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Sylvester “Predator” Terkay, who was undefeated on K-1’s
Dynamite New Years spectaculars coming into Saturday’s show was being
touted as the underdog for the first time in a long time. Predator was
fighting in his first ever K-1 rules fight, and on top of that, it was
against Remy Bonjasky, the two time Grand Prix Champion in 2003 &
2004!
Most experts anticipated
Bonjasky to dominate the fight as he is more adept to this style, and it
caters to his specialties which are his flying knees and kicks. Terkay,
who is a former NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, utilizes his great
size and strength against his opponents in most cases. Predator was
cornered by Valor co owner Rick Bassman, who along with Eddy Millis
developed a strong game plan and made sure it was followed through
with.
As the first
round started, Bonjasky went for a high kick, and Predator caught it and
backed him into the corner and proceeded to connect with some
devastating punches. This was seen many times throughout the fight,
Predator backing Bonjasky to the ropes and corners and delivering some
stiff shots. Predator also showed great skills in his blocking
techniques, especially against Bonjasky’s strike attacks. Predator also
demonstrated a great deal of toughness in his ability to take the
punishment of the hard low kicks Bonjasky likes to use.
Come round
two, Predator wowed the fans with great and hard low kicks of his own.
He then looked to have Bonjasky in some serious trouble as he threw
several punches to Remy’s head and stomach, causing Bonjasky to waver,
but he held on, showing tremendous heart and grit to take those punches
from the monster.
The third
round was no different, as Predator again drove punches into Bonjasky at
every opportunity. Rick Bassman was seen shouting instructions from the
corner several times to follow the specific game plan they had come up
with in training. Predator stuck to the plan, and it looked to be the
perfect strategy against Bonjasky. As the third round came to the end
many thought Predator had the decision. In a shocking decision,
Bonjasky won the fight with two judges favoring him, and one for
Predator. At the after party, the overwhelming consensus from fight
veterans such as Sam Greco, Musashi, Peter Aerts and Jerome LeBanner,
was that Predator should have gotten the decision.
Despite not
coming away with a win here, in a fight where all of the odds were
against him, Predator showed great promise in his first K-1 rules
fight. Many insiders said for him to last three rounds with Bonjasky
was a victory in itself. But the fact that most people felt he actually
won the fight means even more. Predator certainly is making his mark in
the K-1 world with performances like these. Many were touting Predator
as the next big thing in K-1 prior to this fight, and by the end of the
fight, he confirmed it.
by Anthony
Rosas
anthony@valorfighting.com |