In 1995 current IKAS president Mr. Oleg Vadatursky had a fight in Paris. Mr. Djaffar (on the right) was the trainer of his opponent at that time. After 8 years IKAS president meets his old friend in Paris. Mr. Djaffar is one of the leaders of the French national team. The two friends discussed possible cooperation prospects in France and Algeria. Mr. Djaffar is the professionals World champion, he owns his kickboxing club and has good connections in Algeria. It is always nice to meet people who devote their lives to kickboxing. Thanks to people like Mr. Djaffar, Mr. Nuno Ferreira, Mr. Oleg Deryabin, Mr. Yousefali Darvishi, Mr. Luciano Paramatti, Mr. Yen Pak Sun, Mr. Rudi Bekenhauer and many other IKAS associates, thanks to all the trainers and fighters kickboxing is now rapidly developing into a massive sport.
Rematch in Portugal
Professionals European and World champion and IKAS official representative in Portugal Mr. Nuno Ferreira agreed the terms of the revenge fight in Portugal with Mr. Oleg Deryabin. The fight will involve Vladimir Avtamonov and Florin Vintila. The two sides have partially agreed on the financial side of the upcoming show planned for July-August 2004. Mr. Deryabin is also planning to host IKAS under 58,1 kg European title show in February 2004. He has already invited Bruno Clemente from Portugal as one of the competitors for the title. Bruno is the European PRO-AM champion. At first the fight was planned for December 2003, however the fighter of Mr. Oleg Deryabin got injured and Mr. Deryabin requested IKAS to postpone the fight. The Portuguese side was also informed and agreed to move the title fight. Soon the two parties will negotiate the exact date of the event.
Vladimir Avtamonov accepts the challenge
We interviewed Vladimir “The Russian Machine Gun” Avtamonov (on the right) after his successful IKAS full contact World title fight.
Derrick Woods: Vladimir, how does it feel to be one of the best fighters in the world? Moreover you are now three times champion of the world – two in IKF and one in IKAS.
Vladimir: That feels fine! Kickboxing is my job. I would like people to see real kickboxing, I would like them to evaluate kickboxing properly and I would like people to know the stars of kickboxing. Yes, I am number one in kickboxing, however I understand that it will be a tough job to defend my title. The more titles you defend the bigger is the responsibility. I am ready to face any fighter on the planet!
Woods: How do you estimate your performance in the latest fight?
Vladimir: I think that I did not show everything I could have shown from the technical point of view. Yes, I won the fight but not in that spectacular way as usual. Actually I planned to finish the fight in Round 6. However Florin did not let me knock him out.
Woods: We know you agreed for the revenge in Portugal in August 2004.
Vladimir: Yes, my manager Konstantin Makarov agreed with IKAS official representative in Portugal Mr. Nuno Ferreira all the terms of the revenge fight in Portugal. I am ready to defend my title and I know I can do it as I have plenty of time for training and preparation. I saw Florin in action and will try to work on my mistakes to feel myself more comfortable in Portugal.
Woods: Aren’t you afraid of Florin? He may also correct his mistakes and take away your title in Portugal.
Vladimir: I respect Florin both as a person and as a sportsman, but I think his chances are fair. However kickboxing is unpredictable, moreover you saw Florin’s physical abilities. Anyway I am 100% sure I can beat him!
Woods: Are you planning to fight before the revenge? May be someone can challenge you and even defeat you. Can it happen that the revenge will not take place because of you being defeated on your way to it?
Vladimir: I am ready to challenge anybody and defend my belt! I was told that I may fight in March, but I don’t know where and who will be my opponent. As you know plans may change and my manager Konstantin Makarov will inform IKAS headquarters if I have fight proposals.
Woods: Congratulations on your IKAS World Title and good luck!
