20 million TV viewers for Hopman fight

PRIMED: Zane Hopman is primed and ready to seize the crown at the King in the Ring 8-Man Cruiserweight Eliminator tournament at the ASB Stadium in Auckland tomorrow. PHOTO/FILE

World champion kickboxer Zane 'Hybrid' Hopman will contest his first professional
tournament at the King in the Ring eight-man Cruiserweight Eliminator on Saturday in a televised broadcast to a transtasman audience of more than 20 million viewers.

The 23-year-old Masterton fighter will travel to the ASB Stadium in Auckland for the cruiserweight showdown tomorrow night, with his corner team set to include Fortitude Thai Boxing Gym head coach Bryce Baron, fellow fighter and long-time friend Rhys Richards and boxing coach John Kamo.

He also has an entourage of friends and family travelling to the tournament, which is the tenth in the series.

The bouts will be drawn using a new format and televised on Sky Sport in New Zealand and for the first time, the King in the Ring will be screened live on Fuel TV and replayed on Fox, to a potential audience of more than 20 million viewers in Australia and New Zealand, according to King in the Ring promoter Arna Suttie.

Under the revised format, there will be four quarter-final match-ups drawn on the night from two pools of fighters, who will join battle under K-1 rules over three rounds of three minutes' duration each. The purse for the last man standing is understood to be worth up to $15,000.

Fighters on the card include defending champion T.Y. Williams (Tuhiwai Taiapa), Jamie Eades, Pati Afoa, Slava Alexeichik, Zack Fatamaka, Andrew Banham and Israel 'The Last Style Bender' Adesanya, who was coming off a TKO victory over Charles August in their WMC world title fight.

Over the past year, Hopman has achieved a 15-fight winning streak in the amateur ranks, capturing a North Island and a New Zealand cruiserweight title last year, a world championship heavyweight gold medal at the WMC IMFA World Championships in Malaysia in May, and the Wairarapa Times-Age Supreme Sports Award and Senior Sports Personality of the Year titles last month.

On June 20, he lost his New Zealand championship belt in a televised bout against New Zealand WKBF cruiserweight titleholder Afoa in a special bout at the ninth King in the Ring Eliminator tournament.

Hopman has completed a comprehensive training regime, ahead of the tournament this weekend, sparring up to seven partners in a row over two marathon sessions in the past eight weeks, and targeting his fitness and strength training.

He attracted experienced Wairarapa fighters for his sparring sessions including a former Australian state champion kickboxer, a nationally recognised Masterton boxer and elite fighters from other disciplines.

"I really have to thank all those people who supported me through the Team Hybrid tees and it was great to get the support as well from all those experienced people who came to spar."

Hopman is satisfied with his fitness and ring-readiness and is aiming to finish his opponents quickly and "take the initiative, take the fight to them".

He will enter the ring with a fight record of 15 wins (five by knockout) and one loss. He is injury-free and confident his world championship experience and familiarity with the venue, crowds and televised event hype will count in his favour on the night as well.

"It's a good chance for retribution after the last time out at the ASB Stadium and I'm ready to show the New Zealand fight community what I've got to offer.

"It's a stacked division, a stacked eight-man, and probably the best card they've ever had. I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to make my mark."