This venue holds some dear memories for me as it was at the Marine Messe that I commentated my first ever K-1 show back in 2001 on that memorable night when Ray Sefo fought Mark Hunt in a fight still voted by fans today as the best K-1 GP fight of all time.
This weekend's card is stacked by way of TWO title fights being on the line, making for some very hard predictions.
World Super Heavyweight Title
Jerome LeBanner vs Semmy Schilt
Jerome LeBanner vs Semmy Schilt
It's almost impossible to tip against Semmy Schilt. Arguably the most dominant fighter in K-1 history, the 6'11" monster continues to lay waste to all in front of him with apparent ease and shatter K-1 records.
A win for Semmy this weekend will see the champion break the longest winning streak record in K-1 history, set by Peter Aerts between 1993 and 1996 when Aerts went on an amazing 13 fight winning streak. Semmy is currently on the same winning streak, having come off a crushing KO of former K-1 champion Mark Hunt last time out in Yokohama when he caught Hunt with a spinning back kick to the liver.
I caught up with Semmy's manager, Bas Boon, of Golden Glory Gym two weeks ago at DREAM. Bas said to me "Look out for a new and improved Semmy in Fukuoka. He has lost weight and he has a whole new bag of tricks."
A new and improved Semmy? How do you improve on someone who is near perfect? And why would you try to fix something that isn't broken? To think that Semmy could be "new" and "improved" is just a scary, scary thought.
Schilt is the most dominant fighter on the planet right now bar none. Yes, that's right. You can keep your Floyd Mayweather Juniors and your Anderson Silvas and your George St Pierres, for mine you can't go past Semmy as ring sports' most dominant figure. Time and time again he has obliterated top opposition, including Peter Aerts, LeBanner, Feitosa, Sefo, Hunt... and the list goes on.
What makes Semmy so effective is more than just his monstrous height. Fans who quickly dismiss Semmy as a mere "freak" and only effective because of his size are ignorant. Yes Semmy's size is a MAJOR factor but there are bigger or just as big men in K-1 who have had nowhere near the impact Semmy has had. The difference is that Semmy KNOWS how to use his size. Being that big is useless if you don't know how to FIGHT TALL -- and Sem knows how to fight tall. He knows how to sit behind a beautiful jab, how to use his long front kick and how to work his knees.
Even more impressive, perhaps, is Semmy's cardio. He works like a middleweight, seemingly never tiring, always throwing techniques and never letting up. And just when you think he's all about the jab / front kick / knee, he pulls out spinning back kicks as we saw against Hunt and against Feitosa in the GP 08. His workrate is sublime.
Word is that LeBanner has been training like a demon for this world title fight, but will that be enough? Yes LeBanner put up a great effort in the GP semi final before blowing out his knee and you've got to think that a fresh Jerome with nine minutes of animal in him can cause some damage to Semmy if he can get on the inside. Ray Sefo was the one who found the chink in Semmy's armour last year: work your angles, get on the inside and go for the jaw. It's easier said than done but that's how you have to fight Semmy. The Dutchman only fights in straight lines and doesn't like being on the back foot. Jerome has to step off, quarter turn, come in from angles and not head-on and work the body then head of Semmy.
On paper this is a great match and once again I believe a fresh Jerome can hurt Semmy, but I don't think Jerome will have enough to go three rounds and get the nod against Semmy's constant workrate. I see Semmy's jab frustrating Jerome; I see Semmy using his straight right to effectively tag the southpaw Frenchman; I see Jerome being at his wit's end once Semmy winds up the front kick.
Ring Sport's most dominant champion will prove once again why he is, quite simply, the best in the world.
SEMMY SCHILT VIA UPD.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
BADR HARI vs GLAUBE FEITOSA
On paper this fight has all the makings of a true classic. Speed, power, aggression and technique, these two awesome athletes have it all.
I'm really torn on this one as I am a huge fan of both fighters. Let's look at Hari first.
You either love Hari or you hate him. Personally I love him. Sure he's a smack talker and sure he's got attitude, but I find his ego refreshing and I love to listen to the guy talk shit because more often than not he backs it up in the ring in devastating fashion.
I've followed Hari's K-1 career since the start. In fact I have been lucky enough to have commentated EVERY SINGLE Badr Hari fight in K-1 live, starting from the time in 2005 when he put one of the single greatest knockouts ever on Stefan Leko at the Tokyo Dome.
I have always said that Hari is one of the most naturally gifted fighters I have ever seen -- and trust me, I've seen them all. There is seemingly nothing this tall beanpole can't do and he does it all with amazing power. His hands are fast and powerful, his kicks are something else and he is deceptively tall. Just ask Ray Sefo who told me after his loss to Hari in Yokohama in April that he was surprised at just how tall Hari is when squared off against him in the ring.
Other than his sublime technique, Hari is an incredibly hungry fighter. He's tenacious and he likes to hurt opponents. He doesn't just want to beat you, he wants to tear your soul from your body.
However coming into this fight I don't know what to expect of Hari. You've all heard the stories about Hari's allegedly spending time in jail in Holland and his legal problems. I won't comment on those but I will ask the question as to how these personal issues have affected Hari's training and may affect his concentration both in camp and in the ring?
On the other side of the coin you have Feitosa. You talk about aesthetically beautiful fighters to watch and you talk about the master of the Brazilian Kick, Glaube Feitosa. Over the past three years Feitosa has become a favourite of just about every K-1 fan who appreciates the aesthetic beauty of his technique combined with vicious knockout power. That power used to be solely focused in his legs, but of late, thanks to the tireless training of Faii Falamoe and Jayson Vemoa at Team Ichigeki, Feitosa's boxing skills are now up there with some of the best in K-1 and his defence is rock solid.
However, I know that Feitosa HASN'T been training at Team Ichigeki in Tokyo for this one but instead has been training with Francisco Filho in Brazil. To me that spells danger. Taking nothing away from Chico, but I don't see how he can prep Glaube as effectively as Team Ichigeki, where Feitosa would be sparring the likes of Alexandre Pitchkounov, Takumi Sato and Ray Sefo every day.
If Feitosa was training in Tokyo, I'd have him winning this contest by decision. But he's not so I am torn with my prediction.
I see Hari -- possibly with limited training due to his personal issues -- starting out like a house on fire from the opening bell and blazing with EVERYTHING he has in the first round. If Feitosa can weather than storm, I see Hari running out of steam in the latter part of the fight and Feitosa bringing it home by oustcoring the volatile Hari.
So many variables. Such a great match up!
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