It what can only be described as "sudden", It's Showtime has announced Badr Hari's impending retirement from the sport of kickboxing on their official website.

Badr Hari has decided to retire from kickboxing to start a new career as a boxer. On January 28, 2012, Badr Hari will fight his last kickboxing match on the IT’S SHOWTIME event in WTC Expo in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. After this fight, he will go to the United Stated to fully work on his boxing career.

This announcement will be a shock to the millions of kickboxing fans all around the world, but the sport of boxing will welcome and embrace this charismatic fighter.

In the U.S., many see Badr Hari as the man to relaunch the popularity of boxing, and he’s being seen as a mix of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

Even more bizarre than the news that Hari is retiring is the degree to which It's Showtime has their foot on the hyperbole accelerator in reflecting on Hari's boxing prospects. I'm no kickboxing effort, but I've seen enough Hari fights (and even chimed in atop my soapbox on his legal troubles) to know his defense leaves a lot to be desired. I do think Badr's mechanics are competent enough, but American boxing is nothing if not a polished, dedicated machine. David Haye would use Hari as a Moroccan toothpick, and not even Haye is part Tyson, or Ali. But nevermind the obviously absurd comparison.

In addition, It's Showtime appears to add weight to the rumor that the K-1 World Grand Prix may not even happen. However, the bad news is not to be outdone by the revelation that Gokhan Saki is also considering retiring from K-1. For a sport that is clearly ailing, this news couldn't come at a worse time. Daniel Herbertson has more at MMAFighting.

It's Showtime has announced that super welterweight kingpin Giorgio Petrosyan will be meeting promotional champion Chris Ngimbi at an event set for The Sand in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on December 17th.

The bout between Giorgio Petrosyan and Chris Ngimbi marks the first true sign of It's Showtime's effort to bring order to the ranks of its various weight classes. While finding real success, the promotion has generally oriented its events toward showcasing contracted talent in lieu of establishing an embedded set of weight classes. While the bout between Petrosyan and Ngimbi may do little for the promotion's lesser division - 73 kg., 95 kg., etc. - it is a great beginning to the process of making sure that championship contests are rooted in merit as much as name.

Giorgio Petrosyan has quite clearly been the top fighter at super welterweight for over two years and has posted a half-dozen wins under the It's Showtime banner alone. The two-time K-1 MAX champion's lone shortcoming at this point seems to be his recurring hand injuries. Petrosyan is also scheduled to meet Spain's Zeben Diaz at the It's Showtime event in Tenerife on November 12th.

Chris Ngimbi will enter the December bout not only as an underdog, but also with his early exit from the It's Showtime Fast and Furious tournament fresh in the minds of fans. There, Ngimbi was able to take a decision win over rival Murat Direkci before losing a decision to eventual tournament winner Robin van Roosmalen.

Petrosyan and Ngimbi have met once before, as Petrosyan took a three round decision in April 2008.

Look for additional news regarding the It's Showtime event on December 17th to come in the near future.

It's Showtime has announced an upcoming return to Spain, as the Dutch kickboxing promotion will head to Tenerife on November 12th. The event will be headlined by a bout including Giorgio Petrosyan, as well as promotional champions Danyo Ilunga and Javier Hernandez.

It's Showtime made its Spanish debut on June 18th, with an event in Madrid that saw wins from Murthel Groenhart, Abraham Roqueni, and more. The promotion also crowned its first Spanish champion that evening, as Javier Hernandez took a narrow decision against French Muay Thai striker Karim Bennoui in a 61 kg. title contest.

Returning less than five months later, the Dutch promotion will bring some top talent to the Canary Islands in November.

Giorgio Petrosyan is scheduled to face Zeben Diaz in a 70 kg. contest. Petrosyan will be returning from a hand injury that has kept him out of action since his July win over Hinata Watanabe. As for Zeben Diaz, the Spanish fighter surprised many by thoroughly handling Yavuz Kayabasi at the It's Showtime Madrid event in June. Since that time, the strong boxer has been stopped by the veteran Warren Stevelmans.

