Masato won the k1 max , beating Zabidis on the way, dubious decision apparently.

Do you have the full results?

Masato Wins

>>>Masato won the k1 max , beating Zabidis on the way, dubious decision apparently.<<<


I would say "dubious" is quite the understatement.

Pretty tpical "homer" decision by the Japanese judges...hardly a rarity in K-1, but still just as frustrating after all these years.

What, Zambidis loses a fight and all the judging is rigged.
Zambidis got into the MAX on a very dubious decision against JWP.
Give Masato some credit, he stopped his other two opponents.
I cannot comment on the Zambidis v Masato decision as I haven't seen the fight yet, but I heard that Masato threw better punches and scored with lots of knees while Zambidis threw lots of haymakers. Maybe the judges were more skilled at this level and actually scored the knees. Oh, I am not being to spiteful now am I.

And about all the results? Do you have? Or the link? Thanks...

are the full results out anywhere?

from m.a.n:

July 5th 2003
Saitama Super Arena, Jpan

1st Match : Reserve Match
Kazuya Yasuhiro Japan VS Viatcheslav Nesterov Russia
winner Yasuhiro - 3-0 (30-27,30-27,30,27)

2nd Match : Tournament - Quarter Final 1st Fight 3x3min
Masato Japan VS Mike Zambidis Greece
winner Masato 2-1 (29-28,28-29,29-28)

3rd Match : Tournament - Quarter Final 2nd Fight 3x3min
Sakeddaw Kiatputon Thailand VS Marfio Kanoletti Brazil
Winner Kiatputon 3-0 (30-29,30-28,30-29)

4th Match : Tournament - Quarter Final 3rd Fight 3x3min
Kozo Takeda Japan VS Duane Ludwig USA
Winner Ludwig KO 2de round 45 sec.

5th Match : Tournament - Quarter Final 4th Fight 3x3min
Albert Kraus Holland VS Andy Souwer Holland
Winner Kraus 1e round TKO

6th Match : Tournament - Semi Final 1st Fight 3x3min
Masato Japan VS Sakeddaw Kiatputon Thailand
Winner Masato 2de round KO 2 min 50 sec.

7th Match : Tournament - Semi Final 2nd Fight 3x3min
Duane Ludwig USA VS Albert Kraus Holland
winner Kraus 3de round KO 1 min 33 sec.

8th Match : Super Fight
Takashi Ohno Japan VS Serkan Yilmaz Turkey
Winner Yilmaz 3-0 (28-29,28-29,28-29)

9th Match : Tournament - Final 3x3min
Masato Japan VS Albert Kraus Holland
Winner MASATO by KO 2de round 2 min. en 26 sec

What was the controversy they were talking about where Kraus said he was up before being counted-out for the ko? Or something to that effect.

>>>What was the controversy they were talking about where Kraus said he was up before being counted-out for the ko? Or something to that effect.<<<

Kraus was up at 8 and the ref. waived the fight off. I guess he thought Kraus was in no condition to continue.

Good job Duane! Any win in the Grand Prix is a huge success for the USA. Next years he'll bring home the gold!

Congrats to Masato as well.

I think MASATO is a good fighter, but it appears to me he might have been under a lil "protection" by K-1. I would have to see the fights though.

You guys make me sick , it is normal that Masato was a little protected he was fighting in Japan / in case you did not notice, It is normal everywhere, or is a country where you come from an exeption. In a close fight in your country judges give it to the forigner right? I thought Zam is gonna take it , but if there was no KO from his side he should take it to a cosmic gear and pile up humangous points. All the fighters know that when they travel abroad , you have to be 2 classes better than the home guy or you have to knock him out. Correct me if I am wrong. Allthrough I like Mike you guys gloryfing him a bit too much / he is also just human. Plus Masato knocked other two oponents out , before the tournament Masato in my book did not have a chance, now he suprised me. Congratulation Masato

Well done Masato he's one of my favorite fighters (i even have his name on my shorts) im sure he deserves it after knocking out 2 opf his 3 oppo. i seen the last 2 k1-max finals and i think he's been unlucky so its about time the gods favoured him!

GO MASATO....with a bit of luck maybe we will see him fight our very own Pete Crooke soon!!!

anymore pictures???

Check out sherdog.com forum for the full list of pics

I'm dissapointed that Zambidis didn't get through. The guys at sherdog that have seen it reckon that he should have got the nod. But, that's life. Sometimes you're lucky in close decisions and this time he wasn't. Credit to Masato, he's a much tougher guy than I would have given him credit for prior to this tournement.

