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| Standardized Tournaments And Ratings System AUTHENTICATED KICKBOXING RECORD As of 5 December 1985 Revised: 24 September
2011
 
FRED
“The Gladiator” ROYERS Born: 15 March 1955 Citizenship:
Netherlands Birthplace: Arnhem,
Netherlands Height: 5 foot 8 inches
(1.73 meters) KICKBOXING RECORD | Total | Wins | Losses | Draws | No Contests | Knockouts | Kick-Knockouts | International Rules | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | Full-Contact Rules | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | STAR SUMMARY RECORD | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | Asian Rules | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | SUMMARY TOTALS | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | | | | RING STATISTICS | | Championship | Career | Qualifying Bouts | 8 | 21 | Rounds-Fought Average | 6.5 | 5.7 | Knockout Average | 50.0% | 28.6% | Kick-Knockout Average | 37.5% | 14.3% |
ORIGIN OF NICKNAME Dubbed “le Gladiateur”
(or “The Gladiator”) by French journalist Jean-Paul Maillet in reference to
Royers’ workmanlike willingness to quickly switch back and forth from one
martial arts discipline or prescribed set of rules to another without any apparent
diminished effectiveness or need to retrain his pugilistic skills. Maillet had
seen Royers on the savate and kickboxing circuits in Europe, knew Royers
trained in muay Thai, and was inspired to provide a nickname when he saw Royers
finish second in the middleweight division in traditional karate at the 1982 World
Games in Santa Clara, CA, USA. SPECIALTY FIGHTING SKILLS Low kicks, stick-and-move jabs mixed with lead-leg front
kick and round kick jabs that set up right crosses, reverse kicks or spin kicks
and spin backfists; generalship. KICKBOXING TITLES STAR Undisputed Middleweight
World Champion (160 lbs / 72.7 kg – Without Clinch-Fighting) WKA Middleweight World
Champion (160 lbs / 72.7 kg – International) WKA Middleweight
European Champion (160 lbs / 72.7 kg – International) BFS Middleweight
European Champion (72 kg / 158.5 lbs – International) NKBB Super Middleweight
Netherlands Champion (75 kg / 165 lbs – Asian) BFS Super
Middleweight European Champion (75 kg / 165 lbs – International) STAR / Official Karate Kickboxing Hall of Fame:
Runner-Up Fighter of the Year 1985 STAR / Official Karate Kickboxing Hall of Fame:
Top Kickboxer of the Year 1984 Director of WKA
European Operations Date | Result | Weight | Opponent | Location | Method | Round | Sanction Rules | Promoter | Corroboration | W-L-D, KO,KKO | Titles – Notes | 1985
Dec 05 | LOSS | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Youssef
“Zef”
Zenaf *1 | Stade
Pierre de Coubertin Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 9 | IKL WAKO Full-Contact | FFBAAA | S | 3,4 Video 1-4 | 19-1-0,6,3 | IKL-WAKO Super Middleweight World Title | 1985
Oct 20 | WIN | 160 lbs | “The Tank” Yasuo
Tabata *2 | Jaap
Edenhal Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 12 | WKA International | Ampye
Verkaart | S | 2,5,6,8 | 19-0-0,6,3 | Wins WKA Middleweight World Title STAR Recognition as Undisputed Middleweight World
Champion (Vacates WKA Middleweight World Title on 1986 Dec 31) | 1985
Aug 30 | WIN | 160 lbs | Ralf
Berger | Berlin,
WEST GERMANY | KKO (low kick) | 6 | WKA International | Henk
Ruhling | S | 9 | 18-0-0,6,3 | Retains WKA Middleweight European Title | 1985
May 12 | WIN | 160 lbs | Keith
Nathan | Jaap
Edenhal Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | KKO (low kick) | 4 | WKA International | Ampye
Verkaart | S | 10 | 17-0-0,5,2 | Retains WKA Middleweight European Title | 1985
Apr 22 | WIN | 160 lbs | Pascal
LePlat *3 | Elysees
Montmarte Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 9 | WKA International | Joel
Goncalves | S | 10,23 | 16-0-0,4,1 | Establishes WKA Middleweight European Title First WKA Event in France | 1985
Mar 25 | WIN | 74 kg / 162.9 lbs | Robert
