[div class=”notice” class2=”icon”]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div]
In the world of kickboxing, most of the focus is on K-1. Over the years, K-1 has in some cases made itself synonymous with the sport of kickboxing. With the recent downtime of K-1, It’s Showtime has stepped up and garnered much attention. SuperKombat and Fight Code have gotten a bit of exposure too. What about the smaller shows though? Every weekend there are many small kickboxing events around the world. It’s not uncommon in kickboxing for a world class fighter to be fighting on a smaller event. Kickboxing, compared to boxing and MMA is very hard to keep track of and follow.
Now, onto the Tatneft Cup. The Tatneft Cup is a kickboxing tournament held every year in Kazan, Russia. The tournament is spread over many events, with four rounds of the tournament. The first four events are labelled “1/8 Final” and feature opening round tournament matches within the different weight divisions. The tournament advances on to two 1/4 Final events, one 1/2 Final event and the tournament final at the very last event.
In hindsight, the Tatneft Cup would be labelled a smaller show. In terms of who is taking part in the tournament though, it’s anything but that. The 2010 Tatneft Cup saw names such as Artem Levin, Ismael Londt, Sergei Lascenko, Dzhabar Askerov and Dmitry Shakuta. The tournament also showcases some of Eastern Europe’s top kickboxing talent, who are otherwise unknown to most kickboxing fans. Enriko Gogokhia, Alexander Stetsurenko, Armen Israelyan, Uranbek Esenkulov and Alexander Oleinik are all very good kickboxers who have yet to get any exposure on the big shows.
