GOOD NEWS for UK martial arts fans - kickboxing giants European Fighting Network are planning to hold a
card in London in December.
Simon Rutz, head of the Holland-based company, told Fightnewz.net that one of his It's Showtime events is
"more than 50 per cent" likely to go ahead at an unspecified venue in the English capital.
"We had a show planned for Nottingham a few years ago," said Rutz. "It didn't happen but we are now
negotiating with a group from England to organise a big Showtime event in December.
"It's still not ready, we must wait, but we are negotiating at the moment.
"We have a few possibilities for a location and we are busy with that.
"There is more than a 50 per cent chance that we will come to England."
It's Showtime events are televised in the UK, so there is a market already in place to explore.
British channel Setanta Sports have screened their last three bills - including Saturday's mega
card at the Amsterdam ArenA - as they broaden their fight sport coverage.
Having promoted in Milan already this year, European Fighting Network are also further expanding
their reach across Europe, with shows for Budapest and Belgium scheduled as well as having the UK event in the works.
Rutz's line-ups regularly feature top K-1 middleweight and heavyweight fighters, but he is not planning
to use Gokhan Saki for the time being at least.
Saki withdrew from a rematch with Tyrone Spong in Amsterdam through injury (foot) but reportedly said
he would fight for double the money at the last minute when his replacement and team-mate Ruslan Karaev pulled out after visa
issues.
Rutz, who eventually matched Spong with Attila Karacs, absolved Team Golden Glory boss Bas Boon from blame
but slammed Saki both during and after the pre-event press conference in Hoofddorp.
"I do very good business with Golden Glory very often and that's really not the problem," Rutz explained.
"What Saki did was not acceptable. I wouldn't say that I wouldn't use him ever again on one of my shows,
you never say never.
"Now I'm really angry, but we are human and maybe in a year that will change.
"But at the moment it's very difficult for me as the organiser to explain to people who buy a ticket what
the situation is.
"That's the problem and I must give the situation.
"I have good contact the whole time with Bas Boon from Golden Glory and my feeling is he didn't do anything
wrong now.
"But the fighter, what he did at the last moment, to ask double the price - that's not normal."
Rutz said relations between him and K-1 remain positive despite the absence of a traditional eight-man heavyweight
tournament in Amsterdam this year.
"K-1 have a financial problem at the moment - otherwise we are working together," he said.
"Our company have a really good relationship with the K-1 and I'm happy with the K-1.
"They promote kickboxing very good in the world and our companies work very close together."
Wherever he promotes from now on, Rutz also believes his fights will be judged better after the fiasco surrounding
Buakaw Por Pramuk's defeat to Albert Kraus.
The Thai had a disgraceful decision go against him in Eindhoven last November, prompting Rutz to hire
new officials and fire the old WFCA ones.
He added: "I fired the whole fighting organisation because I wasn't happy with it.
"What we do now is take judges - not three but five - from different countries like England, Holland and
Belgium because I never want to have that any more in the future.
"Decisions like that weren't good for us and the winner must be the winner.
"It's Showtime is my company but we hired the fighting federation in to do the judging.
"They didn't do the job very good and that was the problem."
