Above: Marcus Luer, Managing Director, GLORY SPORTS INTERNATIONAL, the owner and rights holder of GLORY World Series, addresses the media on-hand at a GLORY World Series press conference. | Photo Credit: Bas Uterwijk/GLORY World Series.
GLORY World Series Acquires Kickboxing Competitor ‘It’s Showtime’ Historic agreement brings world’s best stand-up fighters into one league
BRUSSELS, Belgium (June 30, 2012) –GLORY SPORTS INTERNATIONAL (GSI), the owner and rights holder of the GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) championship kickboxing promotion and other related businesses, has agreed to terms with Dutch-based competitor, ‘It’s Showtime,’ led by the renowned European fight manager and kickboxing promoter Simon Rutz.
The landmark deal will effectively place all of the world’s top kickboxers, or stand-up fighters, under the same promotional umbrella. GSI will absorb other assets from and take over management of ‘It’s Showtime.’
“This is what the world of stand-up fighting has been waiting for – all the top fighters competing in the same series each time to find out who is really the very best,” said Marcus Luer, Managing Director of GSI. "GLORY World Series will be the ultimate platform and testing ground for these fighters to showcase their talent and skills. It doesn’t get much more exciting than this!
“By adding ‘It’s Showtime,”’ continued Luer, “GLORY has truly established itself as the No. 1 kickboxing league in the world. This is what the fans have been waiting for and we are here to deliver it. GLORY will soon announce a new series of events and a modernized tournament format for the rest of the year and for 2013.
“The matchmaking possibilities will create some amazing fights and fans will truly see the best competing against the best across all weight classes. We are changing the landscape of this global sport.”
About us:
The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier kickboxing league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to successful fighters in the 16-man grand prix tournaments which are open to only the very best fighters in each weight class.
With television deals spanning every continent plus a groundbreaking online streaming system, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organisations already.
Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organisation has offices in Holland, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel include prominent hedge-fund investors, the pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia and several executives from the Golden Glory team.