SELECTED PREVIOUS EVENTS 2002



"K-1 MAX MIDDLEWEIGHT NORTH AMERICAN ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT" - (Denver, Colorado, USA) March 15th, 2002
Promoter Sven Bean delivered a great fight card comprised of 4 North American Middleweights fighting for the right to compete in Japan in early May for the $100,000 US prize. The card was sold out to around 800 to 1000 people. The event also featured one female Kickboxing bout with the remainder of the events being battles under NHB rules.

The four athletes battling for the right to go to Japan included Denver's Duane Ludwig, San Diego's Ole Laursen, Calgary's Jason Jillain and Vancouver's last minute replacement of Melvin Murray. The other original Canadian athlete Robert Coquete of Winnipeg pulled out of the event. Reasons included hurting his shin and/or he could not make the weight division.

Both initial draws featured Canada against the USA and the draws came out of Japan. First up was Murray against Ludwig. This bout was competitive in the beginning but Ludwig unloaded a knee which caught Murray in the face and broke his nose. The bout was stopped and Ludwig won by first round KO.

The second fight featured Jillain against Laursen. The bout started with Jillain probing a few kicks and Laursen answering back. The two had a few quick exchanges and then Laursen exploded in and delivered a right hand that had the intentions of taking Jillain's head off. It landed and Jillain went down. Jillain was back on his feet by 6 but definitely on queer street and the referee Cecil Peoples wisely stopped the bout with Laursen winning by first round KO as well.

The final bout featured Laursen against Ludwig. In the first round Laursen was all over Ludwig and a knee to the body dropped Ludwig down for a long count. The first round was Laursen's. In the next two rounds, Ludwig came back to win them convincingly. Ludwig called a time out when he found out he was cut. The result of the three rounds was a draw. An overtime round took place and both athletes took turns getting some blows in. Most of the experienced fight observers felt the round was close enough to warrant another round. Two judges gave the fight by a half point to Ludwig.

Congratulations go out to Sven Bean for a great promotion and Duane Ludwig and his win. Good luck in Japan.