I was at the K-1 max sitting ringside yesterday and also watched the replay on TV when we got home. Zambidis got a 8 count in the first after being kneed by Masato. Second and third Zambidis was loading up his shots landing punches but Masato out worked him landing everything. Was a close fight but Masato won fair and square. His next two fights after that were text book, knocking both his opponents out. He was the best fighter on the night and deserved the win.
I should see if he will give me a tip for writting this for him now his rich.
JWP

What was the prize money?

jwp,

i'm glad you're a fighter and not a judge.

both fighters landed nearly everything but zam threw twice as much.

round 1
10-8 for masato if you think the knockdown was legit. 10-9 if you think it was a slip or a flash knockdown.

round 2
10-9 zam

round 3
10-9 zam

that comes to 28-28, a draw requiring an extra round or 29-28 for zam as one judge called it. what the two judges did was call the first 10-8 then not score one of the remaining 2 rounds making it impossible for zam to win without a knockdown or KO.

No way was there any controversy; Masato was on fire and beat Zambedis fair and square, giving him a knockdown on the way. Kraus was also shit-hot but Masato was too much for him on the day. When Kraus hauled himself to his feet the count had reached 8 but his legs were like jelly and he was wobbling sufficiently for ref to call it off. I'm sure Kraus felt he wanted to continue but that's because he's a brave fighter and not because he was fit to go on.

Masato, congrats what a legend! JWP you should of asked to fight him for a super fight on the next card!!!

Felix,

Slapping with the inside of your glove and on the arms does not score hence many of Zam's punches were not scored, also workrate on legs was lacking compared to Masato.


BTW can anyone explain how Zam won his spot in the Oceania eliminator and you would think he should therefore should fight as the Oceania representative yet is announced as the Greek representative? LOL. And before anyone starts no he does not have Australian citizenship, does not reside in Australia and to my knowldge has nothiong to do with any Oceania country apart from appearing on shows.

he was rocking masato with his punches. he intiated more attacks and hit cleanly on most. when masato attacked he hit cleanly too but often caught a counterattack.

zam looked a little fragile in the clinch i'll admit but stayed out of it more often than not.

oh. and what was wrong with the thai guy? he was one of the weaker fighters on the card.

Piranha,

I notice that K-1 Oceania is just called K-1 Melbourne this year.
Maybe they want to move away from the regional only entrant thing.

K-1 Melbourne come on cant someone eles put this show on & call it by its real name
paul do you know when K-1 Melbourne going to be on this year ?

Samkor (among several other Thais) would have done a lot better than Sakhet Dao.

you will probably find that the Thai wasnt a proper 72kg fighter - more like a blown up 62kgs fighter (if that)

The thai fighter defeated Chopper here in NZ earlier this year . He looked very good that night and it was a good fight . I have not seen the max gp yet ,but he did give choppa a good fight ,and won .

fightfan,

His fight against Chopper was on 25-7-02, under full thai rules. He did look good then, but I could definitely see how his style wouldn't suit K1 rules.

Cheers
Ben

I was lucky enough to watch the fight two more times on video waiting at Caesars gym for our plane. The more you watch it the more you will see Masato won the fight. Watching it live I thought it was close but now after watching it more closely Masato landed far more shots round two and three. He worked his hand combo's beautiful throwing fours and fives to Zambidis one. He was also landing strong leg kicks and knees at will. Zambidis had the hard punch but Masato would come straight back. Was one of the best fights on the night.

I was lucky enough to meet Ishi in between the semi main and the main. He asked me if I could beat Kraus, I told him I thought I could so then had a big smile on his face and gave me a big hug. Ray was going to have a meeting with him yesterday and I find out this week when Ray gets back when I could be fighting for Ishi, just have to keep my fingers crossed.
JWP

You'll be in Wayne, They can't deny you, cause you're one who can win the whole thing.Best of luck !

Good luck JWP, would be stoked to see you get a shot

I think JWP would beat Kraus,probably on points.
I also think JWP would beat Masato under full Thai rules but at a K-1 event under K-1 rules in Japan maybe abit different if he didn't win every round convincingly,if it were to come down to a split decision,I'd lean towards Masato only because the way they favour their own.And Masato is a dona fide superstar in Japan and the Japanese love to have a home grown star(as do most countries)
I hope JWP gets his crack to show he can be the K-1 Max king as he has in Muay Thai,boxing and more resently Shootboxing.

