00 Start
Place : Granship., Shizuoka, Japan



Ryushi Yanagisawa VS Mirko Cro Cop

Great Kusatsu VS Muhammad "Ali" Azzoui

Yusuke Fujimoto VS Cedric Foretti

Hiromi Amada VS Rene Rooze

Tsuyoshi Nakasako VS Mark Hunt

hunt by ko
amada by dq
fujimoto by dec
azzoui by ko
yanagisawa by dec

Felix:

Do you think that Rene Rooze will fight like pittbull(again)?? I think that Rooze is stronger than Amada, but who knows...Maybe he will bite like Mike Tyson, or do something stupid so he get disqualified?

Rooze should fight in the UFC or have a handful of more fights in the Pride, that might help him. I am looking forward to see CroCop, he has been "fighting" more in Pride than in the K-1 the last few months. I fell about CroCop the same way I do about Abidi. The both have some good skills, but they never win anything big or become real popular.

it sure looked like cro cop was a young rising star a couple of years ago,
and i thought he would be a top dog in the k-1 by now. im not sure what
happened, but he has some good skills.
has abidi beaten any of the top fighters since his upset of aerts a couple
of years ago?

the k-1 really screwed up on these two [abidi and crocop]. everyone knew they got lucky.

for crocop he fought bernardo who, let's agree on this, could fight godzilla on some days and get knocked out by peewee herman on others. in the 99 gp he fought musashi and didn't get dq'd. finished off greco ["thanks sefo"] and got beat by hoost. since then the best win he's got was against the remains of peter aerts. a ko loss to mcdonald and three fake-wrestling matches raises a lot of questions. to be honest, i think he'll beat yanagisawa but is just wanted to dis him.

as for abidi. what a lucky bastard! his fights with aerts and sefo are long gone. he had a close fight with kusatsu. this should have been a priority for the k-1. set up abidi nakasako and for the first time in history a japanese guy would beat a seemingly top contender. unfortunately andrew thompson ruined everything. wham!

the way the world tournament system is set up someone can pop up overnight and enter the grand prix. mark hunt and ignashov both were 2000 qualifying champions. venetiaan and bojanski are in the pipeline. crocop and abidi may never be in the grand prix again.

the only time is saw rooze fight, he was the second dirtiest fighter i had ever seen. the dirtiest was krut [vs. gregory].

I don’t think that we will see much to Abidi in the future. He do not have the strength, technique or charisma to get on the level, where many thought he was going after he "defeated" Peter Aerts.

I remember Abidi's fight against Nubo - the guy had heart but no skills. Abidi was over and out, but it was his big luck that his opponent was Nubo and not Hunt or Jerome. Nubo was playing with Abidi, and I mean.... Nubo sure ain’t no Mr. perfect or Mr. K-1. But all my credit to Abidi for beating up Nubo after all the trouble he was in.

As for CroCop i feel sad. He is a good fighter and has a great technique, but the way he handles his talent should be a crime!! He was amazing against Andy Hug in the K-1 fight night 2000, but pure and heartless against Ernesto Hoost in the Grand Prix. To me it seems like CroCop are going after the quick and easy money and, not the big title.... A BIG SHAME! (not because I like him, but because he could be a top 10 fighter)

Yes, Jurgen Kruth from Sweden is a dirty fighter. I thought that he will be a new big name in the game, but it seems like he has trouble staying in focus, and I guess that is why we do not hear to much about him? (Who is he...LOL)

I don’t know what to say about this new picture of Nakasako and Ishii?

Well... If you can not entertain and get attention in the ring, you can always dress up and "play" champion at the press meetings. Sorry friends, but Nakasako is hard take serious as fighter. I would rather see Musashi fight Hunt than Nakasako, at least we then would get a fight and the chance to see some great technique. If Nakasako somehow is capable to survey tree rounds standing, it will be a bigger surprise to me, than when Adam Watt KO Mike Bernado at the K-1 Grand Prix Fukuoka.

the rapper b.s. has to go. i doubt he knows any real gang signs and just flips random gestures at the camera that would get him killed in any neighbourhood.

Crocop is a real talent,but his carier went down the drain when he changed his trainer(the person that trained him in '99)because cikatic caused him so much trouble.
Abidi is also good. For Aerts i still think is very good,but very unlucky as well.
No disrespect for the K-1,but don't you had enough of this tournaments!!!
I prefer more shows with all the big names in it, than for tournaments all the time.What is too much is too much.But this is just my personal opinion.
What do you guys think?

Felix:

"the rapper b.s. has to go. i doubt he knows any real gang signs and just flips random gestures at the camera that would get him killed in any neighbourhood."

LOL!!!!!!



So you don’t think that Nakasako is one of the boys from the hood? What about cool and the gang? And here I thought that it was Ice Cube or Snoop Dogg on the picture together with Ishii. But ok, I have never been in South Central LA, so what do I know.... But I have been in Bronx and Harlem, but still Nakasako don’t look like one of the bad boys from the projects.

PSALM 27 V.1 :

Same here!

I did not know that Zorro was going to fight at the K-1 Rising 2002?

(All my deepest respect to ALL the fighters in the K-1, but I coulden help it)

the guy on the left looks like the bad guy in a bad b movie.
and is that "great" kusatsu that is wearing a norweigan skiing sweater?
and the guy in the middle is about to go duck hunting?
nakasako has a better chance to be a rapper than to go the distance with hunt ;)
ok the guy on our far right is dressed normally, he just cant fight ;)

i've seen pictures of fujimoto wearing zut suits and saddle shoes in magazines. i still can't believe he shaved his head for the k-1 japan. he had great hair. just ask my balding brother. he'd have been really jealous.

"the duck hunter" hayashi. hehe. has he fought "the labrador retriever" miyamoto?

Who is Cedric Foretti? I never heard of him.

Felix and Oliver,
hehe, this thread is hillarious.
You guys should write a fashion column for the press.

Who is Fujimoto and how many fights has he had? is he a good fighter?
Did anyone find out who Cedric Foretti is?and who he trains with and how many fights he has had and where he comes from?.....
I have never seen these fighters or heard of them maybe Oliver & Felix you can put a light on these fighters......I am not familiar with the Japanese fighters.
Thanks guys...
Regards
Lucy Tui

Yusuke Fujimoto happens to be a friend of mine, he is wiht Seido Kaiken
he won the K-1 monster challeng tournement twice, which is an open toughman type tournament here in japan with k-1 rules, and 1 min rounds, I think his record is 5w 2L 5ko's in real K-1 fights, his 2 losses are from Ricky Nichelson, and Nicholas Pettas, but he did get a knock down on both of them. I think he has potential, he is much fitter, and physical stronger than the other Japanese fighters, his main weakness is he tends to get a little wild with his technique. he is dangerous though, he dropped Pettas with a nasty body shot, and Nichelson with a knee to the head. If his technique is good he is definatly dangerous, he's got a lot of power, I dont know anything about Cedric Foretti,
and i could not find anything using my usual searches.

Thanks Chris for the information.when will you be fighting next? Do you still live in Japan in the marines? Hope you have a good year in fighting..
All the best
Regards
Lucy Tui

the results

Mirko Cro Cop wearing his mma checked shorts beat Ryushi Yanagisawa via doctor stop. [cut]

Great Kusatsu beat Muhammad Azzoui by 2nd round ko. Azzoui reminds me of feitosa. one dimensional and nervous as hell about the missing piesces of the puzzle. he could have won this with his jab alone.

Yusuke Fujimoto beat Cedric Foretti by five round decision. he seemed disappointed that he couldn't put away an opponent who was hurt and not fighting back.

Hiromi Amada knocked out Rene Rooze in one round.

Mark Hunt stopped Tsuyoshi Nakasako in the second round but not before being knocked down with a high kick and rocked with a few other strikes.

Nak picked his ass off the canvas 3 times [once in the first and twice in the second] and kept fighting. as far as his career goes this is a possible turning point. he broke the unbreakable and found the heart to keep fighting.

as for hunt, how many of you still think his obesity is part of the winning combination? the fear factor is gone now. everyone knows he can be knocked down and if he were in the ring with a more experienced fighter he would have been ktfo. congrats on the W but i bet it came at a high price.

Well what a result, Cedric Forretti I was told is Tarik Solaks first timer ever to enter a ring at 18years of age and of Tongan back ground man it sounds like Tarik has a new heavy weight fighter of his own finally...
as for the result of Mark Hunt he got one week notice for the fight, still No excuse for his 1st round performance I guess,but still came back and KO
the Japanese fighter...Well lets hope that he starts getting into shape...
Muhammad Ali that was a shock decision,it is ashame he is not conditioned for kickboxing....
Regards
Lucy Tui

mark should read the ax a little more often. we knew he was fighting nak for a month. he was knocked down in the beginning of the 2nd round. if that were ignashov and not nak he would have got his fat ass handed to him. hopefully he can savour the victory and learn from the mistakes.

i don't know what to expect of cedric in the future. if he's only 18 then the sky's the limit.

all azzoui had to do was jab. everytime he threw it, it landed. there is no way kusatsu could have taken that for 5 rounds. unfortunately, azzoui isn't just a fish out of water, he's a fish on a bicycle. sad thing that is.

i forgot the score. japan-3, world-2.

i just checked the k-1 website. they announced the fight on jan 7th which is after the magazines got the chance to publish the upcoming fight which was of course after the fighters agreed to fight.

