I've had a fledgling interest in kickboxing for nearly a decade now, and while i really enjoyed K1 in it's day, the lack of info about the 70's, 80's and early 90's has always gotten the better of my curiosity, so, i figured i'd try to start a discussion about it. As i can see there were four guys who laid a claim to being the best before 1993, Dennis Alexio, Branko Cikatic, Stan Longinidis and Maurice Smith, all of them had some claim to the top spot, just as all of them had some tangible questions about their validity.
To give a little insight as far as i understand it, Alexio was the dominant force in above the waist, american style kickboxing, having never lost a bout under those rules, and had beaten most high level fighters in the united states (as most fought under those rules). Knocks against him however are his record against other big names in bouts involving low kicks, a controversial no contest against Cikatic, and an 8 second tko loss to Longinidis via low kick, itself a source of controversy.
Cikatic on the other hand made his name with his amateur record, being a dominant force in the eastern bloc kickboxing scene, due to laws prohibiting professionalism in sport in his native Yugoslavia, he was unable to turn pro until late in his career, and was only able to make his way to the united states in his mid 30's. Although his record in the United States was rather unimpressive, earning him a single major title at cruiserweight, the raw data of his record hides being on the recieving end of a controversial fight ending foul against Alexio, and a rather poorly scored loss to Longinidis in Australia.
Longinidis however had a rather opposite Reputation to Cikatic, having won a number of seemingly high level titles, but often times against less than stellar opposition, however, it is argued that Longinidis was merely trying to build his image to set up big fights, as he offered open challenges to most high level fighters, and is the only one on this list to fight all other contenders. However his record in these fights is worth further inspection, having lost split decision to Maurice Smith, in what most observers thought was a one sided fight, won by a large margin in a unanimous decision against Cikatic in what most observers thought was a close fight, and won a tko against Alexio in 8 seconds via low kick, in one of Alexio's first low kick bouts.
Finally, Smith, had a decent record, having remained champion of an organization for roughly 9 years, however he competed in almost exclusively low kick competitions, so he had a much more diminished record than his contemporaries. (as low kick rules were uncommon in the united states at the time) Although he actively Campaigned for fights with both Alexio and Cikatic, he was only ever able to meet Longinidis in the ring, beating him in one sided fashion to a questionable split decision victory.
That's about as much as i know on the subject, so if i have gotten something wrong or missed out a great fight or fighter, i apologize, but to get back on track, who do you think was the best heavyweight of the early 90's?
To give a little insight as far as i understand it, Alexio was the dominant force in above the waist, american style kickboxing, having never lost a bout under those rules, and had beaten most high level fighters in the united states (as most fought under those rules). Knocks against him however are his record against other big names in bouts involving low kicks, a controversial no contest against Cikatic, and an 8 second tko loss to Longinidis via low kick, itself a source of controversy.
Cikatic on the other hand made his name with his amateur record, being a dominant force in the eastern bloc kickboxing scene, due to laws prohibiting professionalism in sport in his native Yugoslavia, he was unable to turn pro until late in his career, and was only able to make his way to the united states in his mid 30's. Although his record in the United States was rather unimpressive, earning him a single major title at cruiserweight, the raw data of his record hides being on the recieving end of a controversial fight ending foul against Alexio, and a rather poorly scored loss to Longinidis in Australia.
Longinidis however had a rather opposite Reputation to Cikatic, having won a number of seemingly high level titles, but often times against less than stellar opposition, however, it is argued that Longinidis was merely trying to build his image to set up big fights, as he offered open challenges to most high level fighters, and is the only one on this list to fight all other contenders. However his record in these fights is worth further inspection, having lost split decision to Maurice Smith, in what most observers thought was a one sided fight, won by a large margin in a unanimous decision against Cikatic in what most observers thought was a close fight, and won a tko against Alexio in 8 seconds via low kick, in one of Alexio's first low kick bouts.
Finally, Smith, had a decent record, having remained champion of an organization for roughly 9 years, however he competed in almost exclusively low kick competitions, so he had a much more diminished record than his contemporaries. (as low kick rules were uncommon in the united states at the time) Although he actively Campaigned for fights with both Alexio and Cikatic, he was only ever able to meet Longinidis in the ring, beating him in one sided fashion to a questionable split decision victory.
That's about as much as i know on the subject, so if i have gotten something wrong or missed out a great fight or fighter, i apologize, but to get back on track, who do you think was the best heavyweight of the early 90's?
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