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Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
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By
Fred Varcoe
Year-end fighting
With major events in K-1, Pride, boxing and pro wrestling,
2004 goes out with a bang
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| Emelianenko Fedor hopes
to pummel Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira again. |
A year ago, the chaps at K-1 scored a major publicity and
TV ratings coup by setting up Akebono's first K-1 fight
against Bob Sapp on New Year's Eve. It was a massive
draw and now, it seems, something of a tradition. In fact,
there's a lot of fighting to be seen over the holidays,
with Akebono once again on the bill. Here's a rundown
of all the action.
FieLDS K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! kicks things off, and the
main attraction is that Akebono bloke again, this time disguised
as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, K-1's version
of Pride. Akebono is scheduled to take on Royce Gracie, a
member of Brazil's legendary fighting family. Gracie
may be three years older, 18cm shorter and 120kg lighter than
the former yokozuna, but he's a three-time Ultimate
Fighting Champion and his skill at beating people should prove
too much for the big Hawaiian. On the other hand, if Akebono
can sit on him, it's all over. This form of fighting
makes more sense for the former sumo star, as he has more
chance to use his weight advantage. Also on the bill is a
fascinating fight between Japan's K-1 Max star Masato
and the tattooed rebel Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.
Masato is the pinup boy of K-1 in Japan, while Yamamoto is
the rising star. At 163cm, Yamamoto's never likely
to face Bob Sapp, but K-1's lightweight division is
exciting and the chunky Yamamoto has a good chance of becoming
a household name; beating Masato would certainly help his
cause. Another potential star is Yoshihiro Akiyama, a popular
and handsome 81kg judo champion who narrowly missed out on
a trip to the Olympics this year, and who has decided to tackle
K-1.
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Sydney
Olympics wrestling champ Rulon Gardner looks for Pride
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Not surprisingly, the organizers of the Pride "Otoko
Matsuri" 2004 New Year's Special are hoping
to outshine the K-1 boys. Their New Year's Eve event
will have two of the sport's most fearsome champions,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Emelianenko Fedor, going head-to-head
in what's being billed as the "Rematch of the
Century" following a no-decision in the Grand Prix
Final in August. While this bout may appeal more to Pride
purists, the most intriguing match of the evening features
two Olympic champions: Sydney Olympic wrestling gold medalist
Rulon Gardner takes on Hidehiko Yoshida, who was the 78kg
judo champ at the Barcelona Olympics. Gardner is famous as
being the man who stopped Russian legend Alexander Karelin
in Sydney, one of the biggest upsets in wrestling history.
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| Naoya Ogawa-"Destroyer
of the Japanese pro-wrestling world" |
According to the promoters, the Hustle House Christmas Special
is "a fight for survival led by Naoya Ogawa and Shinya
Hashimoto's Hustle Faction against the Monster Faction
led by General Takada and bent on destroying the Japanese
pro-wrestling world." The event will be a foray into
pro-wrestling for ex-judo champion Ogawa, courtesy of the
boys at Pride, with which he's also heavily involved.
As you can tell from the hype, it's not aimed at the
sporting aesthete-Ogawa's trademark is the pelvic
thrust. 'Nuff said.
Well, at least boxing is untainted by hype and stunts, at
least where WBC super-flyweight champion Katsushige Kawashima
is involved. Kawashima is the slugger who dethroned Masanori
Tokuyama in June, and in his second title defense, part of
a boxing championship double bill, he'll be up against
No. 1 challenger Jose Navarro. Stylist Navarro has yet to
lose in 21 fights, but he'll be up against an old-fashioned
toe-to-toe brawler, so it should be interesting. On the undercard
is a WBA flyweight contest between Masaki "Trash"
Nakanuma and Lorenzo Parra.
FieLDS K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!!:
Osaka Dome, December 31, 2pm [check], channel 6.
Pride "Otoko Matsuri"
2004 New Year's Special: Saitama Super Arena, December
31, 6pm, channel 8.
Hustle House Christmas Special:
Korakuen Hall:Tokyo, December 23, noon, and December 24, 7pm.
See listings for details
Boxing: Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo,
January 3, 3pm. See listings for details.
Photo credit: Courtesy of
DSE
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