Well it sounds to me a good finnish for Japan,
Thanks for the results Felix,are you going to the K1 Oceania I think it should be a pretty good night.....
See you there,I guess you will be going for Clay seen he is with Kelly..
He will be good entertainment,but we should not underestimate his
big over hand right....he has the most powerful punch Clay if it connects..
Regards
Lucy Tui

i'd love to be in oz for the oceania tournament. unfortunately that won't be possible. i've never seen clay fight or met kelly. you must have me confused with another felix lachance down there.

talk of doug viney has peaked my interest. but that is another thread, isn't it?

as for the k-1 rising, i was a little surprised that there were only five fights. there are a lot of japanese fighters who i would have liked to have seen: tsuyoshi[vos gym] and hayashi[chakuriki] from abroad. here in japan, ohishi, tomihira, takeru.

if i were matchmaking here is how i would have put the fighters together.

hayashi v. pavel majer [k-1 czech champ]
tsuyoshi v. andrew thompson [k-1 s. africa champ]
ohishi v. petar mjstorovic [k-1 germany champ]
tomihira v. sergei gur [k-1 italy champ]
takeru v. sergei ivanovich [k-1 ukraine champ]

that's five more quality fights at bargain prices.

Felix:

Thanks for the K-1 Rising results!

So Mark Hunt was down, that surprises me a lot... Especially against a 2nd division fighters as Nakasako really is! I wonder what would have happened to Hunt, if he was sent down by fighters like Jerome, Van Dams, Ignashov or Bernado?

As I have said so many times before on this board, then I really respect Mark Hunt as a fighter and a human!!!!!! But still I also think that he "got" or "won" the K-1 Grand Prix title by luck. It was simply his day, and a day like that only happens one out of a million. Yes, Hunt got a chin of cement, or at least he did, it seems like Nakasako proved that the cement sometimes turn to rubber. Hunt also got one hell of a punch, but his technique is weak and "easy" to read. Personal I still can believe that Hunt is the K-1 Champion?

I cant wait to see Hunt fight some of the big names in the game. Hunt got a lot to prove, and a lot to learn.

felix i like your proposed matchups. i think it would be great for all parties
to match up the young japanese guys against "up and coming" guys from
around the world. theres no point in making these guys cannon fodder against
the top fighters.

Hi Olivier,
I still do not agree with you,you must take into account Mark is still on a high,and was still in Party Mode,I only hope that he now snaps out of it
and gets that weight off,and starts thinking like a champion and trainning like a proffessional. He has the rest of the year to prove himself I am sure
he will do that and I will still say he can win it back to back.....
By the way excellent pictures,you haven!t seen the best of Mark Hunt yet...
Regards
Lucy Tui

great photos oliver keep sending them my friend OSU

great pictures oliver, i cant believe how fast you get them!
is it just me, or does mark hunt look a little heavier than he was
in december?

Hi Felix,
Sorry I was thinking of someone else....hehehe....
Regards
Lucy Tui
Ps* Great match ups you should ring K1 coperation and ask if you could be the matchmaker.......hehehe....Everyone would get their monies worth thats for sure...

mark hunt's weight

vs. lebanner in 2000= 114kg.
vs. sefo and watt 2001= 122kg
vs. lebanner, leko and filho= 124kg.
vs. nakasako= 128.5kg.

the man is out of control. after his loss to lebanner we suggested that he drop his weight to 105kg. most agreed that that would help with his stamina and consequently his output. after the 2001 k-1 grand prix a few of us suggested he drop at least back to 114kg and preferably to 110kg. his bandwagon disagreed and said the winning equation included being a lard ball. well, the lard ball did a belly flop on national tv. his best weapon was opponents thinking they couldn't hurt him. next time he fights, his opponent won't see a juggernaut but a 135kg fat boy who is already breathing heavy.

Felix, I was in Sydney in the weekend talking to one of Marks training partners and this was a short notice fight. He was in Auckland visiting his mother and getting ready for a fight in March, just running with a friends football team etc, when he was asked to go to Japan and fill in. I don't know any more than that but it looks like he took this one too easy. I think it was you that suggested that it wouldn't be a big hitter that would put him down but an accumulation of strikes (by someone like Hoost or Leko) so you weren't too far off. I don't think anyone can take a good shin to the chin, but fatigue would have played a big part too.

This will be a good wake-up for him but better he learns now than against one of the big guns. Showed some heart to get up and stop the guy too seeing he would have been exhausted. Lack of conditioning and fitness got him knocked down not his weight. I can't see him retaining his power at 105kgs but 110-115 looks to be ideal for him. As Lollo pointed out last year, mentally he has to be comfortable
with weight and his training routine. There's nothing like dieting to make a fighter stale. But nobody ever said that more weight will make him a better fighter either.

AND he does know about this board, he even knows where Oliver and Felix live! LOL

Lol!s What a post Chainsaw...cannot wait on Felix & Olivers reply..hehehe.
Regards
Lucy Tui

Just joking really, my point was that we shouldn't write him off just yet. I think that if other fighters go in there to try and knock him out, they will get knocked out themselves, I mean wasn't that what Lebanner was trying to do to Mark when he gat tagged in the GP. I certainly understand the fear-factor that Felix was talking about and it would have been nice to maintain that but now that it's apparently gone, its going to be about the respect-factor. Will the other fighters still respect him after this showing or will they wade in and try and knock him down?

Hey, maybe Nakasako is Ishiis' secret weapon unleashed! LOL

Lucy is Peter Graham still in the Oceana?

ok lucy. here is my response.

i like mark and am thrilled that he won the grand prix. i believe he has improved in areas such as creating his own chances to attack rather than waiting around. he has also started working the body. just because i admire his improvements in some areas doesn't mean i'm going to turn a blind eye to his weaknesses which are:
1] he runs out of gas.
2] he takes a while to load up. if fighters start looking for it they'll really make his life hell.

these two weaknesses stem from his ever expanding posterior.

i agree that he shouldn't torture himself to make weight. he should eat right.

short notice? last minute fill in? he was the main event and was advertised as such on the k-1 web site on jan 7th. the magazines probably published the line up the week before, say the 3rd. i can only assume mark knew about the fight before that. i find the short notice excuse a little hard to believe but the short preparation looks very possible.

would you call it heart. in a mismatch like this, i'd call it pride.

"AND he does know about this board, he even knows where Oliver and Felix live! LOL"

we can run a lot faster scared than he can angry any day.

128.5kg = 283lbs.

Yeah, I agree that the fight was planned well in advance but from talking to guys in Sydney it seemed like he was doing it as favour and a fight in March was the focus. Perhaps he'd didn't want to fight and was obligated to or whatever but personally if I won the GP in Dec I wouldn't be fighting again in Jan. Give the guy a holiday, he deserves it! Anyway, short notice isn't an excuse as he should have put this guy away on a days notice.

I can't argue this obesity vs fitness point any more so I suggest you work with
some Polynesian fighters Felix to gain some insight but physical apperance is just part of the equation. You can be fat and still be fit.

I don't buy this "lucky to win the GP" notion because if Lebanner had beaten Mark he probably would have gone on to win the whole thing, even Oliver thought so and he hates Lebanner! I think people think Hoost should have won but if Mark improved against Lebanner then theres a good chance he'd improve against Hoost too. Its all history now anyway.

If you've never been knocked down before and you're absolutely stuffed (and therefore you're in new territory) but you get up and stop your opponent THATS heart cos if you're on your knees its not a mismatch anymore is it?

Hi Felix,

Thanks for your response,how about this theory and more positive side shall we say....
Mark gets trainning I have a photo of him at 110kg which I could put it up but have not got a scanner yet?
He loses 18kg stays fit for the rest of the year and starts 4-6combinations
which would consist of legs and hands,he maintains his power & fitness increases his speed and uses his knees & legs.....That is what he needs to do.......Then he can be ready at anytime NO EXCUSES...
Then when he gets chopped up in shape the other fighters will not have anything to worry about......so until he does lose to someone I am not worried about the fight he has just had...(I am worried about his weight.)
He was only given a weeks notice he has been buying his parents a home and chilling out with his family & friends,DO NOT RIGHT HIM OFF TO EARLY IN THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! If he still looks out of shape in 6 months
then he needs to really get help......I do agree with some of what you have said.........
Regards
Lucy Tui

So Mark Hunt know about this board? Then he would have known that he was going to fight Nakasako more than a month ago! If Mark Hunt also know where I live, let him steep by for a cup of coffee, I would like to talk to the new champion. I highly respect Mr. Hunt!! But I also think that he has a lot to learn and that he has to improve his technique - especially his defense. (Nothing personal Lucy).

I will never run Felix, even do I agree with you my friend about we can run a lot faster scared, than he can angry any day.

don't get me wrong. i haven't written him off. but my expectations are not on par with his most recent accomplishments.

BTW, he's fighting om march 3rd in nagoya. make sure he knows this time.

so oliver,

you won't run. that's cool. i wasn't worried about outrunning him anyway. as long as i can outrun you, i'm safe. don't worry. i'd call 911 once i got to a phone.

Felix:

LOL.... Will someone please tell Mark Hunt and his manager to read on this message board, so he knows when he is going to fight the next time! Great humor Felix.

haha..u guys just can't wait till he loses - "i told yo so"..blah, blah, blah, LOL! ...all champs lose, Hoost, Hug etc...so i won't be surprised when it happens to Hunt...i bet u though, that he prob can run faster than u Oliver and Felix..he wasn't too bad when played for the Mangere East Hawks (rugby league team), not as good as my team tho, Otahuhu :)

btw, i don't see any hugely obvious flaws in his technique or defense Oliver, so i'm lost there...his technique is conventional and his boxing skills are fairly good..boxing defense is deceptive, rolling shoulders etc, so maybe that is why u think that?...i do agree tho that he loads up..but having said that, his right hand lead is pretty quick, as many can attest to..and when you're that powerful, it doesn't have to land flush to stun.

cheers

chainsaw :

The reason why I said that Mark Hunt was "lucky" to win the Grand Prix is this:

1) He lost to Ray Sefo at the K-1 Fukuoka, but because that Ray Sugerfoot got injured so he could not continue, Hunt took his place. Call it whatever you like, but I call it luck.