The show began with the international rating fight between Shamil Zagirov (Russia) and Lev Tarasiuk (Kazakhstan). That was quite an even fight with the fighters taking advantage in turns. Dynamic and rapidly developing it surely caught the audience’s attention. Zagirov won by the judges’ decision (2-1 for Zagirov).
The fight began 15 minutes after the first one the break being the floor for the ballet dancers invited by Mr. Oleg Deryabin. That was a real break performance! Spartak won in round 6 by the knock-out after his powerful liver-aimed punch. The kickboxing showed by both Spartak and Yevgeny was breathtaking. That was one of the most dynamic and technical fights ever. Spartak is a new star in 66,8 kg weight category capable of becoming a new world champion. He is not letting his opponent show what he’s got in stock for him and his counterattacks are really poisonous. Spartak can make his opponent behave the way it would be the easiest for him to win the fight. Yevgeny is also a good fighter. However he was unlucky this time. He missed the punch that turned to be decisive for the whole fight. Spartak preferred to use his punches more while Yevgeny shoed some really spectacular style with his high flying kicks. The audience was by no means impressed with the show performed by the two young fighters.
The main event of the night was the clash of two characters – The Russian Machine Gun VS The Portuguese Body Armour. Round 1 was mainly devoted to finding the right approach for the rest of the fight. Both fighters were quite passive mostly kicking from long distance. Rounds 2, 3 and 4 were slightly headed by Vladimir with the help of intensive kicks. The punching was equal. Rounds 6 and 7 were the tough ones with Florin taking the lead. The rest of the fight was also quite intensive, both fighters did not want to risk, Vladimir however being ahead in all of them. After the timekeeper signaled the end of round 12 judges made their decision all of them giving the victory and the IKAS World Champion Belt to The Russian Machine Gun.
We would like to thank Mr. Oleg Deryabin for the very good organization of the show. We would like also to thank Mr. Nuno Ferreira and Florin Vintila for their understanding and support. Mr. Konstantin Makarov who is Vladimir Avtamonov’s manager and Mr. Nuno Ferreira have signed the revenge fight agreement. The revenge fight is scheduled for August 2004 and will take place in Portugal. People of Yuzhnouralsk liked Florin very much for his courage and spirit. Hundreds of kids came up to him to their posters to be signed by the Portuguese fighter.
Portugal is coming
The IKAS World Title fight has long since been scheduled for October 2003. We are very glad that IKAS Portugal representative Mr. Nuno Ferreira will come to Yuzhnouralsk, Russia to participate in the event concerned. The visas problem mentioned in the previous news posts was successfully solved, and Russia is ready and looking forward to this exciting show. Mr. Nuno Ferreira and his fighter Florin Vintila will arrive in Russia on October 16th, 2003.
22/09/03 Richard Tremore about visas delay for the Portuguese
IKAS mass-media coordinator Derrick Woods spoke to IKAS general manager Richard Tremore about the situation around the upcoming IKAS Light Middleweight Title fight.
Woods: Richard, could you tell us why getting visas to Russia takes so long?
Tremore: You see, the promoter of the show Mr. Oleg Deryabin has forwarded all the papers to the Russian Consulate in Lisbon, Portugal. The Consulate said that was it. Later he discovered that a lot more documents are needed. That is why the fight is now being moved for the second time and the portuguese team has to sit and wait with everything booked for them both in Portugal and in Russia.
Woods: Any chance of the fight being cancelled?
Tremore: Let's wait and not undertake any decisions in a hurry. Everything depends from the Consulate. The two teams stay cool and are ready to fight any time. As soon as the portuguese side gets visas they will fly to Russia. This fight will take place whatever it takes because this is the first IKAS world title fight. We have two fighters who are really worth fighting for IKAS precious World Champion belt and neither me nor Mr. Vadatursky will let this fight be cancelled.
IKAS World title fight postponed due to visa delays
The IKAS Professional Light Middleweight World title fight between Vladimir "The Russian Machine Gun" Avtamonov (Russia) and Florin Vintila (Portugal) has been moved to October, 18 because of visas delay. This is the second time this fight gets moved because of the Russian immigration law bureaucracy. The fighter and his trainer are desperately trying to get visas to come to Russia and fight for the title. However the two camps remain calm and control the situation. The promoter of the show IKAS vice-president and official representative in Asia and in the Eastern region of Russia Mr. Oleg Deryabin says the fight WILL take place and WILL NOT be cancelled. Mr. Deryabin contacted IKAS president Mr. Oleg Vadatursky to ask him personally for assistance in speeding up the process of getting visas. However Mr. Vadatursky's phone call to the Russian Consulate department in Lisbon produced no results. We are waiting to see how the story ends...
Polish Fight Night
Mr. Stanislav Poshek - IKAS's official representative in Poland, who has been associating with IKAS for already a year now, did well organizing "THE POLISH FIGHTNIGHT" in Warsaw on 5th June, 2003 - the show that will further long remain in minds of people who either visited it or faught in it. Seven extremely tough fights kept the public's eyes glued to the ring for almost 5 hours. The listing of winners is below:
Luboslav Miloshevitch (Poland) - 58,1 kg
Tim Fright (New Zealand) - 64,5 kg
Ivan Zhegudsky (Poland)- 78,1 kg
Petr Mladenovitch (Poland) - 84,5 kg
Ivica Grutenjic (Croatia) - 84,5 kg
Stefan Grnzhiska (Croatia) - 88,6 kg
Pavl Lubomirov (Poland) - 97,7 kg
Interview with Ivica Praljic
We interviewed IKAS Croatia representative Mr. Ivica Praljic about the first ever IKAS event in Croatia he staged yesterday.
Eugene Howard: Mr. Praljic you did a great job to put this event. Are you satisfied?
Mr. Praljic: Yes, actually I am satisfied, but there is always something greater to achieve. I will try to do my best next time.
E.H.: There were not so many kickboxing events in Croatia. Was it difficult to attract spectators to your show, because there were a lot of them at yesterday’s event?
Mr. Praljic: I was not expecting so many visitors myself despite all the work we did to advertise the event. I mean all those posters and media advertisements. Some fighters participating in the show brought their whole families with them. I was pleased!
E.H.: Were there any difficulties with getting your event sanctioned by IKAS?
Mr. Praljic: Not a single difficulty! I have become IKAS official representative this year after I got to know about IKAS “NEW POLICY, NEW POSSIBILITIES” promoters and representatives financing program. So I paid no money for IKAS sanctioning of my event! I am ready to continue promoting kickboxing further and IKAS gives me the opportunity to do so. I personally met the president of IKAS Mr. Oleg Vadatursky in England and signed the two-year contract with IKAS. I am happy with the conditions of our bilateral agreement.
E.H.: Was pleasure talking to you, Mr. Praljic. Hope to visit your next event very soon.
Mr. Praljic: You are very welcome. I already have some plans concerning my next show.
30/04/03 IKAS expansion in Croatia
The first ever IKAS event in Croatia was put by IKAS official representative in Croatia Ivica Praljic. Nobody expected that the event will gather so many spectators. It included 5 fights, all of which were full of beautiful and skillfully performed kicks and punches. All the fighters were happy to participate in the Croatian show and are willing to come again to Mr. Praljic's arranged events.
IKAS and IDKF have become partners
On March 10th 2003 IKAS World President Oleg Vadatursky had a meeting with the President of IDKF (International Draka Kickboxing Federation) Mr. Tigran Avetisyan. The discussion was mainly devoted to problems of todays kickboxing. Everybody knows that kickboxing is one of the world’s most spectacular sport, but still it cannot pave its way to TV. Many TV channels motivate their refusal to broadcast a kickboxing fight by saying that there is simply no order in kickboxing and that each fighter can easily become world champion. This problem does exist in our sport. But let us not forget that kickboxing is a younger sport if compared to boxing. The world of boxing had its own problems in its time but has successfully overcome them.
It is high time to start thinking about this problem, because many sanctioning bodies are now shutting their eyes to it, trying not to let promoters go at all costs.
As a result of the meeting between two Presidents the course of actions has been developed to help kickboxing become more attractive for television. The two federations also agreed on bilateral collaboration.
IKAS AND IDKF ARE NOW PARTNERS
What does this mean?
- new rules will be developed
- before fighting for World title fighters will have to be very-well rated and hold either Intercontinental or European title
- fighters of both IKAS and IDKF rankings lists will be accepted
- IKAS and IDKF overall champion title fights will be arranged and the winner will receive two World champion titles and two belts
This is just a small part of what has been decided at this official meeting. You will be able to read future information on this bilateral collaboration project on IKAS official website.
New Policy & New Possibilities
In 2003 the IKAS Board of Directors decided to finance IKAS official representatives and promoters. IKAS is ready to put up money into those promoters who sign long term contracts with us. What does this mean? If you are ready to productively promote kickboxing and muay thai rather than to put one or two events per year, than IKAS is ready to sign long-term contracts with you.
If you are interested than e-mail us with the following information:
- YOUR FULL NAME
- YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION (E-MAIL, POSTAL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER)
- INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PREVIOUSLY PUT EVENTS (PLEASE STATE WHETHER IT WAS PROFESSIONAL OR AMATEUR EVENT, WHERE IT TOOK PLACE, VENUE, WHO WERE THE FIGHTERS)
- IF YOU WORKED OR ARE WORKING WITH ANY OTHER ASSOCIATIONS OR FEDERATIONS PLEASE STATE THIS IN YOUR LETTER
After we receive your letter your application will be discussed by IKAS Board of Directors. If you are successful then we will offer you to sign long-term contract with IKAS.
The terms and conditions of contract with IKAS:
- the contract duration is 2 years minimum
- at the beginning of each year we decide on finances for you (how many licences you will get free in both pro and amateur divisions)
- in your first year of working with IKAS you receive all sanctioning licences free. That means you can put as many events as you wish without paying for licences
- you will receive IKAS official certificate for each IKAS sanctioned event proving that you did put this or that event and of what division this or that event was
- in your second year of working with IKAS you will now have to purchase as many licences as you got in your first working year for free
Example: in your first year of working with IKAS you decide to put 5 World title events (licence for each is $1,500), 5 European title events (licence for each is $900), 10 National title events (licence for each is $400). This results in a total of $16,000 in your first year. In your second year you will have to purchase as many licences as cost $16,000 (you get as much of IKAS National rating licences as you got in your first year for free).
If you are interested in signing a longer contract (from 3 to 5 years) then we are ready to offer you another way of collaboration.
As far as you can see we are ready to give you an interest-free loan that you repay after one year of your work.
IKAS have decided on these NEW POLICY and NEW POSSIBILITIES to promote kickboxing and muay thai and to improve the quality of fights around the world. We hope that this initiative will be estimated at its true worth by all promoters and you will join real professionals.
We interviewed Vladimir “The Russian Machine Gun” Avtamonov (on the right) after his successful IKAS full contact World title fight.
IKAS President Mr. Oleg Vadatursky had an official meeting with the President of WAKO Mr. Ennio Falsoni at one of the WAKO world championships in Paris. Mr. Vadatursky was officially invited by Mr. Falsoni to visit the championships as well as to have bilateral negotiations and cooperation. One of the main points was kickboxing development, its problems and prospects. IKAS and WAKO discussed cooperation possibilities especially on IKAS new super-tournament ©The Diamond Belt. This meeting may be the stepping stone for further partnership between IKAS and WAKO in promoting the tournament. However we expect more news to come very soon and we’ll keep in touch with you and tell you how the situation changes. 