Masato, Souwer, Buakaw Victorious at K-1 MAX
Jason Nowe Apr 4, 2007
TOKYO, April 4 - The fists and feet were flying as the kickboxing
world's 154-pound pillar of pugilism, K-1 MAX, took place at the
Yokohama Arena.
K-1 MAX matchmakers are masters at taking fighters on their rosters and pairing them up in a way that produces compelling fights. With 10 main bouts scheduled as well as four undercard tilts, this was a longer than usual event by MAX standards.
The main event pitted K-1 MAX star Masato against Danish Muay Thai
stylist Ole Laursen
(Pictures).
Masato, who took the K-1 MAX World Championship back in 2003, hasn't been able to recapture the crown, coming up short against Thai phenomenon Buakaw Por Pramuk in the 2004 finals and then against Andy Souwer (Pictures) in the 2006 semifinals. A defeat over Laursen would move him that much closer to the 2007 title.
It was Masato who really pushed the pace, initiating the attacks and controlling the movement in the ring. Laursen, while being able to hang in there and take the best that Masato could dish out, seemed to be mostly reacting to the former champ and never really had him in any trouble. The fight went the full three rounds and Masato picked up the unanimous victory.
K-1 MAX 2005 champion Andy Souwer (Pictures) displayed the polished boxing prowess that has made him a force during his bout against 2006 K-1 MAX Japan Tournament Champion Yoshihiro Sato.
As per typical Souwer style, the Dutch fighter was a bit slow in the first round, but really came to life in the second, connecting with some hard right hands and overhand hooks on his much taller opponent. Souwer peppered Sato's legs by finishing up his hand combinations with low kicks and did a great job of defending against the sharp knees that Sato has become famous for.
Souwer kept the boxing clinic going all the way into the third, rattling his Japanese opponent's head backwards with well-timed right hands. At no point did Sato have the tough Dutch fighter in any real danger. The fight went the distance with Andy Souwer (Pictures) punching his way to the unanimous decision.
K-1 Max bad guy Mike Zambidis was just too fast for Japanese kickboxing legend Kozo Takeda in their high-paced bout. Zambidis has to be one of, if not the best pure boxer in all of the MAX division. The guy has a ton of power in his fists and an absolutely vicious left body shot, which he has no problems doubling or even tripling up. On top of this he puts together blistering combinations of various punches to the head and body and often finishes up with hard leg kicks.
The Greek fighter was patient on the outside, defending against Takeda's low kicks before quickly darting in close to unload. Against the ropes and in the corners, Zambidis often rocked Takeda even though he was covering up.
In the latter half of the fight, Zambidis started off many of his combinations with a nice bicycle punch that often fooled Takeda. The Greek fighter pounded away at with a big flurry in the final 10 seconds of the bout, which Takeda was lucky to survive. The fight went to the judges and Zambidis walked away with the unanimous decision.
With only two professional K-1 MAX bouts on his record, it certainly seemed like Andy Ologon was in for a tough night against 2004 and 2006 K-1 MAX Champion Buakaw Por Pramuk.
Buakaw has achieved near god-like status, similar to that of PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures). Never has a fighter come along and so thoroughly dominated opposition in the K-1 MAX as he has. Buakaw has really expanded his game since first coming aboard, modifying his clinch to conform to K-1 rules and developing his fists to be every bit as devastating as his legs.
But tonight he didn't seem that have that killer instinct that we have seen from him in the past. Rather, he more or less just toyed with Ologon for three rounds, tossing him around in the clinch and chopping away at his legs. Of course this was more than enough to defeat Ologon, but we didn't see any of the punishing knees that Buakaw become famous for, nor did we see the slick boxing he used to take the 2006 title.
The fight went the distance and Buakaw took the unanimous decision.
2002 K-1 MAX Champion Albert Krauss and 2006 K-1 MAX Japan Tournament finalist Tatsuji fought a pretty close bout. Both put together some nice combinations of short punches on the inside and connected with well-timed counters.
Towards the end of the match it seemed like Tatsuji was the busier of the two, forcing Krauss to cover-up a bit too much. The fight went the distance and Tatsuji took the majority decision, handing the Dutchman his second loss in a row.
South African boxer Virgil Kalakoda managed to edge Hiroyuki Maeda in the rematch of their September 2006 bout, scoring a unanimous victory in a very close contest.
Australian fighter Ian Schaffa put the wild kicking Keiji Ozaki down twice in the first round and once more in the second on his way to a unanimous victory.
Armenian fighter Drago scored a technical knockout over Yutaro Yamauchi when the Japanese fighter's corner threw in the towel in the third round.
Australian Daniel Dawson won via unanimous decision over New Zealand's Jordan Tai.
Tsogto "Shinobu" Amara took a unanimous victory over fellow Mongolian Jadamba Narantungalag.
Hiroya, just 15 years old, dispatched Noritaka Nishimura by KO.