2) Yes he did beat Jerome Le Banner - big time, but to me it was a lucky punch that shacked Jerome, and then the rest is history. Jerome won the first round clearly, and was also in front on points in the second round against Hunt at the K-1 Grand Prix 2001. Jerome was planting some good knee strikes and jabs, and was attacking Mark constantly, when Hunt in defense hit Jerome with a lucky punch. "If" Jerome wasn’t hit, I am sure that he would have won the fight with a 3-0 judge decision, because Jerome was the best until he got hit.

3) Hunt was going to fight Ernesto Hoost in his 2nd fight, but Hoost got injured in his first fight against Leko, so instead of fighting the champion, Hunt was going to fight a tiered and unfocused Leko. I call that luck, because I don’t think that Hunt would stand a chance against Mr. Perfect. (Remember Van Dams Vs Ignashov?... Same story same problem.)

4) As I see the finale K-1 GP fight, Filho won the first tree rounds on points by 2-1, and should have been the K-1 champion!! There was no reason for a 4th round, because Filho scored more than Hunt in the first tree rounds. But someone in the K-1 organization does not like Filho, because he ALWAYS has to fight an extra round, because the judges will never give him the victory. There are two fighters in the K-1 there has to knock out there opponents to be 100% sure to get the victory, and that is Skelton and Filho. Otherwise the judges always cheat them.

Lucky or not, whatever?

Felix:

Dont call 911, call my mother!

1. The fight with Sefo prob should have been a draw (in my opinion)..if Hunt had gotten a beating, then yes i would call it lucky, but he didn't
2. lucky punch?..what a joke...16 unanswered shots...16 lucky punches?! HAHAHA, what ajoke
3. Hoost's injury..tournament fighting, thats the name of the game my friend
4. "But someone in the K-1 organization does not like Filho"...haha, another joke..u should be a comedian mate...he is Kyokushin, the Japanese would FAVOUR him if anything..u K-1 fanatics, of all ppl, should know that

all up, sounds pretty lucky to me...and i think you'd be better off running with Felix, cos Hunt will knock both of you out.

Oliver, you always chuck in the odd - "i respect Mr Hunt because he is K-1 champion...." but u haven't said ONE good thing about Hunt, all u do is dog him!!...whats the problem? jealousy, envy what?....don't worry man, one day there will be a Danish K-1 champ..one day...maybe...hopefully...luckily?...HAHAHA

in summary - 3 words for u...GET OVER IT!!!

there, said it...i just said what all the kiwi's and aussies on here think...now, back to my ice cream and pie :)

haha..u guys just can't wait till he loses - "i told yo so"..blah, blah, blah, LOL! ...all champs lose, Hoost, Hug etc...so i won't be surprised when it happens to Hunt...

by the time the 2002 grand prix rolls around, mark will be rolling in at 150kg. trust me, i don't get any "i told you so" thrills. this is more like being able to see into the future and no one believing the warnings. i mean, hell, the guy doesn't even know when he is fighting and gains 2-4kg for each event. yes all champs lose eventually but some of those losses are unnecessary. lennox lewis for example in africa.

oliver,

ray sefo's nickname isn't sugarfoot anymore. it's the black panther. it seems that every time he was on the way to a k-1 tournament a large black cat would cross his path. the result is a ton of bas luck and a new nickname.

as for your argument about mark's good luck. i agree with points 1 and 3. also he took crocop's spot in the fukuoka gp.

lucy,

i would love to see a picture of mark at 110kg.

Hi Vince,
Well said you forgot to add,by the way Oliver you owe all the Kiwi!s icecream for the bet you had with Lucy, in which you are having with your apple pie it should have been from YOU.......(just adding to the humor)

On A More Serious Note:
Hi Oliver,
No Matter What You Come Up With About How Mark Won The K1 Grandprix He Is Still The K1 2001 Grand Prix Champion of the World......And No One Can Take That Away From Him..He Won Fair And Square..No Ums No Butts About It......
He is our champion No One is going to tell us any different....Until he gets beaten fair and square.....
Regards
Lucy Tui

Vince:

"But someone in the K-1 organization does not like Filho"...haha, another joke..u should be a comedian mate...he is Kyokushin, the Japanese would FAVOUR him if anything..u K-1 fanatics, of all ppl, should know that ""

So you think it is a joke Vince?? I mean it, 100% Yes Filho is Kyokushin, but please don’t forget that the K-1 is Seidokaikan karate, and NOT Kyokushin. Kancho Ishii is a former Kyokushin student, but left the organization. Kyokushin and Seido is not best friends, so having a Kyokushin fighter winning a Seido tournament is the worth nightmare even happened to Kancho Ishii. Get the picture?
........


""lucky punch?..what a joke...16 unanswered shots...16 lucky punches?! HAHAHA, what ajoke""

The first shot that hit Jerome and shacked him was a defense punch. The last 15 punches was like hitting on a sandback in the gym. Yes, it was unanswered shots, which tells more about the "firearms" from Hunt and pure judgement, than it says about Jerome. Normally it should not take 15 clean punches to send a fighter down, and normally the judge should make a count or stop the fight far earlier.
.........


""all up, sounds pretty lucky to me...and i think you'd be better off running with Felix, cos Hunt will knock both of you out."

Of course Hunt will KO both of us!!!!!! He is a professional fighter, what do you think? He weights more than 35 kg. than me, he is the champion of K-1, he is a pro fighter... wake up!
..........


"" Oliver, you always chuck in the odd - "i respect Mr. Hunt because he is K-1 champion...." but u haven't said ONE good thing about Hunt, all u do is dog him!!...What’s the problem?""


I do respect Mark Hunt as a human and as a fighter - a lot!! And I do not dog him! What I am saying is, that to me he is not the best fighter in the K-1. But sometimes the best do not always win, that is all. Hunt is a great fighter, and I am sure that we will see him in some amazing fights in the future. I dont have any problems and I will never run.
............


""don't worry man, one day there will be a Danish K-1 champ..one day...maybe...hopefully...luckily?...HAHAHA""

If Hunt sometimes in the future are going to fight in Denmark, then he will win. Denmark do not have any top class K-1 fighters, so yes - Mark Hunt would be Danish K-1 champ!!!

Lucy Tui:

Mark is the K-1 CHAMPION, and I agree with you 100%, he won the title fair and square, and NO ONE is going to tell any different!!!!!!!

Mark Hunt is the K-1 2001 Grand Prix CHAMPION, and I or anybody else will or can take away the respect for him!! And why should we?

You all get me wrong!!! If there are 8 fighters in a tournament, and you have to make a list over the 8 fighters who you think have the biggest chances to win, I just thought that Hunt was in the lower end. I still cant believe that he won. To me it is a big surprise, just like it would have been if Pettas has defeated Ignashov in his first fight. But Hunt won the tournament, so I was wrong and you got happy.... What is the problem??

Mark's workrate is no different from any other K-1 champion in the past. When people look at Mark, they've suggested that he is out of shape. Please do me a favour and count how many punches knees and kicks Mark throws during a fight (during the 2001 Grand Prix) Compare it to the others. His reflexes is a lot better than most K-1 fighters. He does not load up his punches like someone suggested...He throws his right hand very short without pulling it back an inch...The only time he does, when he hurts somebody or think that he hurts somebody (eg. Le Banner) Watch carefully when knocked out Le Banner....Le Banner changed angle to Mark's left side, Mark quickly re-adjusted the angle with amazingly quick recovery, balance and timed his right cross and still surprised Le Banner, which started that follow up combo that eventually knocked out Le Banner....That was a lightning load if you ask for my opinion as a coach.

Now, some of you may think that I've overated Mark, but I would place Mark right up their with Aerts in terms of picking the right option at the right time. If you watch Mark during the later rounds against Filho, when Filho was opened up for knees, Mark threw a knee (and he didn't take that long to load up) Straight after that, he got trapped near the rope, Filho threw a hook, Mark dugged buy seeing Filho from the side of his head. When he pressures an opponent and covers up, Mark changes angle (usually to his right) to create an opening as well as being safe defensively from not in the centre line of counter attacks. Obviously some of you don't have time to study much of the K-1 fighters. e.g. Ray Sefo is very hittable when it comes to kicking him at the legs, but when it comes to head shots punches....Ray is not very easy to hit. Obviously most people are not aware of that, but let me tell you something. When Ray fought Mark, that was the most I have seen Ray got hit in the head with punches. Please give Mark more credit for his skills and techniques and stoping judging him from his built.
Please guys......watch him with an open mind. Only than you will appreciate his skills and not his coconut head...LOL!

That is why my friend you are called the Proffessor Trainer one of the best in the world..I would never be able to dissect techniques like you do...
I have learn!t so much from you about fighters to last me the rest of my lifetime..and there is still lot more to learn of you.....Goodluck my friend for K1 Oceania K1 has yet to see the best from the Oceania....
Take care
See you soon..
Best regards
Lucy Tui

Hi Oliver,
I am trying to understand your logic about Mark Hunt....
When you refer that the judges do not like Filho because he is Kyokushin
I have and understanding of that....but it was close enough for a Draw and Marks work rate in the 4th Round was higher so he won .......that is my opinion...
I hope we are not going around in circles over this Oliver but you have some valid points to offer on fighters..I love the funny side of you and your
pictures..How come you can get them so fast? Do you have a photographer friend at the shows that download them for you...

Keep up the good work
Regards
Lucy Tui

Lollo:

"Please give Mark more credit for his skills and techniques and stopping judging him from his built. Please guys......watch him with an open mind. Only than you will appreciate his skills and not his coconut head...LOL!"

