Johnny
"Superfoot"
Davis
Kickboxing in
Las Vegas
JOHNNY'S
HOME PAGE
johnnyd@akpromotions.org
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Director of Nevada
State Athletic Commission
Marc Ratner
Speaks
out on Kickboxing in Las Vegas.
MAY, 2001
The K-1 event features some of the
best heavyweight kickboxers and other martial art styles from around the world.
Many celebrities attended the prestigious event on May 5th, 2001 at the Las
Vegas Mirage Hotel. But one of the most well known figures in attendance had to
be the Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Marc Ratner. (Right)
The soft spoken Ratner seems perhaps a little timid and almost shy at first impression but it only takes a moment of conversation with him to realize that he is a very intelligent, confident, and serious opponent to contend with . I 'm sure fighters like former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson quickly realized that Mr. Ratner may be soft spoken but carries a big punch.
It was Mr. Ratner and his board of commissioners that lead the charge in issuing Mr. Tyson an almost lethal blow to his elaborate boxing career. The now famous "Bite of the Century", in regards to Mike Tyson's biting of champion Evander Holyfield's ear, forced the Nevada Commission to suspend Mr. Tyson's Boxing license in the State of Nevada. This is a major blow to any boxer seeking the big purses and promotions provided by the wealthy casinos to entertain their high rolling guest.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Ratner on several issues including his thoughts on Mike Tyson. I think readers may be surprised at some of his comments as well as pleased to know of his feeling towards the sport of kick boxing.
Interview with Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Mark Ratner, May 5th, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the K-1 Event...
- Johnny Davis:
"Mr. Ratner, How do you feel about the sport of kickboxing as opposed to
the sport of boxing?"
- Marc Ratner:"I enjoy the sport of kickboxing very much. I
really enjoy the spin around back kick (the spinning backkick) its one
of my favorite shots. The athleticism of kickboxers is just unbelievable! We've
had kickboxing here in Nevada for many, many years and its part of the boxing
family to me and we are delighted to have it!"
- Marc Ratner:"I enjoy the sport of kickboxing very much. I
really enjoy the spin around back kick (the spinning backkick) its one
of my favorite shots. The athleticism of kickboxers is just unbelievable! We've
had kickboxing here in Nevada for many, many years and its part of the boxing
family to me and we are delighted to have it!"
- Johnny Davis:
What do you think the future of kickboxing will be in Vegas?
- Marc Ratner: "I think the future is very big for all martial
arts especially the mixed martial arts. There are mixed martial arts people
trying to come here and we are having a meeting very soon to discuss mixed
martial arts...some of the tough man stuff and some of the hybrids that come
from them. (*This meeting already took
place prior to the posting of this interview.) As the Athletic Commission,
we are learning about mixed martial arts and certainly don't know enough about
these things. We are very knowledgeable about boxing. We're having a meeting on
*May 23rd, we are inviting some of the
Karate people, the Ultimate and Cage Combat people and really invite others to
come." (Note: There was a posting for the aforementioned meeting on May
IKF news page)
- Marc Ratner: "I think the future is very big for all martial
arts especially the mixed martial arts. There are mixed martial arts people
trying to come here and we are having a meeting very soon to discuss mixed
martial arts...some of the tough man stuff and some of the hybrids that come
from them. (*This meeting already took
place prior to the posting of this interview.) As the Athletic Commission,
we are learning about mixed martial arts and certainly don't know enough about
these things. We are very knowledgeable about boxing. We're having a meeting on
*May 23rd, we are inviting some of the
Karate people, the Ultimate and Cage Combat people and really invite others to
come." (Note: There was a posting for the aforementioned meeting on May
IKF news page)
- Johnny Davis:
"This brings me to my next question. Several of the judges you bring in
for kickboxing events are boxing judges. If this is correct, how are they
judging these matches based on kickboxing matches and rules?"
- Marc Ratner: "We do bring some kickboxing judges from
California. We had a seminar today to go over what our regular boxing judges
should be looking for in kickboxing matches. Its an ongoing and in-progress
learning situation. We do bring in out-of-state referees as well."
- Marc Ratner: "We do bring some kickboxing judges from
California. We had a seminar today to go over what our regular boxing judges
should be looking for in kickboxing matches. Its an ongoing and in-progress
learning situation. We do bring in out-of-state referees as well."
- Johnny Davis:"On
another issue, what do you think of Mike Tyson?"
- Marc Ratner: "Mike Tyson is respectful, professional,
and polite to me and that's all I can ask from him. I expect him to apply this
year here at the Nevada State Athletic Commission and we'll see what happens."
- Marc Ratner: "Mike Tyson is respectful, professional,
and polite to me and that's all I can ask from him. I expect him to apply this
year here at the Nevada State Athletic Commission and we'll see what happens."
- Johnny Davis:
"Is he really the un-crowned heavyweight champion of the world?"
- Marc Ratner: "Well that's a hard question. He lost the championship in the ring...when you say the un-crowned, he is going to have to beat Lennox (Lewis) or Nasim Rahman to be officially crowned. However, he is certainly the un-crowned champion of Pay Per View!" (we laughed)
Director Ratner is sincerely a fan of kickboxing and seems to really be making an all-out effort to allow the sport of kickboxing to shine in Las Vegas, the city of lights. We can all be thankful he's in our corner. I'm sure he will be at ringside for the upcoming K-1 event August 11th at the beautiful Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. We hope to see you there!
All information on this page Copyright by Johnny Davis, 2001
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