SHOOT BOXING S-Girls Cup 2011 set for Aug. 19

VV Mei, Ai Takahashi, Bobby Ologun, Takeshi Caesar, Fuuka, RENA, Erika Kamimura

SHOOT BOXING held a press conference today to announce that the 2011 edition of the S-Girls Cup tournament will be Aug. 19 at SHIBUYA-AX. There will be a total of eight fighters in the tournament. Four were announced yesterday and all were at the press conference. There's one particularly strong addition to this year's tournament. Before I get to that, SHOOT BOXING owner Takeshi Caesar announced two celebrities to help run the show. He named Nigerian born comedian Bobby Ologun producer of the show and retired female pro wrestler Fuuka advertising manager. Of course Caesar is the real boss so these two are just figureheads. But it's not a bad idea. Both certainly know how to attract media attention. For those not familiar with him, Bobby Ologun became popular in Japan mispronouncing Japanese on the TV show The Funniest Language School. Watching Bob Sapp in K-1 inspired Ologun to train at Pancrase. And from 2004-07, he appeared on five K-1 shows and has a 2-3 record. So he is a fight fan. He said his main job for this show is to sell tickets. Of course Fuuka has fought for SHOOT BOXING. Since retiring from pro wrestling last year, she is general manager of the women's wrestling company STARDOM. The four fighters announced for this tournament are Erika Kamimura, Ai Takahashi, RENA, and VV Mei. The big addition is 18 year old kickboxing champ Kamimura. She is currently the WPMF & WMC World Women's Mini-Flyweight Champion. She also knocked RENA down during a recent exhibition match. RENA has won this tournament the last two years so she said she wants to three-peat. It remains to be seen how her recent loss to Ai Takahashi affects her. I would not be surprised to see Kamimura vs RENA in the first round. Caesar knows money when he sees it. Of course Takahashi is the current SHOOT BOXING Flyweight Champion and is always a threat. VV Mei is the only MMA fighter in this group but she has a lot of SHOOT BOXING experience. I expect SHOOT BOXING to bring over some gaijin fighters for this tournament and they may have some MMA on the show as they have done that in the past. Until someone beats her, Erika Kamimura should be the favourite.