Mark receive credit from everybody on this message board, including me! But I do not agree with you Lollo about his amazing technique. I have never and will never judge a person/fighter from his built. But I have a personal point of view, and that is that Hunt's style is not that exciting to whact. But that is just my taste!!

Some like Ignashov, others like Skelton. I like them all, but some of them are more fun and entertaining to whact than others, and I am so sorry... But Hunt do not have the best skills or technique in the games - if you ask me?

But again.... He is the champ and that I respect, always has and always will!! Once and for all, then leave it her - thanks!

Mark's weight,
Honestly guys, I believe Mark's present fight weight is a thing of choice rather than Hunt just being unfit.
I was lucky enough to watch Hunt's fight with Sefo at Mark's trainers house and I asked him if he thought Mark's fight performance might be better at say 105-110kg.
Hape's answer was no.
I was surprised by his answer, but then asked myself if Mark's performance is now better or worse than when he was fighting lighter.
I honestly reckon Hunt's power has increased with his weight gain, and strangely, he seems to do a lot more work now.
Check some of his earlier fights out on video and see what I mean.

great post lollo. i like it when you give me something to look for.

when i said he loads up, i didn't mean he pulls his hand back before throwing. i meant he bends his knees before launching himself. he kind of bobs and weaves his way into launching position. if adam watt played on-two get-out he might have finished the fight.

i would never say mark is not skilled. but skills will only get you so far when you completely neglect conditioning. 128.5kg[283lbs] and still eating! someone call richard simmons. seriously lollo, how big could lennox get before you thought he was making a mistake?

as for ray sefo, the man is strategically retared and special ed did nothing for him. he could have beaten lebanner, leko and filho for the $500,000. instead he decided to kiss mark and trade punches with his guard down. i've made some dumb mistakes in my life but none have ever cost me $500,000. the man should write a book.

Felix....Mark bends his knees the whole time he fights, so he doesn't need to bend it any furhter to load up for a punch. He is ready to explode the whole time. It helps him to compensate for his weight. That's why his hitting % is very high. It's not because he is faster, it's because he doesn't telegraph that much. How many faster and better built fighters at the K-1 with very low hitting rate? A lot! I agree that he would be faster and more explosive if he is a lot lighter, but I believe he has a correct style in terms of basic things and well schooled Credits to the guys who have coached him with fundamental basic techniques. Even when Ray Sefo go toe to toe with other fighters, he is still not that easy to hit. The only time he gets hit against Hoost, Aerts or against Hug is that they threw kicks to divert Ray's defencs. With Mark, it was almost a pure boxing match.

Oliver, take your glasses off and read my post again. I didn't say amazing techniques. I said amazing recovery (meaning balance). There are lots of fighters at the K-1 with amazing built (he!he!)but shocking balance and taking bad options....(meaning selecting a wrong punch or kicks when the opening is there)and it take a little longer for them to find their centre of gravity, to either defend or throw a second phase attack when they are off balanced. Even the althletes with stronger core from years of training, it doesn't give them guarantee for quicker reaction to balance themselves better. It's also comes from natural fast twitch fibres, which Polynesians and Africans athletes seem to possessed a little bit more than other althletes.

Anyway, lighten up guys, I was only trying to make a point. I'm not trying to be a smart ass like my friend Oliver....And Oliver, we'll still waiting for our Danish ice cream...LOL!

Lollo:

"I'm not trying to be a smart ass like my friend Oliver"

Excuse me Lollo!! Smart as...???

Funny way to talk!!

wow, its is fantastic to read all of your points of view and even nicer to see the passion with which you regard this awsome sport.

In my opinion weight has some effect on a persons performance but is not always reflective of a persons conditioning. The important issues are respective strength (measured strength per kg of body weight) and reactive speed (that ones obvious)this is what determines an individuals peack condition relative to this sport.Then ofcouse you have techniques, tactics and mental strength. I feel that alot of fighters are missleading in both thier physical appearence (to a degree) and there fighting "tidyness", a heavier, messy looking fighter can actually be an extremely effective champion as techniques though basically the same work and look different when performed by individuals with different body types, shapes, and mental abilities.

In the end luck dosn't enter into it you either win or you lose if you got in a 'lucky punch', where was the other persons gard?, if someone had to pull out through injury, who caused the injury?, if the fight has to go extra rounds then the fight isn't over, the fight is never over to the last bell rings and for arguments sake a KO by someone seemingly out of contention on the last bell is still a KO and therfore still a win.

Finally heart or pride are just a measure of a persons desire to win, therefore are reflective of thier mental abilities and a very important part of a fight.

Sue Glassey

Hello Oliver...I haven't been in a while. Good to see you on AX again.

Hello Lucy, thanks for the compliment. I was only sticking up to Mark cause him, myself and Saskia are all have same birthday....LOL!

?

Hello my Crazy Horse friend....Sue that was awesome post. Yeah! I agree with you 100%. When I said if Mark is lighter he would be more explosive, I menat that inside that flabby body externally (Sorry Mark if you are reading this), there must be heaps of muscles to be able to carry that weight around and cover a fair distance of short explosiveness which we have seen. There is no doubt that Mark is a little over weight (maybe a bit understatement LOL!) Crazy Horse, you are also said right on the button....A fighter must also have heart and pride to go that little extra mile when your body tells you can't. However I don't think anyone is doubting Mark's ticker. I just think that he is a lot more technically than some people give him credit for, and not just his hard head and not so muscular body.

I think a well prepared Hunt at 110-115kg's will make you eat your words.

This Son of Samoa will return triumphant.

May God help who he fights in his next K-1 tournament.

i like hunt and if eating my words was all it took to get him down to a better fighting weight, i'd eat them all.

besides mark, are there any other k-1 rising fighters that members find interesting.

Great posts from the Kiwi!s, Excellent support guys.........
Oliver it looks like the Kiwi!s are coming out left right and centre on this....
Lollo well that was thoughtful of you the 3 of you on the same day and Saskia will be 3yrs old and 2 days at Kindy she loves it..Has Loni emailed latest photo!s of the kids yet..Lollo Leka is gorgeous with his curlycurly hair... man I need to get me a scanner.....
Will bring photo!s at the K1 Oceania of them...
Take Care
Lucy.

Like Felix quoted before....A fighter has a chance to win. He also has a chance to lose.

Until the day that we'll see Mark get KOed, we'll wait and see, but whatever the pros and cons says, as Mark Hunt is winning fights from his new found confidence, that's all it matters.

mark is very lucky to have so many fans and friends loyal to the end.

i'm glad he has new confidence too. my only question is why do we have wait till he gets the crap beaten out of him to say "it's time to watch the weight"?

he had one great day in tokyo and nearly got ko'd in his last fight to a third rate fighter. this is not a success story anymore. it is highly likely that he will weigh over 130kg for his fight(s) in nagoya.

speaking of nagoya, crocop, lebanner, bernardo, abidi, sefo, krut, feitosa, musashi, nakasako, amada and nortje are listed as fighting along with mark. i don't know if mark is in a super fight or in the tournament itself. either way he's got tough day ahead of him.

side point: tony gregory won the k-1 france.

Mark loses at the block tournament to Hoost and is eliminated.
Awesome luck sees him invited to another qualifying tournament because both Crocop and Ronald McDonald or whatever his name is are unable to enter. Mark is third choice for replacement, He then loses and is eliminated from this ttournament as well by Sefo.More incredible luck as Sefo's canot go to the next round so twice eliminated/replacemnt Hunt goes through!
Yes it was largely luck, especially him even being there in December. Is this a dis on Hunt??Hell No! It's the DAMN TOURNAMENTS system!!! It sucks!Can't you guys see how this is unfair/unprofessional and not a true indication of great fighters?? You guys may be suprised Hunt won but you watch what happens now: because of the way this k1 thing is set up now, you will see people who you don't previously regard as anyhting special winning it! Dont be suprised to see Nicholas Pettas win this year! Don't laugh! A few injuries, a few pullouts, a dose of luck and he's there!

True...Mike you have a point, but he must of made some impressions when he fought such calibre like Hoost, beside, he is the Oceania champion. Winning the Oceania twice should have him in the K-1 automatically anyway. Hopefully with Mark winning the grand prix 2001 can give more credibilities to the K-1 Oceania. I have seen fighters who came out of nowhere and still end up fighting at the K-1 in Japan. Some of these guys had never involved or win during the qualifying bouts. Hey! I'm not complaining, if we get a call to get any of my fighters to fight in Japan, we would be happy to go. Anyway, maybe a monthly or 6 weekly tournament round robin of 5 x 3 could be an option? Than again, how do you qualified to be at the round robin?

Mark was not even a first or second choice to be in the second qualifier he got into, after he was eliminated from the first one (I am getting confused just thinking of it)!! Crocop and McDonalds were. And before he was asked (or even Ronald come to think of it) you would think it would have been fair to offer that black dude who knocked out Ray Sefo during the yera in a normal 5 round fight (see what it's come to? I have to specify a fight was 'normal' 5 rnds!!!) Felix would remember the dudes name. Mr Bojangles or something. Thats what Im saying here! There ain't no rhyme or reason to anything anymore! The two finallists (Hunt, Filho) BOTH didn't qualify to be there but were there because of injuries, pullouts, luck and the K1 mysteruiously granting second chances for no good reason!! (I mean Filho) Forget talk of another round robin Lollo! Can the sport I used to like ever return?? 10 and 12 rounders were the good old days. Now those days produced real classics. And if knees are used, then lets see proper 5 round fights the way they used to!! One tournament per year was OK, it was a novelty! Now it's stoopid! Normal fights are the novelty! Bottom line

Hi Mike , good to see you back posting we have!nt heard from you in awhile..I know what you are saying about the system how K1 is working,
it is beyond my comprehension,but I guess it is all about marketing the sport,I to loved the old way,where you had a Superfight 5x3min and if you win you are able to fight in the K1 Grandprix,I think the winner should automatically go through,and winners from K1 Oceania should automatically Qualify into Grandprix but have a couple of led up fights in Japan as a preparation for K1Grandprix....Winner of K1 USA should automatically be in K1 Grandprix ,winner of European K1,which should consist of all countries in Europe have one Champion representing,one from the Soviet Union Russia,1only from the Middle East country,and Asian area,and so forth.......and then throughout the year in Japan have each other fighting 5x3min rounds only in preparation for the big one December at Tokyo Dome.....
I have got a headache just thinking about how it should be ......
Is that what you would like to see happen in K1 generally......
Just a thought and a headache....hehehe.......
Regards
Lucy Tui
I know you hate the present system..but I guess it is working for K1$$$$$
wise......

