Feud Over Semmy Schilt Allegations Could Tear Kickboxing Apart

Head Kick Legend is all over the story:

In a move that has the potential to greatly impact the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix, Hesdy Gerges's team has filed a formal complaint against Semmy Schilt stemming from their Final 16 match last weekend.  Filed by Black Label Fighting and It's Showtime, the complaint argues that Schilt received illegal medical attention between rounds of the October 2 fight and calls for Schilt to be disqualified from the December 11 Grand Prix finals.  Here is the official statement from It's Showtime and Black Label Fighting.

Schilt's manager Bas Boon responded to Fight Opinion. Here's an excerpt:

As for the protest, I hope for Hesdy that the unprofessional behavior of his management will not lead to not using Hesdy in a superfight or reserve fight on December 11th. All fighters and coach/managers must sign a form at the rule meeting and can not discredit K-1 (Simon likes to speak about the rules, well... this is also a rule). Simon Rutz has all the right to protest how much he wants, but he should first wait for the result which takes two or three weeks according to K-1 rules.

What is really surprising is that a Dutch newspaper "the telegraph" printed this story on the front page - stating there is e a big chance of Semmy being disqualified? This is speculation, as K-1 never spoke to any media about any protest or result (confirmed by mail) and these lies came by a press conference froDm Simon. I contacted K-1 and they never talked to any media about this. This was orchestrated by Simon Rutz, who is a promoter himself and has his own agenda. They called the action of Bas Boon sneaky?

Dave Walsh breaks down what is really going on here and what the implications are for kickboxing:

The underlying problems here have to do with the two biggest fight camps involved in kickboxing going head-to-head. Golden Glory is clearly the big dog here, but Rutz's Black Label has talent like Badr Hari, Giorgio Petrosyan and Hesdy Gerges and many other developing stars. If anything, this puts K-1 in a bind, as it has to be fair to both sides to keep them happy. Rutz has made it clear that It's Showtime can work on its own, and the yearly Golden Glory shows have been successful enough for them to branch out into their new tournament format.

K-1 has to keep both sides together, as a fracture could create an irreversable rift in the kickboxing world. If It's Showtime/Black Label refuses to work with Golden Glory or vice versa, want to see a Badr Hari vs. Alistair Overeem rubber match? Never happening. Will Badr Hari ever get his win back over Sem Schilt? Who knows if this happens. This could be a disaster for not only K-1 but kickboxing fans worldwide as well.

With the news that K-1 is moving to their smallest ever arena for their annual Gran Prix, it's clear this is a critical time for kickboxing as their biggest promotion struggles to survive.