“…and boxing begat K1 which begat MMA which began – boxing.”
As reported in the latest Wrestling Observer, KID Yamamoto has left the HERO’s organization in an attempt to become an Olympian. His family has a storied history of Olympic caliber wrestling, from his father to his sisters, everyone in KID’s life seems to be a high level wrestler. Including Yamamoto himself. I don’t think this will last. The transition from wrestling to MMA is difficult, reverse the years of instinctual training will be a monumental task. But, KID is a fantastic athlete so perhaps he’ll do it. I give him all the credit in the world. He’s walking away from a great deal of money to become an amateur. While I’m sure he won’t starve, the “money-making” years of an athlete are limited and to leave in your primes takes guts. Or foolishness. Probably both.
The larger ramifications of this are clear: HERO’s, once the top MMA group in Japan, has lost its biggest star. KID was the cornerstone of the company and without him to drive ratings HERO’s will be in a predicament of sorts. Genki Sudo is dealing with a multitude of injuries and will likely feel pressure to come back before he’s fully healthy (which is playing with fire). Akiyama is popular, but he’s not KID. Sakuraba is a legend but with HERO’s being so new, there aren’t any dream matches for him. I’m sure there would be interest in seeing him take on Akiyama, but not to the degree of a “dream inter-promotional match.”
K1 MAX will probably do OK for the short term, as it’s carried by Masato. But there’s only so much he can do and since he’s competed at a high level for a long time now, in a sport where the body absorbs a great deal of lasting punishment, I think his injury woes will grow more pronounced.
Bob Sapp and K1 are still at odds, but I think the loss of KID will make their reconciliation happen soon. Hong Man Choi is another freak show attraction but I think the market for that is waning (though I believe Choi will still be a big deal for a bit). Bobby Ologun is another of the “attractions” that draw big ratings but I don’t know for how long. People will only pay so many times to see a goofball comedian fight. Same goes for Sapp. Even if (when) K1 brings him back, he’s passed his drawing peak. He is still a star, but the magic where he could literally fight anyone and pull enormous ratings is over.
This all gets magnified with PRIDE’s troubles. It’s no longer one company in trouble, it’s all of them. The entire Japanese fight market is in a state of flux right now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not going away by any stretch of the imagination; the world of fighting is to ingrained into the Japanese culture to disappear over night. Just as no matter how bad the boxing scene may look in America, the fans will always return when the “next big star” comes out, the Japanese fans will stay around as long as marketable stars exist.
In fact, that’s exactly what has happened with Japanese boxing, as the rise of the Kameda brothers is the “new hot thing.” The Kameda’s are fascinating to me because they’re in a traditional sport. This isn’t an Ishii created K1 organization, this is boxing and th boxing traditionalists aren’t going to support the gimmick matches that K1 was built on, and while the brothers will likely get protected as much as possible, there is always a feeling in the boxing community that you need to fight the best, more so than exists in MMA/K1 (likely because there was no such thing as K1 and MMA until recently). Already I read articles questioning their talent.
“Their opponents are not Japanese, but foreigners whose abilities are unknown,” a said a kyodo.com article. “Therefore, some boxing experts question their abilities.”
The kyodo article quotes Koichi Maruyama, a “freelance writer who has covered boxing for more than 30 years” as saying, “It is good that they are popular, but what if they don’t perform like professional wrestling styles?” Maruyama continued: “I feel they may be cheating fans who don’t know about boxing by cleverly arranging matches to that they don’t go against tough opponents.”
For now though, the brothers are bringing in gigantic ratings (over 40 % in the Kanto district, kyodo reports) and are the undeniable “in thing.” Just as Masato before them, the Kameda’s have an empire built on a loyal female following that never traditionally cared for boxing. Will it last? I dunno. I doubt it. Fighting is still a male sport and while women may flock to a “pop star” fighter, they won’t stay around long term. Remember N’Sync? The Backstreet Boyz? The New Kidz on the Block? Sure you do, but that’s just it: all you can do is remember them, because they’ve fallen off the face of the earth.
As I said, boxing has a system in place (flawed as it may be) and I think the pressure on the Kameda’s to fight top flight competition will be greater than people like Bob Sapp experienced. And the champions WILL want to fight them. The Kameda’s have to be the biggest drawing fighters who weigh around 112 lbs. Recognized champions (for whatever a WBC, IBA, etc… recognition means) are probably thinking, “Finally, a chance to make some money.” How will the Kameda’s look if they’re publicly challenged by the champion and turn down the fight? They may sing and dance after a fight, but they DO have to still fight. And if they fight the champion and lose, how long will they last after that? Of course, if they win…
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