Ha!ha!ha! It's simple...I don't enjoy watching full contact fight, so I dont go there or make negative comments about it in that thread!

Mike said: Can the sport I used to like ever return?? Probably not Mike. But this isn't about you only. Try and tell the 60,000+ people who witness Mark Hunt's greatest victory at the Tokyou dome. This victory (regardless the system)put New Zealand, Australia and Western Samoa on the map. Mark's followers are still loving it. There will never be a perfect system mate. I think the best solution for you Mike is stop watching, reading or following any K-1 contents altogether. It will stress you out even more. LOL! However, the money like Lucy said is great. It's good for Mark or any young fighter who is talented enough to win the big one in Japan. Mark bought his mum a new house. Wow! Without that, Mark will never be able make enough money fighting in Australia in 3 life time to buy his mum a new house.

Lucy Tui :

"Oliver it looks like the Kiwi!s are coming out left right and centre on this...."

Yes, but is just show the difference between your culture and mine. We think different and behave different, speak and write in two different ways and that seem to be a problem to a few people on this board?

is If someone said that Nicholas Pettas was a B class fighter, a bad boxer, to heavy or to slow, or saying that he is weak and slow kick or weak spirit, I would never ......... NEVER react like you do. I mean, it is almost like someone burn your flag or try to conger your country.

I have only got "mad" once on this message board, and that was a young kid said that it was good that Andy Hug died, and that he hope that there never will be another Andy. I have no problems with any people, because I really don’t give a s.... what other people might think of certain fighters in the K-1!! But when someone wish other people dead or talk about dead people with disrespect, I think that it is natural to react. But if you don’t like Sam Greco, Aerts, Jerome, Andy Hug or Filho means zero to me.

To me it seems strange and also a bit on-mature. This is a message board! But ok... if you all feel better by coming out left right and centre on this - be my guest. I am not a kiwi but a Viking, I can handle it!

Lucy Tui :

"Oliver it looks like the Kiwi!s are coming out left right and centre on this...."

Yes, but is just show the difference between your culture and mine. We think different and behave different, speak and write in two different ways and that seem to be a problem to a few people on this board?

If someone said that Nicholas Pettas was a B class fighter, a bad boxer, to heavy or to slow, or saying that he has a weak and slow kick or a weak spirit, I would never ......... NEVER react like you do. I mean, it is almost like someone burn your flag or try to conger your country.

I have only got "mad" once on this message board, and that was a young kid said that it was good that Andy Hug died, and that he hope that there never will be another Andy. I have no problems with any people, because I really don’t give a s.... what other people might think of certain fighters in the K-1!! But when someone wish other people dead or talk about dead people with disrespect, I think that it is natural to react. But if you don’t like Sam Greco, Aerts, Jerome, Andy Hug or Filho means zero to me.

To me it seems strange and also a bit on-mature. This is a message board! But ok... if you all feel better by coming out left right and centre on this - be my guest. I am not a kiwi but a Viking, I can handle it!

Oliver...the only different between you vikings and us Kiwis is that you post the same message twice....LOL!

Oliver I will buy you a icecream and send it express....there now we can
all celebrate such a beautiful day today..the sun is shining....hehehe....
and we all happy.......
Seriously Oliver,we are from different cultures and speak a different lanuage..but at the end of the day Mark Hunt is still the K1 Grandprix Champion....Lol!s lol!slol!s.....
In our culture we have a very laid back happy nature..we still happy if Mark loses,we still happy if Mark wins....
Did you know Tonga is called the Friendly Islands..hehehe..
And NZ is called the Long white cloud Happy Islands..hehehe...
If you meet Lollo in person, you will like him very much,for he likes to make us all laugh and joke,he is very funny and happy person.....
We are all the same from NZ Happy go lucky people....
I have Danish friends and they too are happy people......
So take 10 deep breaths and have fun.......
Have a nice day...
Your friend
Lucy Tui

Lollo I never said its only about me, I never insisted you stop watching it and I am making VALID points about the new K1 which I believe is going overboard. And I'm not the first or only one to make this points but I'm the first one you come out to and say "stop watching mate and don't make negative comment". I'm special! I have watched many shows and used to like them but if I don't any more then it ain't a crime! Neither is me pointing out what IN MY OPINION is a flawed and overrated system! Unlike someone who style-bashes for no reason my points come across from a guy who USED to enjoy the K1 with anticipation! Oh yes, congratulations to your little country of NZ for a great victory I'm glad for you guys but for Gods sake this ain't about New Zealand or Hunt personally!!!

Mike:

I agree with you, and I like your messages above!

...""Awesome luck sees him invited to another qualifying tournament because both Crocop and Ronald McDonald or whatever his name is are unable to enter. Mark is third choice for replacement, He then loses and is eliminated from this tournament as well by Sefo. More incredible luck as Sefo's canot go to the next round so twice eliminated/replacemnt Hunt goes through!
Yes it was largely luck, especially him even being there in December.""...

That is exactly what I have been trying to say, without throwing dirt at anyone. But when it comes from my moth, I am ask to take 10 deep breath, or is call a smart as ??

As you say Mike, this ain’t about New Zealand or Hunt personally!!! But someone takes it far to serious, and to me it seems like a few on this board is unable to judge a fighter with neutral eyes, because there are feelings and national pride involve in there opinion? Am I wrong???

Its not the critism of Mark we take so personally but the attacks on his weight. If he had the same results, sucess and losses, but had a body like Arnie, would he cop the same flak? His body type will always mean that he won't look as slick a fighter as the others but he makes the best of what God gave him. Enuff said!

Mike....ha!ha! Your right, this ain't about just New Zealand and Mark only but we're happy anyway. Hey! Your the first one who ever told me that there is no solution to anything.(Forget talk of another round robin Lollo! ) That's your opinion but I guess you are entitle to your own, and probably some people agree with you, but not everybody. Are you suggesting the the whole K-1 should be banded all together and go back to the 10 - 12 rounds or 5 rounds? UMMMMM!! I guess, I can go along with the 5 rounds. I'm not so sure about the 10 - 12 rounds though. But hey! if a promoter is willing to pay good money for 10 - 12 rounds so people like yourself enjoy, I won't hesitate on putting my fighters on. Until than, I'm learning to adapt to the changes of the time. I love to hear your thought, that's if you wish to share.

Yes...we are only a little country but achieve many great successes in many things, and proud of it. There are other countries also who achived many things, but I guess being a small nation, makes it even more special. Thanks for the compliment. Have a nice day and don't take life too seriously...It's too short you know!

Oliver, I agree with you on one thing....the system is not 100% fair on everyone. When you said McDonald and Crocop were the first choice, we seems to forget one 1 thing. Prior to that elimination, how on earth these guys came out and be at these elinimations? At least Mark won the Oceania twice. McDonald is a great fighter but where did he qualified for this tournament? OK Crocop was a finalist a couple of years back and I suppose he is a regular K-1 contracted fighter, but what about Adam Watts, supposed he beat Mark and went on to win the Grand Prix? Hey! I want to make one thing straight, this is not a personal attack on Watt, McDonald or any fighters, but yeah, there is a fault at the system.

Now.... I want you to picture this....A fighter who worked so hard to win the K-1 Oceania back to back in order to be in Japan for a big contract. He wasn't favourite during the 1st one, but amazingly most people thought it was luck and didn't pick him to win the 2nd one and never got the recognitioin he deserves. He went in there with a full knowledge that some of the other fighters took a shorter route to the K-1. He only went to Japan in there as a last minute call, only because Crocop was unable to make it, even though Mark knew he was the finalist with Hoost (same tournament which Crocop lost to McDonald). During the K-1 Oceania 2001, he knocked Briggs down twice (mandatory knock down rules which he was supposed to have won the fight when it happened. Did you see Mark complained to the ref?...NO!) The ref let it go, until Mark swept him down with a leg kick than someone reminded the ref after the 3rd time. He knocked Watt down twice with good punches in Japan, but the ref let it go until the 3rd time. Did you see him complain? No! Mark went in these fights with all these unbelievable odd stacks against him, and you dare to call him lucky and out of shape???. Hey! I know the system is not perfect, but Mark understand better than all of us. He didn't complain, he just did it. This is why I take my hat off for the guy and proud of him even more.

malo malo...well said Lollo

but he could be in better shape...i think he likes to make it more challenging for himself, LOL!

Like I said, the days of 5 round K1 fights were great (obviously you cant do 12 round knee fights!) in K1 and even though you keep arguing Lollo (just because its me) I bet you have a small longing to go back to those days too just like others like your friend Lucy have stated. THAT is all I been saying! Cut down tournamnets! Yes 60,000 people still go there but they would go there if they were playing ping pong too! Its not tournament they love, it was the FIGHTS!