Paturel *4 | Stade
Pierre de Coubertin Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 5 | BFS International | Gilles
Barissat | S | 11 | 15-0-0,4,1 | 1985
Feb 03 | WIN | 160 lbs | Ernie
Jackson | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | SPLIT DECISION (MKR penalty) | 9 | WKA NKBB International | Ampye
Verkaart | S | | 14-0-0,4,1 | 1984
Apr 28 | WIN | 74 kg / 162.9 lbs | Christian
Bahfir *5 | Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 5 | NONE Asian | Unreported | S | 12,23 | Muay Thai 1-0-0,0,0 | STAR Classifies Bout as Muay Thai, Excludes from
STAR-Rated Kickboxing | 1984
Mar 29 | WIN | 160lbs | Larry
Nichols | Hollywood-by-the-Sea,
FL, USA | DECISION | 9 | WKA International | Howard
Hanson | S | NBC-TV Video-5 | 13-0-0,4,1 | 1983
Sep 23 | WIN | 160 lbs | Billy
Chau *6, 22 | Jaap
Edenhal Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 9 | WKA International | Henk
de Vries | S | 7,13,14 | 12-0-0,4,1 | First WKA Event in Europe | 1983
Jun 18 | WIN | 72 kg / 158.5 lbs | Gaetan
Litricin | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | FORFEIT | 0 | BFS International | Johan
Vos | | 1 | 11-0-0,4,1 | 1983
Jun 10 | WIN | 72 kg / 158.5 lbs | Youssef
“Zef”
Zenaf *7 | “Nuit
de la Boxe Americaine” Stade
Pierre de Coubertin Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 7 | FNBA Full-Contact | Giles
Barissat | S | 1,16,17,18, 19 Video
6-7 | 11-0-0,4,1 | Wins BFS Middleweight European Title | 1983
Mar 13 | WIN | 72 kg / 158.5 lbs | L.
Minocci | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | FORFEIT | 0 | BFS International | Unreported | | 1 | 10-0-0,4,1 | 1983
Feb 28 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Robert
Davis *8 | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | KO | 1 | NKBB Asian | Thom
Harinck Jan
Plas | S | 1,15 | 10-0-0,4,1 | Wins NKBB Super Middleweight Netherlands Title | 1982
Jun 19 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Robert
Paturel | Paris,
FRANCE | TKKO | 4 | BFS International | BFS | S | 1,20,21 | 9-0-0,3,1 | Wins BFS Super Middleweight European Title | 1982
Apr 04 | WIN | 72 kg / 158.5 lbs | Christian
Bahfir | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 5 | NKBB Asian | Jan
Plas | | 1 | 8-0-0,2,0 | 1982
Mar 14 | WIN | 72 kg / 158.5 lbs | Hans
de Ruiter | Paris,
FRANCE | TKO | 2 | BFS International | BFS | | 1 | 7-0-0,2,0 | 1981
Nov 23 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Henk
Kooy | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 5 | NKBB Asian | Peter
Stolp | | 1 | 6-0-0,1,0 | 1981
Sep 20 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Niek
Bloemberg | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | KO | 2 | NKBB Asian | Thom
Harinck | | 1 | 5-0-0,1,0 | 1981
Jun 21 | WIN | 79 kg / 173.9 lbs | Sarge
Solignac | Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 5 | BFS International | BFS
| | 1 | 4-0-0,0,0 | 1981
May 15 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Pascal
Leplat | Paris,
FRANCE | DECISION | 5 | FNBA Full-Contact | Daniel
Renesson | | 1 | 3-0-0,0,0 | 1981
Mar 09 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Alan
Dixon | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 3 | NKBB Asian | Thom
Harinck Jan
Plas | | 1 | 2-0-0,0,0 | 1981
Jan 18 | WIN | 75 kg / 165 lbs | Tuncay
Coban | Amsterdam,
NETHERLANDS | DECISION | 3 | NKBB Asian | Thom
Harinck Jan
Plas | | 1 | 1-0-0,0,0 | | LEGEND |  
| BFS – Fédération Française
de Boxe Française-Savate | DECISION – three judges
score for the winner | FFBAA – Fédération
Nationale de Boxe Américaine et Disciplines Assimilées | MAJORITY DECISION – two judges
score for the winner, one even | FNBA – Fédération
Nationale de Boxe Américaine et Disciplines Assimilées | SPLIT DECISION – two judges
score for the winner | IKL – International
Kickboxing League | DRAW – the judges
score for both contestants evenly | NKBB – Nederlandse