It's Showtime 95 kg. MAX champion Danyo Ilunga will make his second title defense in a bout against Loren Javier Jorge. Ilunga, who looks to have a busy end of the year as he is already scheduled for two bouts between now and this November bout, last appeared in an underwhelming bout against Nenad Pagonis. Loren Javier Jorge was last seen under the It's Showtime banner in a heavyweight loss against Tyrone Spong. Jorge is scheduled for another bout in Tenerife in the coming months, as he remains a draw in the Spanish kickboxing scene.

Amir Zeyada and Moises Ruibal will meet in a battle of the two most recent challengers for the It's Showtime 85 kg. title. Zeyada was defeated by Sahak Parparyan when given a chance at the vacant title, and Parparyan later defeated Ruibal. Neither fighter is terribly well known, but Zeyada has emerged as a pretty sound fighter after bulking up to 85 kg., and Ruibal is another of those fighters with a good fan base in the insulated Spanish kickboxing scene.

The event will also include a non-title bout between 61 kg. champion Javier Hernandez and former champion Sergio Wielzen, as well as a contest betwen Murthel Groenhart and Santi Gonzalez and another between William Diender and Jonay Risco.

The fight card, in full, via It's Showtime's official website:

Zeben Diaz vs Giorgio Petrosyan

Moises Ruibal vs Amir Zeyada

Jonay Risco vs William Diender

Loren Javier Jorge vs Danyo Ilunga (IT'S SHOWTIME world title 95kg max)

Sergio Wielzen vs Javier Hernandez

Santi Gonzales vs Murthel Groenhart

It's Showtime head Simon Rutz continues to release intriguing information about the promotion's plans for January 2012. It seems that both Melvin Manhoef and Errol Zimmerman will be included on the It's Showtime card set for January 28th in the Netherlands. Melvin Manhoef has been absent from the kickboxing ring for some time, while Errol Zimmerman has looked to bounce back from a stretch of mixed results over the past couple years.

The announcement, from Rutz on Facebook, reads as follows:

Today 2 other big fighters agreed to fight januari 28 th in the netherlands on our it's showtime event; errol zimmerman and Melvin Manhoef.
The fighterlist is now; Badr Hari, Tyrone Spong, Daniel Ghita, Gokhan Saki, Hesdy Gerges, Errol Zimmerman, Melvin Manhoef, Ben Edwards, Rico Verhoeven! We announce the location and matchmaking before the end off this month. Ticketsales starts october 15. Only 5000 tickets availble.

It's already been over a year since Melvin Manhoef has fought in a kickboxing match. His last bout was a May 2010 loss to Gokhan Saki. Manhoef was stripped of the It's Showtime 85 kg. MAX title earlier this year, a title now held by Sahak Parparyan. While It's Showtime has managed to build up some of its other weight classes in 2011, 85 kg. has remained pretty stagnant, save the exciting title fight between Parparyan and Amir Zeyada. The division could get a much-needed boost if Manhoef is to jump back into the mix.

Errol Zimmerman will fight under the It's Showtime banner for the first time in over two years when he is featured in January. The Golden Glory fighter stands at 3-0 this year, with his biggest win being a decision over Mourad Bouzidi. Zimmerman's underwhelming showing against Ewerton Teixeira at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final marked a fitting end to a very troubling period in his career. His entrance into a pretty deep heavyweight division is certainly intriguing, and should offer fans a real chance to reassess where he stands.

It's Showtime head Simon Rutz has stated that heavyweight kickboxing standout Gokhan Saki will be competing at the promotion's mega event planned for January 28, 2012.

Gokhan Saki has gone 5-1 since his last bout for It's Showtime, which was a May 2010 technical knockout win over Melvin Manhoef. The latter half of 2010 saw Saki qualify for the semifinals of the United Glory heavyweight kickboxing tournament, and also make it deep into the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010. Alistair Overeem was able to defeat Saki in the semifinal round of that tournament, as Saki was coming off of a close win in a brutal bout against Daniel Ghita.

Saki has fought twice in 2011, after taking some time to recover from the injuries he sustained at the K-1 WGP. The Golden Glory member was able to take home the United Glory tournament title with wins over Wendell Roche and Brice Guidon, in March and May respectively.

