World-class kickboxing is back in Tokyo this weekend for a grand showdown, featuring some of the sport’s biggest names.
By Asi Rinestine
Headlining the night is Peter Aerts in his last professional fight, which is bound to be an emotional goodbye from his huge fan base in Japan. Glory is a newly formed promotion that absorbed “Showtime!”, the organization that took over the major shows of the kickboxing world following the financial collapse of K-1. The league now includes most of the big names of the kickboxing world amongst its ranks and holds monthly large scale events in the US, Europe and Japan.
Peter Aerts is a true legend here. The 43-year-old Dutch national veteran has won 105 of his 137 fights, 79 of them by knockout. “The Dutch Lumberjack,” nicknamed after his head-chopping high kicks, won the K-1 Grandprix championships three times, along with many other awards during his long career. He chose to have his last fight in Japan, a country which gave him the chance to become a superstar. He will be fighting fellow Dutchman Rico Verhoeven.
You can see a collection of some of Peter Aerts’ greatest moments below:
In addition, three-time heavyweight champion Remy Bojansky will have his last fight at GLORY 13, at the age of 37—with 94 fights and 77 wins, 40 by knockout. Other notable fighters on the card include the ever-entertaining French heavy hitter Jerome Le Banner, former K-1 superstar Artur Kyshenko and the young Japanese talent Yuta Kubo. Dutchman Nieky “The Natural” Holzken will fight in the semifinal (and hopefully the final) of GLORY’s World Championship Tournament.
GLORY 13 in Tokyo
When: Saturday, December 21, at 16:30
Where: Ariake Coliseum (see map)
How much: ¥5,000 (A) / ¥10,000 (SS)
More info: http://ticket.pia.jp/pia/event.do?eventCd=1342961 (Japanese only)
