In addition to these young stars leaving kickboxing, Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky, and Peter Aerts have all basically retired also. With the fall of the K1 organization and Its Showtime being on shaky ground, the kickboxing world is on a lifeline. While kickboxing has never caught on in America, it has enjoyed popularity in Japan and in the Netherlands it’s a national past-time. But with K1 falling apart, the opportunities in Japan for kickboxers have also decreased.
Badr Hari, Gokhan Saki, and Tyrone Spong were three of the best, most talented and charismatic stars of the kickboxing world. Who is left now that they have gone? This is my opinion of who are now the most talented fighters, and also who have the most potential.
1. Errol “Bonecrusher” Zimmerman
Dutch kickboxer Errol Zimmerman has a resume filled with big names. He has fought Badr Hari, Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky, and has lost to many of them. But he was also fighting them when he was very young and gave Badr Hari a fight of a lifetime when they met. He also put out a good showing, with lots of heart and a desire to improve.
So far, 2012, has been his best year yet, where he just had a spectacular victory over top prospect Rico Verhoeven. He also destroyed the competition in a tournament night of fighting at SuperKombat: Fight Club in Romania. While this was against vastly inferior competition, the power Zimmerman displayed appears that he’s living up to his name “Bonecrusher.” And he was able to defeat talented Roman Kleibl with relative ease. With the experience that the young Zimmerman has already acquired and his increasing power and skills, I think Zimmerman will soon be at the top of the kickboxing world.
2. Daniel Ghita
Romanian Daniel Ghita is a very large, talented heavyweight who always seemed to come up short against top-level competition like Hesdy Gerges, Gokhan Saki, and even Gregory Tony (haha! at that one). If not for his spectacular win against former Its Showtime champion Hesdy Gerges, I would’ve named Gerges for this position.
But the power Ghita displayed, with his ability to knock out a very tough Gerges with one blow, shows just how much scary power Ghita now has (Badr Hari couldn’t do it when he fought Gerges). This is an ability that not very many fighters have, to knock out an opponent with a single blow. And while Ghita has losses, he has always been on the cusp of greatness. He has all the physical tools to be great, and now with the vastly changed kickboxing landscape, look for Ghita to come out on top.
