out of interest has anyone read a copy of 'we need to talk about alan' yet?, think ill get the missus to throw it in my xmas stocking
So basically he knocked Klit down in an amateur light contact fight and the fight was waved off? Why would Vitali be so keen on hiding his amateur losses etc., its all part of their learning process and what made them the fighter they are today.
Vitali got ko'd from a spinning heel kick, that's true. But to be fair Oliver McCall couldn't take a heel kick delivered by a 6'4 235lb kickboxer, no one could.
I only read the Yahoo ANswers page, it said " had it been regular Boxing or Kickboxing rules, there was no way there would have been any kind of ten-count. As it was, being a light-contact match, the ref just waved the fight off and Reid was the new European Champion" I mistook that as meaning "no way would the ref have reached the count of 10" ina boxing match, as opposed to him being KOed. Im not a Vitali lover, and I'm sure its true. Just not sure theres really a video circulating.
The news story about Vitali Klitschkos kickboxing is NOT that he lost to Pele Reid, a guy who tried Boxing and didnt make it. All top Kickboxers have gotten clocked cold, and for the best ones like Hoost, Aerts, Bernardo, Hug, LeBanner, etc., its happened often, so that isnt news. The news story here is that Klitschko ran through all the available competition in Europe in the late 80s, early 90s, became a multiple world champion, and he did it all as a teenager ! Actually, the match with Reid was in Varna, Bulgaria at the WAKO European Kickboxing Championships, but it took place in 1992, not 93. But because Klitschko actually became famous years later on the world stage, that stoppage loss to Reid has become quite a little controversy, but accounts of what happened contrast sharply. Smiler Turner is a good guy, good fighter and good poster here and we have no reason to doubt his account, but there are others who disagree. I dont see why it couldnt have happened, as Klitschko was just a kid at the time (20), and a rail thin 67.5 196 pounder who hadnt even gotten to the peak of his amateur Boxing career yet, but its amazing how difficult it is to get verification of it. Almost two years ago when people posted first about the KO Id asked a friend at ESPN to track Chris McNeish, or anyone down to get a copy, which they offered $5,000 for, but he was unable to get it. Vitali remembers it being a leg kick for which he had to retire from the fight. A number of others offer up the same recollection. When asked, Vitali gets a little defensive, stating: Who is Pele Reid? It was so long ago that I forgot all about him. Nobody knows who Pele Reid is. My fight with him was a semi-contact kickboxing match. I lost that fight because of a kick to my thigh, not a punch. The thigh had been injured previously, and I shouldnt have participated in the match, but I was a determined boy. Im told that Master Meiji Suzuki of the Mugendo in London had no recollection of it being a head kick. Dwyer Evelyn, John Lawson, Keith Wilson, Raf Nieto, George McKenzie and Desmond Burke didnt recall a head kick being involved either, but I personally have no idea if any of them were there in Bulgaria that day & its not my place to say if any of them were even in position to know one way or the other. I do know that aside from Reid himself, during at interview with writer Matt Winsper, that Gary Turner is the source always quoted when the idea of a kick to the head of Klitschko comes up. I know also that Reid never said a word about it to the press until very recently, after the story about a head kick had already circulated for awhile. That tape would be a great thing to put up on Youtube, if it exists, but so far, nothing. Maybe Smiler can get hold of it ?
It COULD be a load of bull****. Who knows though. Regarding the Klitschko documentary, it's online, but in German.
Either way, whether it was a flash knock down, no knock down at all, to the thigh, or to the head.. I wanna see a video of it to know for sure!
Mercer also got a perforated eardum (sp?) from ONE kick from Remy Bonjasky. Kicking = A different ball game altogether.