Kick Boxing Bond | MAJORITY DRAW – two judges
score evenly | STAR – Standardized
Tournaments And Ratings System | SPLIT DRAW – one judge
scores for each contestant, one even | WAKO – World
Association of Kickboxing Organizations | TDRAW – technical draw
(fight stopped without basis for a decision) | WKA – World
Kickboxing Association | KO – knockout | | KICK-KO (KKO) – kick-knockout | | KICK-TKO(TKKO) – technical kick-knockout | | TKO – technical
knockout | | NO-CONTEST – outcome
officially set aside | | NO-DECISION – competitive
bout conducted without judges | | M-WIN – official draw
or no-decision in which the contemporaneous media sports reporters express a
dominant opinion about who won | | FORFEIT – opponent fails
to compete |
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STAR Equalization Findings For
purposes of world-rated kickboxing competition and record keeping, STAR equalization
findings differentiate between amateur and professional bouts, exclude bouts
from other related combative sports (boxing, muay Thai, grappling), as well as arbitrate
any peculiarities that occurred in the early and unruly era of kickboxing’s
rapidly changing rules and uneven standards for fair competition. The STAR System had no interest in advancing one competitor
over another and never interfered with a competitor’s official kickboxing
record beyond the aforementioned distinctions. *1 | Royers v Zenaf-2:
IKL was initially intended as the professional arm of the amateur-based WAKO
sanctioning group. Rules prohibited low kicks. The two competitors had fought
two years earlier and knew each other’s technical style quite well. Royers
pressed the fight while Zenaf backpedalled and countered. Neither competitor
was ever hurt or in trouble. One STAR ring observer in France reported that a
draw might have been a more appropriate outcome: Zenaf never dominated the bout.
Also, Zenaf benefited greatly from fewer rounds and the hometown location. In accordance with WKA rules, Royers immediately offered
Zenaf a WKA world title shot at Royers’ normally lighter 160-pound
middleweight division. Zenaf declined since he never trained for low kicks. Royers
subsequently broke his arm during training, vacated his WKA world title
effective January 1987, and retired from active competition. Six months later, on 5 June 1987, Zenaf
survived a harsh knockout that left him in a coma for several days following a
losing IKL title defense against Christian Battesti. | *2 | Royers v Tabata:
WKA rules include low kicks, but prohibit striking-and-holding. Capacity
audience of 5,000. Royers circled constantly to evade Tabata’s dangerous leg kicks
and right cross then counterattacked with his own stinging jabs, low kicks
and head-high round kicks. Tabata rallied briefly in the eighth round,
connecting with a right. Royers fought back. The final round began with a
30-second ki-ya from Tabata to no avail: Royers won a clear decision. Royers defeated the reigning undisputed
STAR world champion and was immediately recognized as the new undisputed STAR
world champion. | *3 | Royers v LePlat-2:
As the first WKA bout in France, the judges were unfamiliar with how to weigh
low kicks for their round scores. They ignored low kicks altogether and
initially awarded the decision to LePlat on the basis of more above-the-waist
kicks. A protest was filed with the
WKA by Royers’ management. Royers, acting in his capacity of Director of WKA
European Operations, ordered a videotape review of the bout by neutral senior
judges. The outcome was reversed and WKA world headquarters in California
officially awarded Royers with the decision and the European title. | *4 | Royers v Paturel-2:
Boxe Française et Savate rules parallel
WKA rules: low kicks permitted, striking-and-holding prohibited. Competitors
usually wear soft gym shoes and one-piece running suits. | *5 | Royers v Bafhir-2:
Rules permitted knees to the body as well as holding-and-striking. Initially
