K1 Oceania- (Australia) February 24th, 2001

Eight Australasian heavyweights met in centre ring on February 24th 2001 to determine who would be crowned the K-1 Oceania champion and go on to secure a place in the ongoing K-1 World Grand Prix Eliminations. It was a night that promised excitement and delivered in spades. It also promised to answer a lot of questions and settle a lot of debate, and once again it delivered. The eight combatants competing for the honours were Mark Hunt, Peter Graham, Phil Fagan Andrew Peck, Nathan Briggs, Paul Robinson, Ron Sefo and Muhammad Azoui.


Peter Graham met Phil Fagan in the evening’s first quarter final bout. Graham came into the event as a fighter tipped by many to go all the way. He was still riding a wave of confidence after becoming the first Australian fighter to go 10 rounds with Stan "The Man" Longinidis, a feat he accomplished last November. Determined to use the experience to his advantage, Graham entered the tournament looking calm and relaxed, almost happy. Fagan came in following solid wins over Chris Chrisopoulides and Paul Robinson but wore the tag of underdog despite reaching the finals of the event last year. Indeed Graham proved too much for Fagan, showing an aggressive nature that many felt he lacked. From the opening bell he tore into Fagan and unleashed hard low kicks and body kicks and effective use of the knees while in close. Fagan, visibly hurting from Grahams leg attacks, simply couldn’t find any rhythm as Graham continued the assault in the second round. A second before the bell signified the end of the round, Graham nailed a worn out Fagan with a spinning back fist which wobbled "The Dark Destroyer". Fagan’s corner pulled the plug on the fight during the break, giving Graham a 2nd round TKO victory.


Ron Sefo, brother of K-1 fighter Ray Sefo, shaped up next to take on wildcard Muhammad "Ali" Azoui. Sefo, a semi finalist last year and K-1 New Zealand finalist, was looking to go one better this time around as he took on the unknown Algerian who reportedly once defeated amateur boxing legend Felix Savon in Cuba. Ali, making his kickboxing debut, started well enough, attacking with a jab-right hand combo and body kick but appeared uncomfortable as Ron applied pressure midway through the round. A flurry punctuated by a knee dropped the Algerian who was chased across the ring by a punch combination when he returned to his feet. The second round saw another quick flurry drop the Algerian. Referee Bryce Birtwhistle counted to six before waving the contest off. Ali, who also sported a cut under the eye, appeared able to continue although it is debatable how much longer he would have lasted. An impressive start to Sefo, who appeared much more inspired and motivated than his disappointing performance last year.


Defending Oceania champion Mark Hunt, coming off a loss to Jerome LeBanner last July, entered the ring with an ominously cool demeanour to take on K-1 Queensland champ Nathan Briggs. Briggs had previously defeated Hunt on a decision in their last meeting a couple of years ago and boasted that a repeat of that feat would be no problem. Indeed since suffering a first round KO loss to Stan Longinidis and subsequently taking some time off from the sport some years ago, Briggs appeared to return with intent to stamp his authority in the country. Hunt, once again overlooked as he had been last year, wasted no time in jumping on Briggs at the opening bell and flooring him with a flurry of power punches. Briggs, shaken up, returned to his feet, only to be decked twice more with Hunts relentless attack. The fight was stopped in 48 seconds, raising questions as to the durability and mental toughness of Briggs. Indeed it’s back to the drawing board for Briggs, who may now pursue a boxing career.


Briggs’ quick exit may have disappointed some, but the bigger disappointment was the performance of heavily hyped New Zealander Andrew Peck. Peck came into the event with what appear in hindsight to have been inflated expectations. After a great showing in the K-1 New Zealand, Peck was labelled as one to watch. His opponent Paul Robinson came into the event on 24 hours notice as a late replacement for an injured Auckland Aumitagi. Robinson was definitely perceived as the weakest of the line up with a lack of height and weight against him and is perhaps best known for being stopped by Gurkan Ozkan in one round a year ago. Couple this with the fact he came in without sufficient preparation and it would seem a perfect showcase for Peck had been provided. Robinson, however, was fighting for a greater cause with the passing of his trainer the great Dana Goodson providing the inspiration for a brave effort from Robinson. With the crown urging him on, Robinson found success throughout the bout with a simple attack consisting of coming straight forward, throwing a few punches and falling into a clinch. The one dimensional attack gave Peck fits as he appeared on the receiving end numerous times during the bout. Pecks work rate was slightly higher although his reputed strong attacks were non existent. After three rounds, Peck was awarded the win by scores of 29-29, 29-28, 29-28, although it was clear who had won over the hearts of the crowd.


The evening’s first semi final pitted Graham against Sefo. The first round saw Graham picking his shots and outscoring Sefo with crisp low kicks. In the second stanza, Sefo appeared to hurt Graham with a short hook and followed up with a barrage of shots in an attempt to take "The Chief" out. Graham, however, showed his intestinal fortitude by attacking with his own barrage after Sefo punched himself out. The third saw Graham stick to his guns and pick his shots against a worn out Sefo, giving the unanimous decision to Peter Graham.


Mark Hunt wasted no time in getting rid of a banged up Andrew Peck, dropping him with a big right hand in the centre of the ring and ending the contest with a flurry of shots that saw Peck dropped for the second time in the first round. A quick win for Hunt who looked confident going into the final having suffered no damage on his way.

The superfight pitted Gurkan Ozkan, returning to super middleweight following a disastrous campaign as a heavyweight last year, against New Zealander Daniel Tai. The bout featured very little in the way of exciting action and was more notable for Ozkan’s cockiness, which included conversing with his corner during the round and making gestures to his opponent. Apart from a few solid low kicks, Tai offered little resistance as Ozkan won a decision after three rounds with a far superior work rate.

The final of the Oceania 2001 was an intriguing contest, pitting Peter Graham’s ring generalship against the power of Mark Hunt. The opening round was a feeling out round, with Graham content to move around and let Hunt miss with some wild shots. There was a brief moment of trouble for Graham when he dropped to the canvas following a strong body shot from Hunt, but the New South Welshman saw out the round with a few stinging kicks in return, while Hunt landed a grazing right hand at the bell.
In round 2, Graham appeared to be getting on top of Hunt who was relegated to trying to bull his way forward and land a power shot. Graham moved effectively and started to hurt Hunt with accurate low kicks. When in close, Graham tied up well and kneed Hunt effectively.
Going into the third, it appeared Hunt would need to have an effective round to ensure victory over a sharp Peter Graham, who continued his point building attacks. The low kicks were visibly bothering Hunt who neglected to check many of them and flicking high kicks also found their mark. Hunt charged forward and landed a good uppercut on the inside, sending a warning of things to come. Another vicious uppercut just missed the mark before Mark hit the money shot and unloaded a clean right uppercut to the exposed jaw of Graham. Graham went down and could not beat the count.
In what was certainly the fight of the night, Mark Hunt came out victorious as the 2001 Oceania champion and will now look towards June 16th, where he has earned a place in the first leg of the K-1 World Grand Prix. For Peter Graham, it was proof of his considerable potential as a strong force in Australasian kickboxing as he and Hunt sought to inject new blood into the ranks of local heavyweights.