Ray Mercer tickets

One month after their respective "Battle At The Bellagio II" tournament appearances, American martial arts fighting stars Carter Williams and Marvin Eastman will suit up for battle during the "Aruze K-1 World Grand Prix 2004" mega-event in Nagoya, Japan on June 6th. Two-time world heavyweight boxing champion, "Merciless" Ray Mercer, will make his highly anticipated martial arts fighting debut during the eight-fight card when he squares off with K-1 superstar, Alexey Ignashov. Williams, who emerged a K-1 champion last May after taking hold of the 2003 North American crown in Las Vegas, has reached a sudden crossroads in his life after suffering two straight defeats in K-1 competition. "I'm not gonna give up," said the 24-year-old, known for his sincere devotion to "The New Fighting Sport" and to becoming the first American World Grand Prix champion in K-1 history. During the quarterfinal round of the April 30th Bellagio Hotel and Casino elimination event, Williams fell victim to professional boxing veteran "Mighty Mo." One month earlier, he suffered a knockout at the hands of the ferocious Ignashov. "I've still got many years left in me. Every fighter has his ups and downs during his career. Look at Roy Jones, Muhammed Ali or Mike Tyson. I'm not taking any of my losses as losses, though. I'm taking them as learning experiences. There's still a lot of fight left in me and I'm gonna come back from this."

Gradually becoming a favorite amongst Japanese fans, Williams will face The Czech Republic's Petr Vondracek in what will be the American's fourth career appearance in K-1's homeland. A powerful fighter with a rock solid build, Vondracek showcased his skills on American soil two years ago during the "K-1 World Grand Prix Semifinals" tournament in Las Vegas. To turn his fortunes around, Williams noted that he has cut seven pounds from his frame, bringing his weight down to 238 pounds. He is hoping, by fight time, to have trimmed down to 235 pounds, the same size that he was during his run to last year's K-1 USA championship. The 35-year-old Eastman, a hard-nosed knockout artist, will be faced with a tough task in Sweden's Martin Holm. On April 30th, Eastman floored two-time K-1 tournament champion, Michael McDonald, before becoming the victim of an inspiring comeback by the Canadian during the second round of their all-out slugfest. At 27 years of age, Holm has done battle with some of K-1's toughest figures, including Ray Sefo, and boasts a win over McDonald.

A former International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) world heavyweight crown holder who went the distance with Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in back-to-back appearances, the 43-year-old Ray Mercer will take part in a classic boxing versus martial arts fighting matchup when he locks horns with one of K-1's brightest young stars in Ignashov. A 15-year veteran of professional boxing, the Jacksonville, Florida native has given his sport some of its more exciting moments. After suffering a defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko two summers ago, the ageless Ray Mercer rebounded and reeled off three straight wins by way of knockout during his last three starts. Another pro boxing veteran, former IBF world heavyweight titlist, Francois "The White Buffalo" Botha, is scheduled to do battle during the June 6th affair with K-1's most accomplished champion, "Mr. Perfect" Ernesto Hoost. Three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, Peter Aerts, will take on "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge, who was victorious in his "Battle at the Bellagio II" Superfight with Toa. If ever there was a time for Wladimir Klitschko 38-1 (35 KOs) to shine now is it as he prepares to take on Ray Mercer 30-4-1 (22 KOs) this Saturday night in Atlantic City to be broadcast live on HBO in front of an American audience. Although clearly the most deserving of a shot at the heavyweight title of any contenders fighting today, the Ukrainian giant remains somewhat of an enigma among casual American fans of the sport.

Wladimir Klitschko does not get the attention he deserves among American fans I believe for several reasons. First off his two biggest victories against name opponents Chris Byrd and Frans Botha were never televised to an American audience. I don't think Botha is much of a fighter. In fact I would consider Botha even less dangerous a fighter than Monte Barrett or Derrick Jefferson (two other fighters that Klitschko holds victories over) but the fact remains that the White Buffalo due to the fact that he has been in the ring with Moorer, Lewis and Tyson has more name recognition than many fighters who are clearly better than him. Klitschko is also held back I believe due to the fact that he is not American. Lennox Lewis was held back for years having to beat Holyfield twice before he was recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion largely I believe because he was not American. Klitschko will probably get a chance to fight Lewis or some other future consensus champion before he is 33 like Lewis had to do but he should already have had that chance by now. There is no way that the IBF can make a credible argument that Chris Byrd should be the mandatory contender for Lewis when Wladimir Klitschko for the most part dominated the slick southpaw over the course of twelve rounds.

A common criticism of the Klitschko's is that they lack heart and that they failed in their moment of truth when faced with adversity. While such a criticism of Vitali Klitschko is valid I don't think its fair to tar Wladimir with that brush for his loss to Ross Purrity. As my friend Steve Trellert pointed out the Klitschko-Purrity fight from all descriptions I have heard of it was more along the lines of Jefferson-Izon than Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd. I have never heard anyone accuse Derrick Jefferson of being a quitter or lacking heart. I have never been one to believe in guilt by association. For Ray Mercer this is a chance to make up for years of inactivity against quality opposition after being sidelined by hepatitis. Ray Mercer is most well known for his close losses to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Many, and I am not one of them, claim that Ray Mercer did enough to beat Lewis in their fight in 1996. If any fighter lives up to there nickname it is Ray Mercer. His destruction of Tommy Morrison will always stand out in my mind as one of the most brutal finishes that I have ever seen. Against lesser fighters like Jeff Peguese and Don Steele most recently Ray Mercer still shows signs of being one of the best finishers in the sport as he sent both men out of the ring.