Choi Hong-man to Fight Sefo in Reserve Match

How many punches can Choi Hong-man land on aging Ray Sefo remains to be seen in a reserve fight of the K-1 World Grand Prix Final in Yokohama, Japan, Saturday. / Korea Times File

By Kang Seung-woo

Staff Reporter

Choi Hong-man is set to rehabilitate his reputation as a once-promising K-1 fighter.

The South Korean behemoth, who stands 2.18 meters tall, will face the veteran but declining Ray Sefo of New Zealand in a reserve match of the eight-man K-1 World Grand Prix Final, which kicks off at 5 p.m. in Yokohama in Japan Saturday.

The winner of the fight will step into the ring if any of the semifinalists pull out of the tournament due to injury.

Choi, who is riding a three-match losing stretch, including a tapout loss to undisputed No. 1 fighter Fedor Emelianenko of Russia in a mixed martial arts (MMA) match on Dec. 31, 2007, failed to earn a quarterfinal spot after losing to Morocco's Badr Hari in Seoul in September and was criticized by local fans for his sluggish performance.

Choi, who is determined to fight actively from the beginning, said he is ready to fight.

``Usually, I train in Japan, but this time I stayed in Korea and trained harder, changing my sparring partners and changing all aspects of my fighting style,'' Choi, 28, said in a media conference.

``I'm ready for Sefo, he's a good fighter, he's fast and has a good right, but he's going down."

The former ssirum champion added that his lighter body has improved his movement.

Since Choi made his K-1 debut in 2005, he has weighed about 166 kilograms.

But after his brain surgery in June, he lost weight and was at 146 in the Hari bout.

He is expected to step into the ring at a similar level.

Sefo, though, expressed high expectations for a win.

``I feel good and I'm confident. Nothing is easy but my team and I have been working hard. Jan [Nortje] has been my main sparring partner and he's pretty big,'' said the 37-year-old, who has lost in six straight competitions.

``I'm not going in looking for a KO though, I want to do what I do best, which is be aggressive and win the fight, and then maybe we get into the tournament."

The four main fights are: Errol Zimmerman of Suriname vs. Ewerton Teixeira of Brazil; Gokhan Saki of Turkey vs. Ruslan Karaev of Russia; Remy Bonjasky of the Netherlands vs. Jerome Le Banner of France; and Dutchman Peter Aerts vs. Hari.

[출처 : 코리아타임스]