Schilt Dethrowns Bonjasky at K-1 World Grand Prix
Quarterfinals
Jason Nowe Nov 19, 2005
Tough New Zealand fighter Ray “Sugarfoot” Sefo was doing good in
the first half of his fight with the eventual champion Schilt,
getting inside the giant Dutchman’s offense to deliver big hooks to
the head and body. Sefo rocked Schilt several times with this
strategy. However, the wheels fell off for him in the second half
of the fight as Schilt’s knees took their toll.
In the third “Sugarfoot” looked totally gassed, often leaning in the corner waiting for his opponent. Sefo continued to taunt the Dutchman right until the end, but it was Schilt who walked away with the justified decision, 30-26 all around.
K-1 veterans Peter Aerts
(Pictures) and Jerome LeBanner (Pictures) put on a technical clinic that
kickboxing purists would have appreciated during the first two
rounds of their quarterfinal match-up. Both guys were moving
around, avoiding punches and picking their shots. However, as the
fight wore on and the fighters began to tire, the technical battle
of chess began to deteriorate into a war of attrition.
LeBanner worked his punches a lot, connecting some good shots, while “The Lumberjack” answered by chopping away with low kicks at his opponent’s legs. Aerts seemed to be getting the upper hand in the third, staggering LeBanner and even knocking out his mouthpiece with a punch. But at the end the fighters were judged even and another round was called for.
While it was Aerts who won the battle on this one, it was perhaps LeBanner who won the war. Just as the semifinals were to start, it was announced that the Dutchman could not continue due to suspected broken ribs in his right side. In his post-fight interview, Aerts said that he got kicked in the liver sometime in the second. He mentioned that it hurt at the time and that it got worse and worse after the fight. The Dutchman was in obvious pain and had trouble leaving the interview space.
Russian fighter Ruslan Karaev was the victim of a robbery in his quarterfinal match-up with Musashi. This was an extremely entertaining match-up, the fight of the night for my money. Karaev was like lightning throughout the match-up, pushing the fight by throwing a wide variety of punches and kicks. His uppercuts were very effective and he started combinations with both hands.
Karaev closed out the third with a big flurry, landing several good shots. I thought for sure that the Russian fighter had this one in the bag, but the K-1 judges insisted on one more round.
This hometown judging reminded me of when Masato faced off against Buakaw Por Pramuk in the K-1 Max finals last year. He clearly had that fight won after three rounds, manhandling the popular Japanese fighter, only to be told by the K-1 judges that the fight was even and an extra round was needed.
This time Karaev had the fight won, but once again the K-1 judges displayed their bias. It seems to me that if you’re a foreign fighter going against a Japanese fighter, your only option is to knock your opponent out if you want to win. God help you if it goes to the judges. This scenario is starting to repeat like an old record and K-1 really needs to take a look at its judging system.
The fourth round saw Karaev continue to pour it on against Musashi by scoring great combos. The closing moments was a huge slugfest between the two fighters, with Karaev attempting a beauty of a spinning back kick that almost took Musashi’s head off. The fight went to decision and Musashi was announced the winner, 30-29 all around.
Several in the crowd booed when the decision was announced. Despite what the K-1 judges say, it was Karaev who really won that fight.
Prior to his quarterfinal bout against Korean giant Choi Hong-Man, Remy Bonjasky stated in his pre-fight video package that he wanted to stop K-1 from turning into a circus and personally get rid of those who don’t belong. No doubt Hong-Man was one of the ones he was referring to.
Bonjasky looked tiny compared to his goliath of an opponent. Hong-Man defended against the champion’s low kicks well, but eventually they got through and staggered the Korean.
Hong-Man attempted to counter after the champion’s attacks and often managed to push him around the ring, but Bonjasky covered up well to avoid any damage.
The fight went to the judges and Bonjasky took the decision 30-29, 30-28 twice.
Feitosa faces off against Goodridge in the tournament’s reserve bout. Goodridge looked to keep this one in close so as to pound against his opponent, but Feitosa was largely able to keep him at bay with his kicks. The Brazilian took the unanimous decision.
A strong candidate for knockout of the century award is Badr Hari after the absolutely vicious knockout that he put on returning K-1 fighter Stefan Leko (Pictures). The last time these two fought each other in Amsterdam, it was Leko who dispatched his opponent with a spinning back kick to the body.
This match was fairly high paced and entertaining throughout. I was really impressed by the speed of Hari’s low kicks. Even going into the second round, the fight turned when out of nowhere Hari threw a lightning fast spinning back kick that caught Leko right on the jaw as he was backing away from his opponent.