Yeah vince, I agree...He could be in better shape. LOL!

vince!! some people pump themselves up with steriod to feel better about themselves when looking at the mirror....and some people eat a whole KFC family pack (with taros of course) to feel better when their stomach feel satisfied.....vince, if you only allowed two choices, which choice will you pick? Ha!ha! Silly question isn't it???

Hi Lollo, Hi Lucy nice to find this site and alot of fun to read.

A small nation with a great pride encourages ones will to succed so in our small countries especially where Rugby, Cricket and netball are favoured and we have to fight to be accepted as a sport. Therefor a victory by Mark is a victory for all of us who enjoy the sport and is cherished no matter how he came to be in the running.

The K1's involve alot of people and alot of people means alot of opinions so its not surprising that they are organised as they are, alot of the money comes from public support and this also means a new opinion. All up with out the K1's the Sport wouldn't enjoy the increased profile it enjoys today which in the long run is good for us all. The K1's may not be pure in the original sport but hey what sport stays the same through the years all sport it adapted and changed largely due to public demand as they pay to watch and thats what keeps the $$ roling in. Sad in some respects that a sport can be so affected by those who don't play but "cest la vie" True though, as I prefer the knees in a fight but I am but one voice in public opinion and unfortunately don't have the $$ to replace the entire watching public.

enjoy the day
Sue

Honestly Mike, I don't even know you. And even if I do, I don't have personal grudge. But if I read a post which I see it differently and not agree, I express my opinion. You have your opinion and I have mine. No hard feeling....

Lollo, LOL! ...i don;t know about steroids...but i do know that i prefer not to look at the mirror after having KFC, hehe...and yes, KFC + taro...but u forgot to add: some tins of pisupo (uncooked of course, because everyone just wants to eat straight away), some loaves of fresh bread (with mountains of butter-using the old excuse "butter is a luxury in the islands"..."but you've lived here in NZ for over 20 yrs Mum")...and maybe even some tins of spaghetti (uncooked again), LOL! ...covers all the basic food groups and the coleslaw counteracts all the unhealthy stuff, hehe...hmm, making me hungry now...lunchtime!

Hi Oliver,

How are you today?
How would you feel if Nickolas Pettas won the Grandprix and we stated
that he was lucky because of this and that?
Picture this your National Flag,your Country,Nicholas winning the K1 Grandprix...and you know Nicholas personally like a brother so to speak.

Next phase,read everything what you have written about Mark & K1Grandprix win,and put my name on your posts....

Now next tell me how you would feel? honestly now...and how would you react to your posts...but you must remember you are happy person and really deep down life goes on,you have to keep smiling,but still have a opinion.....
I can see you smiling now..KEEP IT HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a nice day....
Peace...
Regards
Lucy Tui

i guess we are talking about two things on this thread. 1] the tournament system and 2] mark's eating disorder.

1] the tournament system is going to grow for a few more years then, in my opinion, crack. a fighter is going to be offered a choice to enter the grand prix for a chance at $500,000 or take a 12 round fight for $400,000 guaranteed. it is just a matter of time before the us market recognizes kickboxing as an exciting sport.

the k-1 will hopefully create a standard in kickboxing that boxing doesn't have. the best fight the best. no one ducks anyone.

2] mark fought lebanner the first time at 114kg. i thought that he was a little overweight but didn't make a big deal of it. i was more concerned about him freezing up.

now mark doesn't have a weight. he gains weight for every match. go ahead, for the love of your friend and champion, tell me this is normal and harmless. tell me pacfic islanders can gain up to 50kg and still be in fighting shape. all they need is confidence in themselves.

when musashi gained 5kg. lollo was the first to say "it takes time to adapt to a new weight". well, mark has gained nearly 15kg and he has no time to adapt because he ain't finished.

remember when filho came to the k-1. he knocked everyone out until his bag of tricks was empty. if he could have beaten hoost in 97 he may very well have won the grand prix. now mark did take full advantage of the fact that he was a novelty and became tournament champion. well he is not a novelty anymore and anyone who fights him will have a game plan with mark's name on it. what is mark's response? let's see them prepare when they don't even know my weight.

Hi Sue,
Like your posts, how is marriage life treating you? are you still in trainning
and wanting fights.?..hope I am talking to the right person..hehehe....
Take care
Regards
Lucy Tui

Your right Felix...but as for Musashi! There is a huge different when a fighter started as a middleweight and find himself at heavyweight in only a period of around 24 months. Even when Musashi was a small heavyweight at the K-1 (about 85 - 89 kg), he was still having some problem with his work rate. Mark was a lot bigger before he decided to get fit and dropped down to 114 kg, (up again and down again, than up again LOL!) . But your right, we don't know what weight he will come up at next. It's a very unusual case but he seems to handle it quite well....Felix, believe it or not, I do have a fighter like that. He is a super heavyweight. And believe it or not, he is a lot heavier than Mark (about 140 kg), but he keeps up with the other lighter guys at the gym during endurance training. The only different is, he is a little shorter than Mark.

His name is Tristam "The Twister" 'Apikotoa. When he was sixteen, he was about 130 kg. He played representative rugby for the Auckland under 19 and have no problem playing the full 80 mins running game. I guess, only us Kiwis have these kind of athletes....LOL! Believe me. He is highly motivated and would fight at last minute noticed and still have a respectable workrate, even thought he builts like a sumo wrestler. He never missed a training session. I can get him to run all day or throw a 100 kicks a round and he won't quit, but no way he'll listen to me, if I tell him to stop eating LOL!....They say the 90% of athletes's success are all in the mind. At Bill Phillip's body for life book, he also said that 90% of you losing body fat and build muscle is from what you eat and only 10% from training. Well...if he believes it will make him stronger if he eats more, than so be it! LOL! I think we have the same case with Mark. LOL!

Sorry guys I have just tuned in, Mark Hunt a Kiwi? Where does he live and train?
We all know he is of Samoan background but I thought he lived and trained out of Australia.
Who does he represent at the K1? Australia or New Zealand or Samoa?
I don't know a whole heap about Marks background, how long has he been in Australia?

I'm just curious, heaven forbid we call him an Aussie.

I know heaps of Samaoans who lived in NZ for a short while before coming to Australia, does this make them Kiwis? Why do Aussies love Aussie bashing? I can understand Maori who were born in or even grow up in Australia still calling themselves KIWIS but not Samoans and tongans etc.

My father is Samoan, he came from NZ but has been here for close to 30 years,
he is an Aussie, you ask him he will tell you don't worry.

OSU

James...your right. I don't how that workout also. Mark started his kick boxing career here in New Zealand under a friend of mine call Sam Marster. He than moved to Australia about 6 - 7 yrs ago and trained with my cousin Alex Tui. He is now trained under another friend of mine call Hape Ngaronoa (Kiwi)From what I heard, whenever Mark used to fight over in Aussie, promoters always promoted him as New Zealander (and not an Aussie). When he fought in Japan, they put him down as from New Zealand. I guess they asked Mark who does he wants to represent, he chose to be a Kiwi. You see, Mark was the type of fighter who used to take fights at short noticed just to keep promoters happy and lots of promoters used him as a stepping stones to some of their up and coming fighters. Most of the time, only Mark's camp knew his abilities. He had his fair share of losing and winning, and have upset win over some top Aussie fighters. It wasn't until Tarik Solak's promoted the K-1 Oceania tournament which helped exposed Mark (or the other fighters LOL!). Without the tournament system, Mark would have never make it as other heavies with their promoters and their local support would have still be dodging him, and keep bringing overseas fighters for their boys. Anyway, I probably lose a couple of Aussie promoter friends here, but it's a fact. He reminded me of Alex Tui. He had to do the hard yard to get there.

Mark probably feels that he hasn't been given a fair go as most people look at him as just another Kiwi bludging on the Australian riches, rather than promote him as an Australian. His Aussie friends accepted Mark as an Aussie and Mark has no problem with that, but deep down, he feels he is a Kiwi. After he won the K-1 in Japan, the first thing Mark did was came back home here in Auckland and bought his mum a new house. His heart is at the right place and I do believe that you haven't seen the best of him yet.

Thanks lollo, I wasn't sure because I know in Australia it happens quite abit to the Islander boys. You know they have been in Australia most of their lives and they get promoted as Kiwis here, it might be their choice, who knows. I do know Nelson Taione (Tongan) who I used to train with at Chan Cheuk Fai's gym in Chinatown fights and is Promoted as Australian.
Even in his Taekwondo comps he represents Australia, great Kickboxer, true martial artist and a top bloke. I haven't heard from him for a while.

Anyway Cheers

OSU

JAMES

Hello James,
Welcome to the ax board,well I could tell you alot stories on Neilson Taione for he was one of my first students in kickboxing,he represented
Manly Cobra!s and was a natural talent,he has fought Mark Hunt and won on points it is ashame Neilson was not able to go all the way.......
What Lollo has mentioned it is so true,I thought Mark was a Maori when I first met him .....He is very proud to be called a Kiwi,he told me himself....
My story on Tristan my first encounter in Japan in 1998 at the K1 Grandprix
I went to support Ray Sefo and Lollo.
My first day there I met Tristan man! he was enormous and shorter than Mark and he come along with Lollo support group from NZ.Lollo!s telling me the story of Tristan and how he can fight..I am thinking yeah right! he does not look like he can throw a kick little alone last 3x2min rounds in the ring..as the day unrolls,Lollo ask if I would like to see a tape of Tristen fighting,so go to watch this fight on Tristan and man I was in total shock..
So was Steve Mike Bernado!s trainer..we could not stop talking about him
I could not believe his work rate how he could kick, there is this saying NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!!!!!he really was a example of that..Tristen has fought Peter Graham and it ended up in a Draw....
Just added those comments following on from what Lollo was talking about in the early post...........

