The King of Kings organization (KOK) released the fight card for next month’s event in Helsinki, Finland. It’s the first event of a busy 2020 season for KOK, and the promotion has put together a stellar fight card with two world title fights topping the bill.
The KOK World Series 2020 in Helsinki takes place on 29 February at the historic Kulttuuritalo Hall, a storied venue known for hosting top rock music acts over the years. The event will be broadcast internationally on FightBox HD. KOK Fights TV will also stream the event live and worldwide.
FightBox KOK Hero’s Series 2020 in Helsinki
The action kicks off with the FightBox KOK Hero’s Series 2020 card. Six bouts are scheduled featuring some of Finland’s up and coming talent, along with fighters from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Uzbekistan.
German heavyweight Kirill Buller meets Pirkka Suksi of Finland. Buller had some good moments against Bosnian legend Dzevad Poturak at KOK 80 in Lithuania in November, but was forced to retire after the first round because of injury.
Finnish flyweight prospect Abdifatah Khalif returns to KOK after a victory in last year’s FightBox KOK Hero’s Series event. Khalif won his professional debut at last year’s event by unanimous decision over Alireza Aholami in a spirited battle. Khalif faces Korede Lawrence, also fighting out of Finland.
Featherweight Timo Venalainen lost a close split decision to Henri Kurttila last year. He’ll look to rebound with a victory against Ulugbek Zukhurov, a veteran fighting out of Uzbekistan.
Here is the fight card for the FightBox KOK Hero’s Series 2020 in Helsinki:
-77 kg: Ali Tamouri (Finland) vs Aleksi Holmberg (Finland)
-77 kg: Volodymyr Holubiev (Finland) vs Ricardas Kulis (Lithuania)
-60 kg: Abdifatah Khalif (Finland) vs Korede Lawrence (Finland)
-71 kg: Oskari Holmberg (Finland) vs Nikita Leshkovic (Latvia)
+95 kg: Pirkka Suksi (Finland) vs Kirill Buller (Germany)
-65 kg: Timo Venalainen (Finland) vs Ulugbek Zukhurov (Uzbekistan)
KOK World Championship 2020 in Helsinki
After the FightBox KOK Hero’s Series event, the KOK World Championship 2020 in Helsinki takes place.
The four-bout fight card begins with three-time Finnish champion Lauri “Pretty Boy” Suomela taking on tough Pole Hubert Dylewski. In the second bout, lightweights Niko Korventaus of Finland and Lithuania’s Deividas Michnevicius collide.
Finland’s Pok Bill and Igor Osinin meet for the vacant KOK World Featherweight Title. Pok earned his title opportunity by winning the four-man contender tournament at last year’s Helsinki event. Osinin has only lost once as a professional, and fights out of the well-regarded Sparta Gym in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The main event features reigning KOK World Middleweight Champion Daniel “The Finnisher” Forsberg. The tough Finn defends his crown for the second time against Poland’s Dawid Mirkowski. Forsberg successfully retained his title for the first time in November with a TKO win over Jurijs Orlovs in Latvia at KOK 81.
Mirkowski is one of Poland’s top kickboxers, and fights out of the Garuda Muay Thai Gym in Warsaw. He defeated tough Lithuanian Tomas Steponkevicius at KOK 55 in Vilnius, and will look to spoil Forsberg’s championship homecoming in Helsinki.
KOK World Championship 2020 in Helsinki
-65 kg: Lauri Suomela (Finland) vs Hubert Dylewski (Poland)
-71 kg: Niko Korventaus (Finland) vs Deividas Michnevicius (Lithuania)
-65 kg: Pok Bill (Finland) vs Igor Osinin (Lithuania)-for the vacant KOK World Featherweight Title
-85 kg: Daniel “The Finnisher” Forsberg (Finland) vs Dawid Mirkowski (Poland)-for Forsberg’s KOK World Middleweight Title.