While there have been no confirmed match ups for the event, Simon Rutz has named roughly half a dozen top heavyweights who will be included on the fight card. Rutz has also notably stated that the event will not be headlined by a heavyweight tournament.

It's Showtime will be returning to the Netherlands in early 2012, as the promotion has announced plans for a significant event on January 28th.

Simon Rutz has been stating for some time that he would have a pretty big announcement at the start of September, and the It's Showtime head delivered when the event was announced on Thursday. There was a general belief that the early 2012 event would end up being a heavyweight tournament - that is not the case. No bouts have been announced, but the organization has released an impressive listed of planned participants.

From the official It's Showtime website:

IT’S SHOWTIME will organize a huge event on January 28, 2012 in The Netherlands. The location and the fight card will soon be announced. We’re full steam ahead in the negotiations, but we can already announce some fighters which will participate to this event for sure: Badr Hari, Tyrone Spong, Hesdy Gerges, Daniel Ghita and Ben Edwards.

Perhaps not a heavyweight tournament, but those participants at least guarantee that there will be a number of relevant bouts in the division. This is major news, as the sport's heavyweight division has been woefully inactive through 2011.

Fans are sure to also be interested in a bit of information regarding K-1 that accompanied Thursday's announcement. Though the K-1 World Grand Prix 2011 Final 16 event rumored for October can still not be confirmed, It's Showtime has plainly stated that they chose to push this major event in the Netherlands back until early 2012 because of K-1's tournament plans. We'll have to wait and see what exactly pans out for both promotions in the coming months, but heavyweight kickboxing seems very close to making a real comeback.

Although fans have known about the upcoming It's Showtime Fast and Furious 70 kg. tournament for some time, the Dutch kickboxing promotion has been silent regarding the other bouts that fans will get to see come September 24th.

It's Showtime has finally broken that silence, and released the full list of bouts planned for the event in Brussels, Beligum on their official website. Truthfully, this isn't exactly news. All of the bouts have already been confirmed through Brussels Fight Night Group, frequent co-promoters of It's Showtime. Be that as it may, it is nice to see the names finally listed on the It's Showtime website.

Artem Levin will defend his It's Showtime 77 kg. MAX title against Murthel Groenhart in the most intriguing non-tournament bout of the event. The bout between Levin and Groenhart may actually have more divisional relevance than anything else we'll see on the evening, given that Giorgio Petrosyan is out of the Fast and Furious tournament.

In addition to the championship bout between Levin and Groenheart, there will be a 73 kg. bout between Marat Grigorian and Kenneth van Eesvelde. The part of the event which won't be broadcast will have William Diender meeting Andy Ristie and Yavuz Kayabasi taking on Ahmed Zragoua in reserve bouts for the featured Fast and Furious tournament.

Look for more updates on the It's Showtime Fast and Furious tournament, as well as other bouts featured on the evening, as they should arise.

It's Showtime has announced that Dutch kick boxer Robin van Roosmalen will be the one to replace Giorgio Petrosyan in the Fast and Furious 70 kg. tournament on September 24th in Brussels, Belgium. Van Roosmalen joins an exciting field including Andy Souwer, Artur Kyshenko, Chris Ngimbi, Gago Drago, Murat Direkci, Chahid Oulad el Hadj, and Harut Grigorian.

Van Roosmalen will replace Petrosyan as a consequence of a hand injury suffered by the K-1 MAX champion in his July 16th bout against Hinata Watanabe.

The preliminary round of the Fast and Furious tournament will see van Roosmalen meet Chahid Oulad el Hadj in a rematch of an entertaining bout from earlier this year. The two fighters met at It's Showtime Sporthallen Zuid on March 6th, in a bout that van Roosmalen ultimately won via decision.

Robin van Roosmalen has emerged as one of the top young fighters from a strong Dutch kickboxing scene. He was able to advance to the semifinals of the K-1 World MAX 2010 West Europe 2010 tournament, losing to eventual tournament champion Mohammed Khamal. Van Roosmalen was able to bounce back following a subsequent loss to prospect Ajay Balgobind, winning five bouts in a row from December to March. He was again matched up with Mohammed Khamal at It's Showtime's most recent offering at The Sand in Amsterdam on May 21st, a bout which was well contested but ended with a decision in Khamal's favor.