Poor Health Derails ‘Techno Goliath’ at K-1
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
America was supposed to be the promise land for Choi Hong-man, the 2.18-meter giant looking to make his name in the world of mixed martial arts. However, it looks like his arrival on the biggest stage of commercial fighting will be pushed back indefinitely due to health reasons.
Choi, a former Korean ssirum (traditional wrestling) champ, was to fight former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Brock Lesnar in the main draw card for K-1 Dynamite USA, a pay-per-view event scheduled for June 2 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
However, the much-anticipated fight is now in jeopardy after the California State Athletic Commission denied Choi a fighting license.
Although the commission did not reveal the results of the medical test, members from Choi's camp have said the fighter was diagnosed with a tumor in a part of his body.
Choi claims there is nothing wrong with his health, a view shared by K-1, which submitted a medical second-opinion report to the California commission. It remains to be seen whether the commission, which has yet to officially confirm Choi's status _ will reverse its decision.
Nonetheless, K-1 seems determined to continue to push for the fight to happen.
``As of now, we have no plans to change our fighting cards,'' said Sadaharu Tanikawa, who heads Japan's Fighting & Entertainment Group (FEG), the company in charge of the K-1 mixed martial arts events.
Should Choi fail to earn permission to fight in Los Angeles, Kim Min-soo, a Korean fighter and former judo sliver medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is expected to be his replacement against Lesnar. Kim, who was cleared to fight by the California commission, is 2-5 in his mixed martial arts career that started in 2005.
Choi was not the only MMA star to be denied entry to the Coliseum, with Japan's Kazushi Sakuraba and New Zealand's Ray ``Sugarfoot'' Sefo also having failed to get permission to fight.
This deals a decisive blow to K-1's intentions to make inroads to the U.S. market where Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is quickly replacing boxing as a top pay-per-view draw.
K-1 has reportedly spent more than $3 million in advertising expenses to promote the Choi-Lesnar match in Los Angeles alone, hoping to draw a big crowd from the area's larger Korean community. According to organizers, Korean-Americans have already bought 30,000 tickets for the match.
Choi, commonly referred by his nickname ``Techno Goliath,'' debuted in K-1 fighting at the World GP 2005 in Seoul and currently posts a record of 10-3. He is among the largest fighters in the world, standing 2.18 meters tall and weighing 164.8 kilograms, although his kickboxing skills still have a lot of room to grow.
Lesnar, also a former NCAA amateur wrestling champion, was to make his mixed martial arts debut against Choi.