Kintamayama 45,116 Posted November 28, 2003 (edited) Akebono had his first "real" training bout against ex-Heavyweight World Champion Francois Bota. It was a three minute one round affair. At the gong, Bota hit him in the face so hard Akebono had trouble breathing. His nose started bleeding. In all, it was apparent Akebono still has a long way to go. "He was toying with me. It was a if I was up against a Sandanme rikishi, but in reverse. I know I have a long way to go, but this only strengthened my resolve. I couldn't sleep last night being nervous and all.", he said. He did manage to get some good left hooks into Bota's flank. "Don't be misled. He is good. When he pressed me to the ropes, it was real pressure. He has it. Give him time!!" said Bota. He then invited Akebono to be his "second" in the upcoming K-1 World GP Championships to be held on December 6th. "It would be an honor for me. I'd like to take in the atmosphere from up close", said Akebono. Akebono after training with boxer Francois Bota: Edited November 28, 2003 by Kintamayama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zuikakuyama 1 Posted November 28, 2003 The things people do in the name of money. He must be under tremendous financial pressure to want to do this. He'll be lucky if he can get away with just a bolldied nose in a real match. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaikitsune Makoto 209 Posted November 28, 2003 Well it is only blood though. Gotta give him credit to go against heavy weight boxer whose bread and butter is....boxing! It would be interesting to hear about the level of glassyness of his chin. I am sure his neck is very strong for boxing and he is not afraid of pain and some heavy nose bleeds. What I find even more intriguing is that if he is able to oppose the natural will to change to sumo all fo a sudden heh..especially if he notices that his defense in boxing is not that good and he can't really get his punches to the target. I could at least imagine a couple of moro-tsuki to slam his foe to the ropes and then advance with fury and adrenaline peak. Then if he would lose his calm and all reasonable thinking he could do a nice hikiotoshi and okuritaoshi in between the ropes..hmmm....well I still hope he will do fine and won't bring moro-tsuki and oshi into play and get disqualified for being wrong. (Clapping wildly...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oikeassa 0 Posted December 5, 2003 I don't know if anyone is even following this thread about the (potentially VERY sad (Sigh...) ) Akebono K1 saga, but I read with gloom whatever information becomes available about the upcoming "fight". Kurt Easterwood on the Sumo Maillist posted this today from the Japan Today web site: "Film director Takeshi "Beat" Kitano weighs in on New Years' Eve TV entertainment options, the first part of which is about the K1 match-up between Sapp and Akebono, and is pasted below (not sure if this is a translation of a "Shukan" article or a Japan Today original. How Takeshi would like to kick ass on New Year's Eve Beat Takeshi gives us an insight into what to expect from the TV ratings battle on New Year's Eve. If you are spending the night at home in front of the tube, make sure the remote control is handy. Besides my show on UFOs, NHK will have its Kohaku (Red and White) singing contest going up against the fighters of Pride on Fuji TV, K1 Dynamite (TBS) and Inoki Festival (Nippon TV). The biggest drawcard is undoubtedly K1 Dynamite, in which former sumo champion Akebono will make his debut against K1 star Bob Sapp. It is being billed as the fight of the century (wow, long century, so far), but I doubt if it will be such an enjoyable spectacle. Even to my unsophisticated, unprofessional eyes in the fighting field, it is easy to imagine that the weak knees of Akebono aren't going to help him very much against man mountain Sapp. I remember another former sumo champion, Wajima, who tried his hand at pro wrestling after retiring from sumo. He was the center of attention leading up to his debut, then he flopped. I suspect Akebono is going to turn tail and run, too, once he gets in the ring with Sapp. One is from football and the other is from sumo. All Akebono can do is just charge forward in attack. He has no killer technique, so I cannot imagine how he's going to survive. Still, it was a good idea to get Akebono involved in the New Year's Eve extravaganza, but I guess his promotion agency doesn't know how to use him. What does a retired sumo star do? It's a question facing another retired sumo grand champion, Musashimaru, who announced his retirement after the November tournament in Kyushu. Since anything goes in K1, he should jump on the bandwagon, too. If he joined K1 or Pride, he could earn billions of yen just by signing a contract with either of them. Even it is called a match, you can still make money even if you have the crap kicked out of you and end up face down. No one will complain about his suitability for K1; they just want to see one contestant get his ass kicked. Beside Musashimaru, I think there are other potential K1 characters in Japan's sporting ranks. Former sumo champion siblings Takanohana and Wakanohana are great examples. Professional baseball players such as Kiyohara from the Giants and Irabu from the Hanshin Tigers are aggressive enough to fight in the ring. How about basketball's Okayama? How about they all become K1 fighters just for New Years Eve? Great idea, eh?" If anyone is still following this thread, maybe we can share any news that becomes available. Who knows--there might even be some positive developments (unlikely as that might be!). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest sumosquall Posted January 2, 2004 So... Akebono became a boxer... Poor man... I prefered him when he was a sumo wrestler but I guess we can cheer him... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fujisan 533 Posted January 2, 2004 Its not actually boxing Sumosquall,its K1 which is more like kickboxing- Do we really want to cheer him? I dont,I dont want to encourage him to go on embaressing himself and grand sumo traditions in the way he has. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