Where to next the king of the Cage event??Lol.

The success of a Japanese fighter in the Max is a great thing, unlike the heavies the Japanese have one of there own in the Max, not as a contender but the current champion, hopefully more and more people take to it and the Max grows unlike the Heavy weight circus.

PS JWP get in there and kick some ass

Kieran- The Thai fighter, Sakkadao, is the current Ratchadamnern Jnr. Middleweight champ so was the perfect choice, on paper, to be in this tournament. It is a 70kg not 72kg limit and he weighed in at an even, lean 69kg.

Ive been reading everywhere that Zam was ripped off, and it was actually a push and not a knee that he went down from, but what do u expect off a Jap ref (he probably couldnt see past his nose).
Can someone answer me this, if it was such a problem that Zam fought in the K1 Oceania why didnt anyone say it b4 the comp and not after he won it?
And for all that are saying that Masato deserved his crown because he KO'ed his next 2 opponents. He wouldnt of got the chance to deserve it if the judges had got it right, and thats all that counts in my books.
Lastly i think the ones who got ripped off more than Zam were each and every person in the crowd who missed out on seeing the best and most exciting middleweight in the world win the tournament.

zam, is that you? i had no idea you even spoke english. hehe.

Ironmike- The knockdown went something like this..

Masato kneed Zambedis in the body. He got sent backwards, to the corner, and nearly doubled-up from the blow. There was now a few meters between the 2 fighters and Masato capitalised by running forward and performing a flying knee into Zambedis, who bent right over from this then fell down from Masato turning him with his hands. The ref did not call it a knockdown straight away and waved for Zambedis to get to his feet. When he did not get up the ref started a count.

I thought this was actually a good piece of reffing. If the ref had called it a knockdown straight away it would have been unjustified but a good ref is not going to let a hurt fighter get free recovery time on the canvas.

Satankid - exellent description of the situation.
I agree 100% - a good ref is not going to let a hurt fighter get free recovery time on the canvas.

Ironmike - good to see your usual non biased view of things obviously having reviewed the tape after watching it live (not) you are indeed the expert!

Was the Thai fighter the guy who beat Choppa at Ocean City for some World Title? If I remember rightly the decision was pretty controversial,still you can't turn back the clock.

Ironmike I think the only one who was ripped off was you - because Zam lost you didn't get the opportunity to blow the K1 Max champion. You must be devastated

Richie,

I dont think that's the same Thai fighter. Are you talking about the time when Chopper got on the microphone and calmed the crowd down himself after the crowd reacted to the decision? That was a month or so after the Sakeddaw fight I think.

Cheers
Ben

It is time for John Well,

JWP is destined to beat Masato..................

but..........Masato is 'THE ONE '

He is the future.




sorry guys, just saw Matrix Reloaded.

John Wayne Parr will fight in december in the Superleague / 6 dec / in Holland....I am so happy to see the guy live... Also Peter Crooke,Shakuta,Paolo Balicha, Joeri Mes, Chico Swerts, Nitta etc... will be at that event. This is really great.

super league has their shit together. JWP has said for years he wants to fight masato. Ishii, let it be !!

super league has their shit together. JWP has said for years he wants to fight masato. Ishii, let it be !!


On second thought , I highly doubt Ishii will let that happen too soon anyway. Kraus, yes. Masato, maybe he will take a chance in next years k-1 max.

Does John have an opponent yet in the Superleague?

Is Superleague Muay Thai or modified Thai?

Scottya,

K-1 Melbourne happening in just over two weeks, July 27th.

yes good question nong-o, is superleague full thai or modified? does anyone know?

superleague is modified rules: everything allowed except ellbows to the head and throwing your opponent

Hey,
Careful there Wayne,I've been around the japanese a bundle.
What Ishi said is great but he's gonna do the same thing to Kraus
and give him a big hug.I've seen these things happen many a time.
He's a fight promoter--but no matter what happens good luck-they
can never deny a winner.

Go Masato, he rocks!

Did he ever fight Clayton Collier from Australia? I just saw a highlight clip of Masato KOing ppl and it looks alot like him.

Anyone know?

By the way Pete Crooke, I saw your fight against Kohi also on this tape. MATE, that was a wicked KO. Had to watch it a few times. Priceless!

Nice one :)

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for that. I know what you mean with the K1 people, I was meant to be in the tournament but at the last minute (there were to many European fighters in it?)so i'll have to wait another year,then hopefully myself and JWP will get our chance.