Hope to see you posting more....
Regards
Lucy Tui

sounds like the guy should put on skates and become a hockey goaltender. the top goalie in the world makes about $8,000,000/year. all tristan has to do is block the net.

can he do the slpits?

this guy sounds hilarious.

He is..you only have to meet him,to believe it...lol!slol!slol!s...
Regards
Lucy Tui

Ok mark hunt might not be in greatest shape but what matters most is he is the champ and no matter what he looks like EVERYONE HAS TO RESPECT HIM cause he is the champ luck or not he has paid his dues and he is on the top.

Well Felix...you reacted exactly how the way the kick boxing followers here in Auckland, when they first saw Tristam.....They used to laugh at this chubby short guy who mainly fought guys about 6' 2" and above. Now they take him more seriously and he has a bit of following. They still enjoy and laugh at him but with more respect and not so much sargastic remarks. Tristam also loves to entertain the crowd. He tries all sort of techniques in the ring e.g high kicks, lows kicks, body and head combos and even jumping spinning back kicks..can you believe it? Yeah! he is hilarious, but his opponents takes him very seriously...LOL! His only problem, he sometimes like to play with his opponents a little too much, but not when I'm around though...

I've read the" what if hoost was injury free,what if lebanner hadnt gotten knocked out,what if ray sefo hadnt gotten injured...etc ?????? now im thinking hey we all have an opinion but the fact of the matter is that to the ppl who have made these comments is that hey in most k1 its about fighting whats in front of u.
the fact that there are prettier fighters who can throw flashier techniques an have six packs compared to mark hunts one ab (lol) and look an move like the kinda fighter we think a k1 champion should look like is beside the point lol.
can mark throw a fast spinning heel kick like filho??? ...no can mark throw a fast high round house like lebanner??...no can he throw fast hand combinations like sefo(an look pretty doing it lol)...no.........excuse me for asking but i didnt see all those guys who looked the part of a k1 champion actually winning it lol?? when the smoke cleared all the guys that we thought woulda an shoulda won well they werent holding the winners cheque??.
was he lucky to win the k1????? sure he was so has every other guy that has won it?? they were lucky cus maybe their opponent was hurt from a previous round or the guy they lost too busted an ear drum or their next opponent had a bad cut an couldnt continue or they had an easier round than the next guy??.
In the end with skill technique heart an yes luck mark hunt fought the best in the world at that time an that were available an he "slapped the yellow from their teeth..the taste from their mouths lol".
the argument that he was lucky only upsets me in that it is assumed that no one else who has won the title has been lucky in some way???...hello???? lol th k1 is about keeping yourself uninjured an fresh an ending ur fights as fast an efficiently as u can..hoost couldnt do it that nite?? lebanner couldnt do it that nite ?? mark hunt could so if u wanna say he was lucky than add the preface that anyone who has won an who in the future will win the k1 will do it with skill,with heart an yes my man with a lotta luck

im ken, filemu an john from the old schools brother,I was with you in melbourne when you bought rebel,supercharge an someone else i cant remember to fight darren hedgecock an ian jacobs. I think I introduced you to your first cappucino lol in fitzroy st.I just wanted to say its good to hear you are still training champions an that you are making a good living outta it lol. I hear your new boy is very good,hope to see you at the k1 in melb if I can get there as john ,filemu an i are in brissy now . I hear supercharge fought hirawa rescently??? seems strange cus leegar will always be leegar lol.I'm so proud to see the nz leegar boys doing well "chopper chapman" taking out the k1 max in melbourne was great an seeing sifu lam still doing his "knock him out" advice in the corner ring was awesome too :).I've always known u as a humble funny guy who was always willing to help others an also if anyone in here doesnt know "one of the best trainers in the world"
man things have changed alot in the last 9 yrs ive seen you. I remember that night supercharge an rebel both lost and i think it was shane dargaville??? well he won knocking out ange gousos an i thought at the time we were still alot behind australia an the rest of the world.
I think ppl like u an lucy tui hav helped nz fighters improve that now ppl see our fighters as being in the upper echelons an not as it was 10-15 yrs ago easy beats :) by the way im biased i barrack for any fighter thats from nz an australia in that order lol...hope u are enjoying those cappucinos lollo :) from the ahsan clan.

seido,

yeah. mark is the champ. i do respect him. on december 8th 2001, he had a great day. i thought he should have lost weight but he obviously didn't need to. i guess the beauty of being k-1 champ is that no one can take it away like a title.

winning has done a lot for him too, i assume. he now has the respect he deserves from promoters and fighters and most importantly himself.

do you think mark can win this year too? only two people have done that, hoost and aerts. even andy hug couldn't do it. in order to better his chances he has to make the best decisions. i don't think gaining 2-4kg each time out is a good decision. lollo thinks it's unusual but doesn't want to draw any negative conclusions until there is some evidence that the rapid weight gaining is actually affecting his performance.

i'm not a bodybuilding judge. i don't care if he carries a spare tire. what i see is a fighter who starts breathing heavy in the second round and who is getting fatter. based on these observations, i feel that i can respect what he did december 8th last year and still bet against him in big matches this year.

mark's last performance also makes things interesting. 1] he nearly got knock out. 2] he didn't prepare properly. if he were on the stock market, would you be buying or selling?

Seido:

"if he were on the stock market, would you be buying or selling?"

Great way of speaking!

OSU!

i would be buying...buying from u two, cos you'd prob give him away for free! hehe...and if i had bought stock before the k-1 final last year? auoi!, i would be a very WEALTHY man!, hehe (...and i wouldn't have been speculating).

Ha!ha!ha! Hello Ken. How are you and good to see you here. Yeah, I remember that. Just one thing I would like to mentioin: Jason's lost to Ian Jacob and Rebel loses to Darren Hatchcock wasn't because we Kiwis were well behind Australia. No! it's because Ian and Darren were great fighters, the best in the world but hasn't got their shot. Ian and Darren both went on from that fight to became world champions.

Felix...if it was a race horse, I will put money on Mark because the odds will be stack against him maybe 20-1 as all the experts won't be betting on him, after his performance against Nakasako. That way I won't have to bet a lot of money to make a huge collection LOL!

As for breathing heavy, well....during the extra round when he fought Filho, he was tired, but he wasn't breathing all that heavy. He was composed and still concentrates. He was looking and nodding his head to Hape at the corner, while Filho was shaking his head, looking down and refused to look at his corner while breathing heavily. Mark was pushing the fight and have higher workrates. Look, I agree...If Mark is fitter and lighter, he would much better for sure. I remember Oliver Sperling said before he fought at the grand prix that even if Mark is super fit and dropped down his weight, he still can't see him going past Le Banner, as he hasn't the experienced or the skills and he is too short. The fact is, he is not a Peter Aerts, he is not a Hoost, he is not a Le Banner tall, strong and muscular, he isn't a Andy Hug, flexible, flashy and entertaining, he is just Mark Hunt, take it or leave it. A shorter heavyweight who is not so muscular (maybe a bit under-statement LOL!), but with a big heart and some skills, which he used to the best of his abilities. Please, say only that he needs to be fitter or lose more weight, but don't call him lucky. A lot of people has been saying that from the beginning before the grand prix. Saying that if he comes up against this fighter or that fighter he won't cope,, well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? As Ken said, every fighters need a bit of luck. Suppose if Mark loses his next bout, is it because he is fat and unfit? Please....tell me a fighter at the K-1 short history who went through his entire K-1 career without a lost!

when mark fought sefo, i thought he burned himself out after his furious pace
of the first round. i didnt think he would have the endurance to last
multiple fights in the same night. but he certainly looked to have more in
the tank than filho in the final, especially in the extra round! maybe this
weight gain after winning the gp is temporary, i can understand that. but
if he keeps on gaining weight, i think hell have a tough time in december.

Poor Mark,
I really don't understand the 'Lucky' comments. It's just the nature of Eliminators, in which Mark has probably won more of the ones he's been in than not. Even when he didn't win the fight against Sefo on points, he was the one that was phsically fit enough to carry on. I don't know if I'd really call that luck.


I'll still put my money on him for taking out the GP this year. Hunt doesn't like taking a backward step. He was crowned king in Oceania, and wasn't about to let it go the second time around. I reckon we're going to see the same happen with the world GP.

i don't like the "lucky" comments either if they are to single mark out. we can go year by year from cikatic to hunt and see that there is evidence of good and bad luck for every fighter entered in the grand prix.

i'm not sure filho is a good example of mark's work rate. filho doesn't push anyone. i don't think sefo even took a deep breath when they fought. his style is very passive [for lack of a better word]. add to that the fact that mark was beating his ribs to hell. i think filho is a good pick for mark at any weight.

"Suppose if Mark loses his next bout, is it because he is fat and unfit? Please....tell me a fighter at the K-1 short history who went through his entire K-1 career without a lost!"

he will likely show up over 130kg. if he is taken into the third round and is breathing heavy and doesn't have the energy to fight, the answer from me would be yes. if crocop kicks his head off in the first 30 seconds, i won't be able to draw that conclusion.

as for my stock analogy, i would have bought just before the grand prix. the price would have been low with promise to grow over the next few years. now i would sell. i doubt anyone can win the grand prix at 140kg. he can only fight filho once during the night.

"i'm not sure filho is a good example of mark's work rate" Ummmmm!! compare to Filho, is a good example, as Filho is your normal lean, solid heavyweight. Anyway Felix, I was talking more about breathing heavily cause you brought it up. Did you watch the video between rounds at the corner?

I know that there's no excuse, as fighters should stay fit all year round but, he took the fight with Sefo at short noticed. He was puffing for sure, but you have to remember it was an alround war. Any single fighter at the whole K-1 would have been tired too, if go toe to toe like that with anybody. And Mark still had enough to go on and beat Watt in the next bout, even though Watt had a short fight against Bernardo.

