K1 UK Press Release

K-1 Battle of Britain a preliminary heavyweight tournament for the 2003 K-1 World Grand Prix will be staged at Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birmingham on the 13^th April.

The promoters Showsport International have made radical changes to the line up in a search for new heavyweight talent. Only three men will from the K-1 UK 2002 event will return this year, Gary Turner, Simon Demetrious and Nick Sheppard. They will be joined by James Zikics an MMA competitor who was featured on last years UFC event at the Royal Albert Hall. Paul Kirk who has a background in Taekwondo and an impressive amateur boxing record. Gordon Minors a former WAKO-PRO world Thaiboxing champion who is returning to Martial arts after a short but successful career in professional boxing. Chris Ballard British heavyweight kickboxing champion, his explosive power makes him a serious contender and Rob Lloyd a dangerous southpaw with nothing to lose, two reserve fighters are yet to be named, profiles on all the K-1 UK contenders will be featured in next months issue of Fighters Magazine.
Pick a winner if you can, but this tournament is wide open and will be extremely competitive.

The K-1 Battle of Britain card will also feature Peter Crooke, he is undoubtedly the man of the moment, pound for pound the best Thaiboxer in the UK. His recent knock out victory against Japanese star Takayuki Kohiruimaki confirmed his standing as one of the best Super-welterweights in the world. Most of Crooke’s fights are overseas, he only competes in the UK once or twice a year this may be your only chance to see him fight in 2003.

K-1 UK MAX finalists Neil Woods and Kevin Harper will rematch over 5x3 minute rounds. Woods dominated the K-1 UK MAX tournament winning all his fights inside the distance including a third round stoppage of Harper in the final match. Some of Harpers supporters have suggested that if he had reached the final without any injuries the result may have been different. Woods confidently agreed to the rematch giving Harper an opportunity to even the score. This match is under K1 rules.
Eval Denton the man who was probably responsible for most of Harpers injuries in the K-1 UK MAX tournament will also feature on the K-1 Battle of Britain card.

For the first time a K-1 UK event will include MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) bouts. Lee Hasdell the pioneer of MMA and Shootboxing in the UK will face Ken Orihashi of Japan. Orihashi is a seasoned campaigner of the famous Japanese RINGS Network and DEEP events. He fights out of the TK Gym in Tokyo trained by Kosaka a UFC veteran. A second MMA match will be contested buy England’s Stuart Barrs and Japan’s Hiroki Kotani who fights of the Power of Dreams gym trained by Yamamoto a former UFC Japan Champion. The MMA bouts will add an extra dimension and reflect the K-1 Versus PRIDE events staged in Japan. Showsport International have put together a very strong card probably the best line up in K-1 UK history, as with last years event you can place a bet via the internet at www.fightbet.com you can bet on the eightman tournament or any of the single matches. For more information about K-1 Battle of Britain 2003 go to www.showsport.co.uk or call 0870 442 8986.