MY THOUGHTS... CONGRATS & COMISERATIONS

[Michael Schiavello]

Well, there you have it... when the dust has settled and the smoke (there was so much bloody smoke at this show) has cleared, GURKAN OZKAN whom many people didn't give a chance of victory emerged triumphant over Stan Longinidis.

Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS GURKAN... I tipped that he'd cause a huge upset and he came up with the goods yet again... not only that, but he showed his SMARTNESS for the first time ever. What a game plan. Do what nobody else has done before - go for Stan's chin and also go for his legs. Gurkan showed heart, showed immense courage and showed a high skill level and deserves every accolade. He is still the ONLY fighter in Australia who will fight anyone, any weight, any rules and well done to him.

Second, STAN, commiserations. Stan is, was and will always be a legend of the sport - the consummate icon and ambassador and a true world champion in every sense of the word. This may or may not be the end of Stan's ring career, but the memories of his 20 year career will live on forever.

Third, THANKS TO THE FANS... YOU made NO Respect the successful nite it was. A great live crowd on hand, great PPV crowd watching on TV and you made a helluva lot of noise. Finally the mainstream media is starting to take notice of our sport and nights like this, with crackerjack main events, only serve to get kickboxing MORE exposure in the future.

Congrats to Tarik Solak... he keeps pulling out all the stops and keeps producing the goods. Who knows what he'll be doing in 10 years time!

Congrats to Mike Zambidis... how does the hitlist read now? Behic, Forrester, Wayne Parr, Krongsak Lek, Baris Nezif, Paul Shearing, Niklas Winberg... next in line? ALBERT KRAUS.

Congrats to BIG CHRIS CHRISOPOULIDIS - wow did he look spot on the money or what? Sure the opposition was lacklustre and Fadi Haddara used the ropes as a hammock half the time! But Chrisopoulidis was on his game.

And lastly, but not least, thanks to THE HAMMER - my verbal sparring partner - for a fun broadcast. It was good to share with you the first time ever that an Australian kickboxing show has been shown live on national Pay Per View and I hope we can do it plenty more times in the future... PS HAMMER - I told you so! I like my fighters just like I like my pizza - SUPREME (hehehe)

Anyway, hope everyone who watched at home enjoyed the TV broadcast and look forward to seeing you all at the next show.

PS: To those who are saying this fight was rigged -- u bananas! That's an insult to Stan and Gurkan to even suggest it. Grow up.

[Spartan boy]

but seriously micheal stan going down to a kick from gurkan don't think so maybe 1or 2 punches on the chin yeah but not a leg kick

STEVEN KONTAKOS

[Michael Schiavello]

Don't think what? I dont understand your post Spartan... dont forget Stan has had NINE operations on that lead knee - including 2 full reconstructions... clever tactics by Ozkan to take out the lead leg and kick around that knee. It was sad to see Stan go down like that, but Ozkan had a game plan and stuck to it and it paid off. If Ozkan had just relied on his hands, as he usually does, it may not have been enough as he hit Stan with some big head shots but Stan stood up to them.

[Wrecka]

Damm! I never miss a show on Fox, but i had to work, sounds like a cracker show. When is it replayed if at all?
Wrecka

[Wrecka]

Damm! I never miss a show on Fox, but i had to work, sounds like a cracker show. When is it replayed if at all?
Wrecka

[Wrecka]

Damm! I never miss a show on Fox, but i had to work, sounds like a cracker show. When is it replayed if at all?
Wrecka

[JKLA]

I think there is something behind the scenes with the main event between Stan & Gurkan.
The betting odds on Gurkan to win (as mentioned in Tarik's K1 sight) were extremely low and doubtfull. After seeing the performance on Stan's behalf, yes he is old and had many operations, but a former 7 time world champion should know how to put simple 1 - 2 - 3 combinations together!
Even leg kicks, Stan begun with some hard leg kicks disturbing Gurkans balance, then all of a sudden, Stan stops, and begins to throw mis-ques totally missing Gurkan by a full body length. Stans brother in the corner telling Stan (in Greek) that he must conserve enrgery and prepare to last ten rounds?? What for?? When Stan is so old and injured and out of shape, he obviously should instruct Stan to finish quickly with leg kicks. After the fight, Gurkan runs to Stan's corner and whispers something in his ear, Stan replies with a laughing smile "I am ok".

Stan said he is contracted for 3 fights this year, well if thats true I am sure the betting odds will be against him on the next fight based on this performance, my guess is be prepared to see a different Stan fighting, and maybe even put a small wager on him.

I hope I am totally wrong with my beliefs, I have been a follower of Stan since he came out of the Jet centre. I have many tapes and have been to many of his fights, but that performance last night was not the work of Stan, yound or old.

As for the rest of the show, my hat goes off to Chrisopoulidis, as for the rest of the fighters, they were either mis-matches or simply shouldn't have been there. Do you promoters realise that Zambidis could of killed that kid in the ring?
Michael Schivello once posted a reply to me saying good fighters like Parr, Dawson etc cost big bucks! Well, how about you stop spending money on dud fighters, big venues, piro technics, and bar 20 hoes, and use that cash to pay some good fighters to be in the ring! The entertainment is good, but remember the main thing people are paying to see, GOOD HARD FIGHTS. At the moment, these fight matchups are getting "no respect".