K-1 MAX matchmakers are masters at taking fighters on their rosters and pairing them up in a way that produces compelling fights. With 10 main bouts scheduled as well as four undercard tilts, this was a longer than usual event by MAX standards.
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Masato, who took the K-1 MAX World Championship back in 2003, hasn't been able to recapture the crown, coming up short against Thai phenomenon Buakaw Por Pramuk in the 2004 finals and then against Andy Souwer (Pictures) in the 2006 semifinals. A defeat over Laursen would move him that much closer to the 2007 title.
Like him or not, one thing that you can't take away from the
Japanese Golden Boy is that he has some vicious hooks and uppercuts
on the inside. He used these weapons effectively throughout the
bout, often pinning Laursen up against the ropes and opening up
with blinding flurries of punches to the head and body. The Danish
fighter had little option but to cover up in an effort to minimize
the damage from the former champion.
It was Masato who really pushed the pace, initiating the attacks and controlling the movement in the ring. Laursen, while being able to hang in there and take the best that Masato could dish out, seemed to be mostly reacting to the former champ and never really had him in any trouble. The fight went the full three rounds and Masato picked up the unanimous victory.
K-1 MAX 2005 champion Andy Souwer (Pictures) displayed the polished boxing prowess that has made him a force during his bout against 2006 K-1 MAX Japan Tournament Champion Yoshihiro Sato.
As per typical Souwer style, the Dutch fighter was a bit slow in the first round, but really came to life in the second, connecting with some hard right hands and overhand hooks on his much taller opponent. Souwer peppered Sato's legs by finishing up his hand combinations with low kicks and did a great job of defending against the sharp knees that Sato has become famous for.
Souwer kept the boxing clinic going all the way into the third, rattling his Japanese opponent's head backwards with well-timed right hands. At no point did Sato have the tough Dutch fighter in any real danger. The fight went the distance with Andy Souwer (Pictures) punching his way to the unanimous decision.
K-1 Max bad guy Mike Zambidis was just too fast for Japanese kickboxing legend Kozo Takeda in their high-paced bout. Zambidis has to be one of, if not the best pure boxer in all of the MAX division. The guy has a ton of power in his fists and an absolutely vicious left body shot, which he has no problems doubling or even tripling up. On top of this he puts together blistering combinations of various punches to the head and body and often finishes up with hard leg kicks.
The Greek fighter was patient on the outside, defending against Takeda's low kicks before quickly darting in close to unload. Against the ropes and in the corners, Zambidis often rocked Takeda even though he was covering up.
In the latter half of the fight, Zambidis started off many of his combinations with a nice bicycle punch that often fooled Takeda. The Greek fighter pounded away at with a big flurry in the final 10 seconds of the bout, which Takeda was lucky to survive. The fight went to the judges and Zambidis walked away with the unanimous decision.
With only two professional K-1 MAX bouts on his record, it certainly seemed like Andy Ologon was in for a tough night against 2004 and 2006 K-1 MAX Champion Buakaw Por Pramuk.
Buakaw has achieved near god-like status, similar to that of PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures). Never has a fighter come along and so thoroughly dominated opposition in the K-1 MAX as he has. Buakaw has really expanded his game since first coming aboard, modifying his clinch to conform to K-1 rules and developing his fists to be every bit as devastating as his legs.
But tonight he didn't seem that have that killer instinct that we have seen from him in the past. Rather, he more or less just toyed with Ologon for three rounds, tossing him around in the clinch and chopping away at his legs. Of course this was more than enough to defeat Ologon, but we didn't see any of the punishing knees that Buakaw become famous for, nor did we see the slick boxing he used to take the 2006 title.
The fight went the distance and Buakaw took the unanimous decision.
2002 K-1 MAX Champion Albert Krauss and 2006 K-1 MAX Japan Tournament finalist Tatsuji fought a pretty close bout. Both put together some nice combinations of short punches on the inside and connected with well-timed counters.
Towards the end of the match it seemed like Tatsuji was the busier of the two, forcing Krauss to cover-up a bit too much. The fight went the distance and Tatsuji took the majority decision, handing the Dutchman his second loss in a row.
South African boxer Virgil Kalakoda managed to edge Hiroyuki Maeda in the rematch of their September 2006 bout, scoring a unanimous victory in a very close contest.
Australian fighter Ian Schaffa put the wild kicking Keiji Ozaki down twice in the first round and once more in the second on his way to a unanimous victory.
Armenian fighter Drago scored a technical knockout over Yutaro Yamauchi when the Japanese fighter's corner threw in the towel in the third round.
Australian Daniel Dawson won via unanimous decision over New Zealand's Jordan Tai.
Tsogto "Shinobu" Amara took a unanimous victory over fellow Mongolian Jadamba Narantungalag.
Hiroya, just 15 years old, dispatched Noritaka Nishimura by KO.