On the replay you could see Leko drop his hands as he was backing out, perhaps thinking that the kick would come low. Once the kick connected Leko was out on the canvas for several minutes. After being revived, his eyes were glassy and the German fighter needed to be helped out of the ring. This was truly an awesome kick that needs to be witnessed.
In the third “Sugarfoot” looked totally gassed, often leaning in the corner waiting for his opponent. Sefo continued to taunt the Dutchman right until the end, but it was Schilt who walked away with the justified decision, 30-26 all around.
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LeBanner worked his punches a lot, connecting some good shots, while “The Lumberjack” answered by chopping away with low kicks at his opponent’s legs. Aerts seemed to be getting the upper hand in the third, staggering LeBanner and even knocking out his mouthpiece with a punch. But at the end the fighters were judged even and another round was called for.
The fourth round saw more of LeBanner punching and Aerts kicking.
“The Lumberjack” got several clinches and fired knees on his
opponent. The round looked pretty even to this reporter and I
thought that another would be needed, but the K-1 judges saw
something I didn’t and awarded the decision to Aerts.
While it was Aerts who won the battle on this one, it was perhaps LeBanner who won the war. Just as the semifinals were to start, it was announced that the Dutchman could not continue due to suspected broken ribs in his right side. In his post-fight interview, Aerts said that he got kicked in the liver sometime in the second. He mentioned that it hurt at the time and that it got worse and worse after the fight. The Dutchman was in obvious pain and had trouble leaving the interview space.
Russian fighter Ruslan Karaev was the victim of a robbery in his quarterfinal match-up with Musashi. This was an extremely entertaining match-up, the fight of the night for my money. Karaev was like lightning throughout the match-up, pushing the fight by throwing a wide variety of punches and kicks. His uppercuts were very effective and he started combinations with both hands.
Karaev closed out the third with a big flurry, landing several good shots. I thought for sure that the Russian fighter had this one in the bag, but the K-1 judges insisted on one more round.
This hometown judging reminded me of when Masato faced off against Buakaw Por Pramuk in the K-1 Max finals last year. He clearly had that fight won after three rounds, manhandling the popular Japanese fighter, only to be told by the K-1 judges that the fight was even and an extra round was needed.
This time Karaev had the fight won, but once again the K-1 judges displayed their bias. It seems to me that if you’re a foreign fighter going against a Japanese fighter, your only option is to knock your opponent out if you want to win. God help you if it goes to the judges. This scenario is starting to repeat like an old record and K-1 really needs to take a look at its judging system.
The fourth round saw Karaev continue to pour it on against Musashi by scoring great combos. The closing moments was a huge slugfest between the two fighters, with Karaev attempting a beauty of a spinning back kick that almost took Musashi’s head off. The fight went to decision and Musashi was announced the winner, 30-29 all around.
Several in the crowd booed when the decision was announced. Despite what the K-1 judges say, it was Karaev who really won that fight.
Prior to his quarterfinal bout against Korean giant Choi Hong-Man, Remy Bonjasky stated in his pre-fight video package that he wanted to stop K-1 from turning into a circus and personally get rid of those who don’t belong. No doubt Hong-Man was one of the ones he was referring to.
Bonjasky looked tiny compared to his goliath of an opponent. Hong-Man defended against the champion’s low kicks well, but eventually they got through and staggered the Korean.
Hong-Man attempted to counter after the champion’s attacks and often managed to push him around the ring, but Bonjasky covered up well to avoid any damage.
The fight went to the judges and Bonjasky took the decision 30-29, 30-28 twice.
Feitosa faces off against Goodridge in the tournament’s reserve bout. Goodridge looked to keep this one in close so as to pound against his opponent, but Feitosa was largely able to keep him at bay with his kicks. The Brazilian took the unanimous decision.
A strong candidate for knockout of the century award is Badr Hari after the absolutely vicious knockout that he put on returning K-1 fighter Stefan Leko (Pictures). The last time these two fought each other in Amsterdam, it was Leko who dispatched his opponent with a spinning back kick to the body.
This match was fairly high paced and entertaining throughout. I was really impressed by the speed of Hari’s low kicks. Even going into the second round, the fight turned when out of nowhere Hari threw a lightning fast spinning back kick that caught Leko right on the jaw as he was backing away from his opponent.
On the replay you could see Leko drop his hands as he was backing out, perhaps thinking that the kick would come low. Once the kick connected Leko was out on the canvas for several minutes. After being revived, his eyes were glassy and the German fighter needed to be helped out of the ring. This was truly an awesome kick that needs to be witnessed.
