The WKN World Cup 2009 is being held in Malta today at the Sky Club in Paceville – the first time that it is being held locally.
The evening, which starts at 6 and concludes at about midnight, will feature K-1, kick-boxing and boxing bouts for title belts in a match between Malta and The World.
Athletes from 14 different countries will be fighting against Maltese athletes who will include some women kick-boxers.
Apart from Malta, the other countries/regions taking part are France, Belgium, The Netherlands, The Caribbean, Spain, Italy, Germany, Corsica, Ireland, Catalunya, Switzerland, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Egypt, Guadeloupe, Poland, Somalia, Turkey, Curacao and St Martin.
Adrian Axisa, of Ying Yang Kickboxing, is hopeful that this event will be a huge success. He said: “We have never had anything like this here. It is going to be a big spectacular show and the crowd will certainly be entertained, not only through the boxing bouts, but also because there will be some entertainment spots as well,” he said.
Axisa said the levels of the foreign athletes taking part in the event are well known because they are frequently seen in action on Eurosport TV programmes. They all form part of the World Kick Boxing Network which, this year, is celebrating the 15th anniversary since its foundation. He added that at least three of them are world kickboxing champions.
He said fights will be staged in different categories, that is, juniors (16 years upwards), ladies (kick-boxing) and adults (main events) where the main bouts will be the last on the programme.
These will see the top three local athletes, that is Terence Cilia, Reuben Azzopardi and Daniel Zahra, in action.
With the organisation of this event, Maltese kick-boxing will be making history tonight as it will be the first time that a world event is being staged in Malta.
The athletes representing Malta will be the following:
Juniors
Kick-boxing: Keith Mills, Kersten Borg.
Women
Kick-boxing: Ruth Tanti, Lucienne Desira
Men
Kick-boxing: Steve Martin, Matthew Lagana, Stephen Cassar, Jonathan Curmi, Charles Buttigieg, Darren Borg.
Boxing
Men: Ludwig Muscat
K-1
Men: Terence Cilia, Reuben Azzopardi, Daniel Zahra.
The judges will be Wolfgang Raach of Germany, Pedro Fernandez of Spain and Mario Saliba (Malta) – they all reside in Malta. The international chief referee will be Jerome Loisel.
The organisers thanked their sponsors and helpers who include Dimos Melifronides of Bling Promotions, Tao Natural Health Centre, Ying Yang Boxing Club, Untours, Right Deal, Dual Zone, Britannia, Ir-Rokna (which is offering the accommodation of the athletes), Sailor Arms and the World Kickboxing Network.
The competition is being organised by representatives of the WKN (World Kickboxing Network) event in Malta, that is, Adrian Axisa, TAO Natural Health Centre of Bugibba, 99256363, Dimos of Bling Promotions (Mob. 79007618), and Noel Mercieca of the YingYang Kickboxing Club (Mob. 79208283). One should contact the above promoters for any further information regarding Martial Arts and the upcoming event.