body blows. The second round was electrifying -- Hari using his reach to sink the left jab repeatedly, switching to the body blows when Zimmerman brought the guard up. It was looking a lot like Hari's fight until Zimmerman got in with a right straight punch to score the bout's first down.

Hari sat in the corner, but his face communicated disappointment, not pain. Calmly rising to beat the count, Hari finished the round on the offensive, closing with body blows then tight hooks, staying away from Zimmerman's dangerous uppercuts. The aggression yielded results at the clapper as a Hari right hook dropped Zimmerman.

It was all Hari in the third. Scoring at will with the left jab, firing in a punishing front kick and closing to score with the fists. About the best thing one could say about Zimmerman is that he showed a hell of a good chin, that might carry him to the final bell. But not quite. It was a brutal right straight punch that proved the decisive blow, sending Zimmerman gracelessly to the canvas and Hari to the final.

Saki and Bonjasky met in the second semifinal. A tentative start, both fighters testing the distance with low kicks and jabs. While moving well, Saki seemed unsure of his attack tactics, and had a difficult time getting inside. But Bonjasky was unable to use his height and reach to deliver anything unsettling. The "Flying Gentleman" did, however, get the hurt through in the second. After a strange exchange, Saki found himself all alone center-ring. From the ropes, Bonjasky bounded in with a flying kick that caught the Turk on the left of the body. Perhaps it was sheer kinetic energy, but the force of the blow left Saki on the mat in extreme distress. He could only just manage to get to his knees by the end of the count, so Bonjasky went through to meet Hari in the final.

A healthy Hari and a healthy Bonjasky seemed an ideal final -- but sadly it soon turned surreal. The contest started well enough, the two sizing each other up, Hari testing with the jab that had served him well earlier; Bonjasky closing with low kicks and punches. Midway through the first, Bonjasky got a solid left hook on target. Hari went back onto the ropes then rebounded forward to find a Bonjasky kick coming at his head. The leg sailed high as Hari went to the mat. Hari beat the count and rallied somewhat at the end of the round, closing with body blows then adding a little extra at the bell.

In the second, Hari, aware he was down on all three cards, came out like a loaded gun. Bonjasky answered a body blow with a low kick, and Hari replied with another body blow. The give-and-take repeated several times, both fighters putting their all behind the strikes. After delivering a big right, Hari had Bonjasky on the run. But then things went wrong.

After Bonjasky had countered with a middle kick, Hari grabbed the his opponent's leg and threw him to the mat. That's the sort of marginal foul a fighter can get away with most of the time, but Hari wasn't done. His fighting spirit hijacked by rage, Hari then approached his downed opponent to pound down a couple of punches. He'd crossed the line, but incredibly he wasn't finished. Even as veteran referee Nobuaki Kakuda tried to wrest him away, Hari persisted, stomping a heel onto Bonjasky's head.

The crowd was stunned into silence.

Bad boy Hari was forcibly coaxed to a neutral corner as Bonjasky lay motionless on the mat. Hari was assessed a yellow card and a one-point penalty, and the ringside doctor came in to have a look at Bonjasky. After the five-minute recovery interval elapsed, the doctor reported Bonjasky was still seeing double and could not continue. A furious Kakuda then showed Hari a red card and declared him disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Bonjasky had the win.

"I wanted to win, but not this way," said a teary-eyed Bonjasky from center-ring.

"Remy's corner was screaming at him to stay down," said a defiant Hari in his post-fight interview. "I came to fight and he didn't. He's a great actor."

"I don't have anything to say to Badr," said Bonjasky afterward. "I still have some double vision. I also have a headache. If this was to happen in another major sport like soccer, it would be a serious problem. I was in tears because I trained very hard for this, and put many things aside to be able to train so much. I didn't want it to end like it did."

K-1 Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa's post-event remarks suggested that Hari's conduct had not only hurt Bonjasky the fighter, but also K-1 the sport: "It was such a careless thing for Badr Hari to do. He was incredible in the first and second fights, so it was such a waste. The event was broadcast to 150 countries. If we forgave Hari for such behavior, it would be insulting to all the other fighters. Giving him a red card means he will be fined his entire purse. On top of that, we will have to think of some further punishment after discussing this with [rules director] Nobuaki Kakuda."

"As a Grand Prix, it was an extremely interesting event, however the ending wasn't good."


In the tournament reserve bouts:

New Zealand slugger Ray Sefo took on Korean behemoth Hong-Man Choi in the first reserve. Choi brought a commanding 35cm/14" height advantage to the ring, but Sefo overcame it in style.

Sefo started with low kicks. When Choi tried to answer in kind, Sefo darted in with a barrage of body blows. Sefo's footwork kept him out of trouble through the first, while his hit-and-run attacks -- including a nice spinning back punch that caught Choi on the chin -- got him out of the round up on all cards. More spinning attacks from Sefo to start the second before a hard low kick that hurt the big Korean. Choi wanted to get the knee up, but Sefo's evasions were sound.

Sefo was clearly well-prepared for the height challenge -- on several occasions he smartly grabbed Choi's leg to deliver a body blow. Choi did little to adjust his tactics in the third, appearing frustrated as he vainly tried to hammer the fists down on his pesky opponent. Sefo was quick enough to avoid Choi's blows and smart enough to plant one or two of his own while retreating. A fine performance by Sefo for the well-deserved unanimous decision.

In his second tournament reserve it was Paul Slowinski of Australia and Melvin Manhoef of Holland.

This one started with Slowinski firing in hard low kicks that stung Manhoef; and ended with Manhoef firing in hard punches that destroyed Slowinski. A terrific