Well, lets hope he doesn't come out at 130+ kg, next time. I doubt it very much though. I think after Nakasako fight, Mark would probably prepares himself better for next time.

that's what i like to hear.

my point about filho is that he is a counter puncher rather than a pace setter. i think mark would have no stamina problems with fighters like that. another example is musashi. he doesn't test opponents fitness either. mark could weigh 150kg and fight either of these guys all day long because they would fight at his pace.

examples of the opposite are greco, aerts, van dams, crocop. if you're not in shape they'll set a pace that will exhaust opponents. greco-bernardo '99 was a good example of this. greco pushed bernardo past his limit and won.

yeah. i know filho was sucking for air. how much of that was the work rate and how much was from body blows?

Lollo:

..."sure. I remember Oliver Sperling said before he fought at the grand prix that even if Mark is super fit and dropped down his weight, he still can't see him going past Le Banner"

You are right dear Lollo. I really didn’t believe that Mark was able to defeat Jerome. And please let me explain why.

First of all, Jerome was undefeated before the K-1 2001 Grand Prix. Jerome has not lost a single fight in more than 18 month before his fight against Mark Hunt. Jerome had been fighting 13 K-1 fight the last 18 month, and he won 10 of them by KO, and Mark has had some defeats against fighters that I would not call top 10 fighters in the game. (Peter Graham is one of them.)

So if you have to be a 110 % honest to the game and to your self Lollo, and also all you NZ/kiwi's on this board, Jerome was the biggest favorite. It has nothing to do about Mark Hunt, his weight, style, strength or anything, but simply the fact that on the paper Jerome was "the" biggest favorite!!!

Another fact is also, that Jerome has much more experience than Mark Hunt. I mean... fighting in the Tokyo Dome for the first time, against one of the biggest favorites for the title do not make you chances bigger - if you get my point?

And finally, as I see it, Mark has "only" been fighting two top fighters before the Grand Prix, and that has been against Ray Sefo and Hoost, and he has lost to both of them. Peter Graham, Adam Watt and all the local guys’ back home in NZ are all great fighters, but they are not on the same level as Jerome, Ignashov, Leko, Mike Bernado, Filho, Aerts and Van Dams. So if Hunt has lost to Ray Sefo, I can or could not see how he should defeat Jerome...??

But he did, and he did also became champion. But now you know why I did not believe in Mark, and to be honest, I think that my argument deserves just a little credit, and not dirt.

Lollo:

..."sure. I remember Oliver Sperling said before he fought at the grand prix that even if Mark is super fit and dropped down his weight, he still can't see him going past Le Banner"

You are right dear Lollo. I really didn’t believe that Mark was able to defeat Jerome. And please let me explain why.

First of all, Jerome was undefeated before the K-1 2001 Grand Prix. Jerome has not lost a single fight in more than 18 month before his fight against Mark Hunt. Jerome had been fighting 13 K-1 fight the last 18 month, and he won 10 of them by KO, and Mark has had some defeats against fighters that I would not call top 10 fighters in the game. (Peter Graham is one of them.)

So if you have to be a 110 % honest to the game and to your self Lollo, and also all you NZ/kiwi's on this board, Jerome was the biggest favorite. It has nothing to do about Mark Hunt, his weight, style, strength or anything, but simply the fact that on the paper Jerome was "the" biggest favorite!!!

Another fact is also, that Jerome has much more experience than Mark Hunt. I mean... fighting in the Tokyo Dome for the first time, against one of the biggest favorites for the title do not make you chances bigger - if you get my point?

And finally, as I see it, Mark has "only" been fighting two top fighters before the Grand Prix, and that has been against Ray Sefo and Hoost, and he has lost to both of them. Peter Graham, Adam Watt and all the local guys’ back home in NZ are all great fighters, but they are not on the same level as Jerome, Ignashov, Leko, Mike Bernado, Filho, Aerts and Van Dams. So if Hunt has lost to Ray Sefo, I can or could not see how he should defeat Jerome...??

But he did, and he did also became champion. But now you know why I did not believe in Mark, and to be honest, I think that my argument deserves just a little credit, and not dirt.

few gave mark a chance and that is why the grim reaper won the bet we had.

it doesn't matter how logical we thought we were before mark's big day. the fact is he won and if we bet against him, we were wrong. let's try not to demand credit when we are wrong. it takes all the fun out of screaming "I KNEW IT!" hehe.

now oliver. have you learned your lesson. i guess i haven't. i still expect someone to expose his weaknesses that he refuses to address.

Dear Oliver, you don't need to post the same message twice. LOL! We've been through this before. Cool down man. Talking about cool, I could do with some Danish ice cream...Hey! dear Oliver, where is our ice-cream you promised dear Lucy? ? LOL! Nevermind, keep the ice-cream! Just don't try to explain why Mark should lose to Jerome more time. It's boring! The fight was over about 2 months ago and you were wrong. Maybe next time you might be right.

Felix:

"the fact is he won and if we bet against him, we were wrong. Now oliver. have you learned your lesson. "

I have learned that I will never be a bookmaker in Las Vegas...LOL

(But what did I say about the fight between Hunt Vs Nakasako? Lollo, I am not always "wrong"...LOL)

Oliver,you are still going on about Mark,regardless he got knocked down he came back and beat The Japanese fighter,there is nothing in that knock down....Didn!t Mark come back and KO him in the 2nd...........
Please have a nice day and change the subject..........
I am dying for a icecream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hehehe.......
Regards
Lucy Tui

Hi Lucy, yeah it is me, still fighting and training still finding it hard to get a match had a couple last year in aus, 1 in Perth and 1 in Mel (the Mel 1 was boxing though) hopefully will have a fuller card this year. And I love the married life its fun, he he he.

A bit behind the times but I have trained and worked with Tristan the twister and talk about increadible speed and power I get dizzy of a slap LOL! He is one great big bulk of a man, and a fantastic athlete to boot, not to mention a comedian.Lollo is not wrong when it comes to this amazing kickboxer.

Mark must be pretty good to get everyones back up eh,he he he, point is he won no ifs buts or excuses! the man, like it or not is the champ!!! And only the future can tell the rest of the story so I say Go Mark show em what you're made of.

Have a nice day
Sue

Lucy Tui :

" Oliver,you are still going on about Mark,regardless he got knocked down he came back and beat The Japanese fighter,there is nothing in that knock down....Didn!t Mark come back and KO him in the 2nd........... "

I am not going on about Mark!!!!!!!!!!!! When I said: (But what did I say about the fight between Hunt Vs Nakasako? Lollo, I am not always "wrong"...LOL). Read my messages above, I said and predicted that Hunt will KO Nakasako in 2nd round. Read my message with neutral eyes and a calm mind Lucy, this is in a matter of fact credit to Mark Hunt!!

Please have a nice day and change the subject..........

lol!slol!slol!slol!s
Regards
Lucy Tui

Talking about Mark Hunt dear Lollo, Lucy & Vince.

RESPECT!!!


Please have a nice day and change the subject..........

u only have to write that 999 more times and your penalty will be paid in full!...hehe kidding...u have a good day too Oliver!! :)

Felix...Aerts, Greco and Crocop...I'm not taking anything away from these guys as far as pressuring their opponents, but it depend on who they are fighting. They don't pressure everybody, especially someone with big punch like Mark. The only guy who is a real go forward fighter in my opinion (which is also his strength and weakness) at K-1 is Stefan Lekos to whom Mark already beaten. Aerts, shadows his opponents more than presuring them. Same as Greco, except, when Greco counters, he doesn't just throw a single shot, he usually follow with 2nd, or 3rd phases combos, which may cause some problem for Mark but depend on the distance which Mark or Sam would use if they fight, but you know if Mark connects, than we know that Sam is beatable by KOed (when fought Filho and Aerts). Cropcop is explosive when attack but sometimes drifts forward and often have some problems when an opponent counters him back. We mainly see Mark attacks until he fought Sefo...He was drawing Sefo in, threw stutter feints and try to catches Sefo on his way in, and sometimes did. Anyway, I think Mark could be fighting Crocop in March, and if Crocop tries to presure Mark, than it will be a short fight.

The only one guy in your post to which I agree that Mark might have some real trouble with is Lloyd Van Dam. He could take a good shot and has good guards. He would be working on Mark's legs. The only trouble is, if it's a tournament fight, Van Dame would only be 35% for his next bout after beating Mark.... but anyway, I hope I'm wrong on that one cause I want Mark to win. LOL!

Vince:

It is Mark Hunt's ORGINAL autograph, so is 199 more times enough?

Go Mark, go Mark.....198 more is a long way to go!!

Go Mark, go Mark!!

Well done Oliver! lol!s
Regards
Lucy Tui

i just watched the hunt-nakasako match, and i was surprised how exciting it
was. nakasako gave a good account of himself. he landed quite a few kicks
in the first round, but they didnt seem to have much effect on mark. mark
did some nice bodywork with punching and kneeing, and he knocked down nakasako
down towards the end of the round with a knee to the midsection.
in the second round mark was lowering his head, getting ready to charge
when nakasako caught him with a nice right high kick and sent him down.
mark was battling his way back when nakasako caught him in the face with
another high kick, staggering him against the ropes. hunt looked pretty
woozy when nakasako made the "jerome lebanner " mistake of going after him
and trying to punch him out ;) nakasako landed a couple of punches, but
mark landed a big left uppercut that knocked him down and gave mark time
to regroup. nakasako couldnt recover after that and it was only a matter of time until hunt finally knocked him out.
this was the most impressive performance ive seen out of nakasako, maybe
hell show more heart in the future.
i think mark's future opponents will look to score with a lot of kicks,
high and low. but watch out for his counter punching, even if he seems to be
in trouble!