judged as a draw, under immediate protest and videotape review, the outcome
was changed to a decision for Royers. | *6 | Royers v Chau: Part
of the first WKA event in Europe. Kaman defeated John Moncayo for the WKA
middleweight world title. Royers broke
both hands on his way to a close decision in a bout. In a February 1985
survey by Fighting Stars magazine (Black Belt magazine’s sister publication)
of veteran ring watchers, this bout was mentioned among the best kickboxing
bouts ever seen. | *7 | Royers v Zenaf-1:
FNBA rules parallel WAKO rules: low kicks and striking-and-holding
prohibited. | *8 | Royers v Davis:
NKBB rules permit low kicks, knee strikes but elbows only to the body;
restricts striking-and-holding. |
Corroboration
References 1 | STAR
Administrative Inquiry (1983). Personal testimonials by Fred Royers and Jan
Plas | 2 | Corcoran, John (December 1994).The Martial Arts Sourcebook, Perennial,
Harper Collins, New York, NY, Chapter 8 | 3 | Maillet, Jean-Paul (No.121). “Royers-Zenaf: Zef Super
Star”, Karate magazine, Des
Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 22-29 | 4 | Maslak,
Paul (June 1986). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | 5 | Maillet, J.P. (No. 120). “Le sacre du Gladiateur! Royers
Champion du Monde”, Karate magazine,
Des Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 22-29 | 6 | Maillet, Jean-Paul (No. 119). “Fred Royers: Pour qui sonne
le glas?”, Karate magazine, Des
Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 34-37 | 7 | Georges, Dominique (No. 98). “Rob Kaman champion du monde:
Trois Rounds Pour La Gloire”, Karate
magazine, Des Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 30-45 | 8 | Maslak,
Paul (May 1986). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 62 | 9 | Maslak,
Paul (April 1986). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | 10 | Maslak,
Paul (December 1985). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | 11 | Maslak,
Paul (November 1985). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | 12 | Maslak,
Paul (August 1985). “OK’s Full Contact Report: The 1985 Official Karate Kickboxing Hall of Fame – The Top Kickboxers of
1984”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, pp. 58, 60 | 13 | Maslak,
Paul (May 1984). “OK’s Full Contact Report – Europe”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | 14 | Maslak,
Paul (March 1984). “Rob Kaman Becomes Europe’s First World Champion”, KICK Illustrated magazine, CFW Enterprises,
Inc., Burbank, CA, USA, pp. 20-22. | 15 | Wilson, Jim and Hanson, Howard (October 1983). “WKA Report
– WKA Overseas”, Official Karate magazine, Charlton
Publications, Inc., New York, NY, p. 43 | 16 | Maillet, J.P. (No. 95). “Royers Bat Zenaf”, Karate magazine, Des Editions du
Monde, Paris, France, pp. 22-26 | 17 | Gaillac, Rolland (No. 94). “Du beau monde…”, Karate magazine, Des Editions du
Monde, Paris, France, pp. 18-21 | 18 | Georges, Dominique (No. 94). “Zef: ‘Le combat le plus
important de ma carrier” (cover story), Karate
magazine, Des Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 22-23 | 19 | Maillet, Jean-Paul (No. 93). “En attendant Zenaf…” (cover
story), Karate magazine, Des
Editions du Monde, Paris, France, pp. 29-45 | 20 | Dankert, E. (Jaargang 1, Nr. 6, 1982). “Savate – de
Fransen onttroond” (cover story), Zendokan
magazine, Holam Groep, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 24-25 | 21 | Wilson, Jim and Hanson, Howard (March 1983). “WKA Report”,
Official Karatemagazine, Charlton Publications,
Inc., New York, NY, p. 45, 60 | 22 | “Celebrity Survey: It Was the Best Fight I Ever Saw!”
(February 1985). Fighting Stars magazine, pp.
53-55, 60-61, 64 | 22 | Personal testimonial by Fred Royers (2011) |
Video
Links (availability subject to change) Other References ·
Fred Royer’s website | ·
Trefeu, Serge (2010). “Interview of Fred
Royers”, SiamFightMag.com | ·
Royers, