Contributor: Lucas Bourdon
Glory is back this weekend following a fantastic card in Instanbul. The main event features the best kickboxer in the world, Giorgio Petrosyan (75-1-2-1, 35 KOs) taking on Hafid El Boustati (67-7-3, 19 KOs). Petrosyan has dominated the kickboxing world since winning the K-1 Max title in 2009 and 2010, picked up wins over numerous great fighters like Andy Souwer, Albert Kraus, Sudsakorn, Kem Sitsongpeenong, Artur Kyshenko, Fabio Pinca, Robin Van Roosmalen and did so with ease. On the other hand, Hafid El Boustati is a good fighter with a decent record but a pretty unremarkable skillset and lacks a signature win. He’s got a win over Robin Van Roosmalen but obtained it by opening a cut with a knee, pointing it out to the ref and immediatly starting a victory lap around the ring, proving that snitches sometimes give stitches. Stylewise, he’s got good low kicks (and his especially good at finding opportunities to land them on an off balnce opponent) and likes to throw down with hooks on the inside but lacks the power to stop opponents and I’d be shocked if he was able to get past the doctor’s airtight defense and if he didn’t get completely dominated by Petrosyan on saturday night. My pick: Giorgio Petrosyan by decision.
In another -70kg match up, Robin “Pitbull is the most overused nickname in combat sports and somehow this guy isn’t one of them” Van Roosmalen will face Murthel Groenhart in a matchup for the spot of best lightweight not named Petrosyan that should be one of the most entertaining fights of the evening. These two have had a very similar career path breaking out by winning tournaments (It’s Showtime Fast and Furious 2011 for Van Roosmalen, K-1 Max 2012 for Groenhart) as underdogs and knocking out Artur Kyshenko in the finals. These guys share a penchant for relentless agression and entertaining fights but Robin Van Roosmalen is 5’6″, Groenhart is 6’1″ and used to fight in higher weight classes. He is HUGE at 70kgs and while I certainly don’t expect Van Roosmalen to make it easy for him I also don’t think he’ll be able to overcome the size difference. My pick: Murthel Groenhart by decision.
Still at 70kg, Yuri Bessmertny (33-8-1, 16 KOs) squares off with Davit Kiria (19-8, 10 KOs). Bessmertny got on kickboxing fan’s radar in 2011 by winning the Fight Code Dragon Series tournament, knocking out Armen Petrosyan and beating Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee along the way. Since then, he’s 5-1-1, having brutally knocked out Gago Drago and the only blemishes coming in the form of a robbery draw against Issam Reghi and an extra round decision loss to Aikpracha in the semi finals of the La Nuit Des Titans tournament in February. He was very close to knocking out Aikpracha in that fight and forced the Lumpinee champion to dig deep to pull off the win, setting him up for a KO loss to Karim Ghajji later that night in the finals. Kiria beat Kem Sitsongpeenong in the first round of the 2012 Glory 70kg tournament and made it to the semi finals, losing to Giorgio Petrosyan. He is an Ashihara Karate stylist, mixing very good kicks with a solid inside boxing game, but like Robin Van Roosmalen he’s facing a much taller opponent and Bessmertny is very good at disrupting inside fighter’s rythm with inside low kicks until he can unleash his powerful hooks. My pick: Yuri Bessmertny by decision.
In the last 70kg match up of the night, a battle of prospects pits Chingiz Allazov against Marat Grigorian. At 19 years old, Chingiz is the hottest prospect in kickboxing, he’s undefeated and scored two big KO wins over fellow prospect Alessandro Campagna and tough Thai veteran Bovy Sor Udomson in 2012. The 21 years old Grigorian has more experience on big stages and can’t be counted out but Allazov looks like a future great and once again I’m picking the taller fighter. I see Allazov keeping Grigorian at bay with his long right hand and kicks and punishing Grigorian’s attempt to close the distance with high knees. My pick: Allazov by decision.
At 85kg, the former Artem Levin It’s Showtime -77kg champion moves up to face the former It’s Sahak Parparyan Showtime 85kg champion, Artem Levin is a very good fighter that can be maddeningly passive in fights, he relies mostly on single shots and never seems to switch gears even when he should and it cost him last month at Lion Fights where he lost a decision to Simon Marcus. I still think he gets it done because he’s the more talented fighter but if he lets him, Parparyan won’t hesitate to get in his face and go to work. My pick: Artem Levin by decision.
Other predictions:
HW: Rico Verhoeven vs Jonathan Diniz: Rico Verhoeven has looked pretty good lately. My pick: Rico Verhoeven by decision.
65kg: Kaoponlek vs Sergio Wielzen. My pick: Kaoponlek by decision.
95kg: Steve Mckinnon vs Michael Duut My pick: Steve McKinnon by KO.
77kg: Karapet Karapetyan vs Roberto Cocco, Roberto Cocco is a decent journeyman but Karapet takes this via more awesome name.
-Lucas can be reached @lucas_bourdon
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