The Opening Battle of the ‘Humanity’s Fiercest Battleground’ -70kg World Championship Tournament Kicked off on March 20th!
Seven victors from the opening bouts of the tournament now advance to the March 21st “The Draw of Destiny: Fate of the Final 8”
March 20th, Tokyo— K-1 hosted the exhilarating “K-1 WORLD MAX 2024” at the National Yoyogi Stadium’s First Gymnasium, showcasing the intense competition of the “Humanity’s Fiercest Battleground” -70kg division. The event marked a thrilling beginning to the world’s ultimate tournament, where fighters from across the globe clashed in the first round. Now, seven victors are set to join one wildcard entrant in the draw for the finals on July 7th, each eager for a shot at glory.
We’ve got recaps from all the action from the night of the fights!
Match results: https://k-1.world/events/max01
K-1 WORLD MAX 2024 -70KG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT ・Opening Game is 7match!
•Tournament Match #1:
Dengue Silva (Brazil) vs Riku (Japan) ended with Silva securing a TKO victory at 1:57 of the first round. The match ended with a Doctor Stoppage, after The Scorching Big Mosquito drew blood. (1R 1:57, TKO)
•Tournament Match #2:
Romano “The Monkey” Bakboord (Netherlands) squeaked by Thananchai Sitsongpeenong (Thailand) in a split decision (2-1) extension round win, to claim his shot at the title on July 7th. (Ext. R, 10-9, 9-10, 10-9)
Tournament Match #3:
Zhora Akopyan (Armenia) edged out Taras Hnatchuk (Ukraine) after dropping him in a 3rd round, last-second knock down, to cement a victory in an unanimous decision. 3-0 (30:28/30:28/30:27)
•Tournament Match #4:
Kacper Muszyński (Poland) emerged victorious against long-time rival Stoyan Koprivlenski (Bulgaria) after a hotly contested battle that saw “the Unsinkable Ship,” Stoyan drop in the 3rd round. Muszyński won by unanimous decision. 3-0 (29:28/30:28/29:28)
•Tournament Match #5:
Viktor Akimov (Russia) with less than 1 week’s notice, found a glaring weakness in Rei Nakajima’s defense, with a spinning backfist that sent the boxer to the canvas in the second round (2R 2:45 KO).
•Tournament Match #6:
Ouyang Feng (China) dispelled any hope Pascal Schroth (Germany) might have had of moving on to the finals, with a commanding performance. The Chinese fighter won by unanimous decision. 3-0 (30:26/30:26/30:26)
•Tournament Match #7:
In the final fight of the night “The Beautiful Werewolf” Darryl Verdonk (Netherlands) tested Hiromi Wajima’s (Japan) chin in the first round with blistering combos. Unfortunately for the Japanese, Wajima failed the exam in last second of the 1st round. (1R 3:00)
The competition can be viewed below. Check it out!