Sport review 13.02.15

 

Golden Glory founder Ron Nyqvist dead after fatal shooting in Amsterdam

As
multiple Dutch news outlets report, Golden Glory founder Ron Nyqvist
has been killed in a fatal gun shooting in a garage in Amsterdam on
Wednesday morning. Nyqvist has just been released from a 20-year prison
sentence.

The violence in Holland\’s organized-crime scene doesn\’t
stop. Gang-related shootings have been shaking up the country\’s capital
for the past several weeks. Now, another renowned figure from the world
of kickboxing has fallen victim to a fatal shooting on Wednesday
morning in a garage in Amsterdam\’s Osdorp district: Golden Glory founder
Ron Nyqvist.

Nyqvist has been a capable kickboxer in the old
days and helped building the world famous Golden Glory gym in Breda,
home of many kickboxing champions such as Semmy Schilt or Gokhan Saki,
as well as MMA fighters like Marloes Coenen and formerly Alistair
Overeem.

But the Germany-born Nyqvist has also been a member of
the “Brabant Gang”, an infamous group of Dutch drug traffickers, and a
convicted criminal who was just released from a 20-year prison sentence
for double homicide of two gang members.

Nyqvist was found dead
in a car park with a gun next to him on Wednesday morning. A woman was
accompanying him, she is in deep shock and has been escorted to the
hospital. According to the news in Holland, the police is investigating
in every direction and won\’t rule out a suicide.

The Dutch
kickboxing scene has for years been very closely tied to organized
crime. Gangland crimes and shootings often involve prominent heads from
the combat-sports circuit, like MMA fighter Hans Nijman, who got killed
in a drive-by shooting last November, or the drug-related 54-month
conviction of Glory fighter Hesdy Gerges, also in November.

I recently talked to UFC middleweight Gegard Mousasi, who also trained at Golden Glory, about the situation in Holland. He said:

   
“It\’s easier for fighters to get involved in crime because of their
mentality and where they come from. […] It depends on the person. You
can easier get in contact with someone who does some activities that are
not allowed. […] Fighters are not the richest guys, and if someone
comes and tells them they can make good money, then some of them will do
it.”

The strong connection between combat sports and organized
crime has led to a very critical approach to kickboxing by media and
politicians lately. Yet, it is still uncertain if Nyqvist has really
been the victim of a gang-related murder or committed suicide. We will
have more on the situation as it develops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wladimir Klitschko turned down $100M to fight brother.

Wladimir
Klitschko has held at least two world heavyweight titles since 2006,
but he turned down a huge payday from Don King to fight his older
brother, Vitali.
When Wladimir Klitschko defends his WBA (Super),
IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles on April 25 at Madison
Square Garden against Bryant Jennings, he will have held at least two of
the world heavyweight titles for more than nine years.

He
grabbed the IBF and IBO titles with a seventh-round TKO of Chris Byrd in
Mannheim, Germany, on April 22, 2006, and has held those titles through
17 defenses.
Now 38 years old and 63-3 in his career, Klitschko
added the WBO belt with his unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov at
the Garden in February 2008. He claimed The Ring title by referee
technical decision in nine rounds over Ruslan Chagaev at Gelsenkirchen,
Germany, in June 2009 and finally took the WBA super-heavyweight crown
in July 2011 with a unanimous decision over David Haye in Hamburg,
Germany.

The fiancé of actress Hayden Panettierre (Heroes,
Nashville) even had a chance to split a $100 million payday from
promoter Don King.

All he had to do is fight older brother Vitali
Klitschko, who was a heavyweight champion himself from 2004-12, holding
the WBC belt—which currently belongs to Deontay Wilder—until his
retirement.

On the Dan Patrick Show last week, Wladimir talked about the offer.

“You guys sign with me, I’m going to make this fight,” Klitchscko recalled King telling him. “I’m going to make you rich.”

But it was a fight that was never going to happen.

“We
were asked many times if we are going to fight each other or not, but
we made a promise to our mother that we will never fight each other,” he
said. “She asked us—you can box, you can both be involved in
boxing—which I don’t like, but you have to promise me one thing: no
matter what you won’t fight each other.

“A billion wouldn’t help.
Money is not everything in life. I understand that people are excited
and driven by money, but no. Between two brothers … I love my brother
too much.”

Vitali, 43, is now the mayor of Kiev, Ukraine. In
2013, Wladimir and Panettierre visited protests in Kiev, addressing the
crowds who assembled, demanding closer European integration.

Klitschko
has the second-longest reign in heavyweight history, behind only the 11
years, eight months and eight days Joe Louis held the title from
1937-49, giving it up when he briefly retired.

With 17
consecutive title defenses, Klitschko is third all-time among
heavyweights, trailing only Louis (25) and Larry Holmes, who defended
his crown 20 times from 1978-85 before he lost a unanimous decision to
Michael Spinks in September 1985.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UFC denies Brazilian news report that it has blocked $6 million payment to Anderson Silva

The
UFC is denying a Brazilian news report that they have blocked payment
to the former champ following his UFC 183 drug test failure.

Anderson
Silva has reportedly had R$ 6 16 million (roughly $ 2.17 6 million US)
blocked by the UFC due to his pre-fight drug test failure. Veja.com.br
reported the news, stating that the money will be released after the
Nevada Athletic Commission has made its final rulings on Silva\’s case.
The amount is the sum of his $600,000 purse to show, his win bonus of
$200,000, and his pay-per-view points.

After a 13-month layoff,
“The Spider” returned to the Octagon and beat Nick Diaz by unanimous
decision in the five-round main event of UFC 183 on January 31. However,
Anderson was caught using performance-enhancing drugs in a random test
taken on January 9. Drostanolone and androstane were found in his
system. Pending a vote by NAC officials on February 17th, the bout is
likely to be turned into a no contest.

Besides the potential
overturned result, Anderson\’s win bonus may be forfeit because of the
doping issue. Also, he is expected to be fined and suspended by the NAC.

 

 

 

 

 

Moldovan athletes won three medals at the Taekwondo  European Cup.

 

 

 

Fighters of WAK-1F Moldova on cooking TV SHOW.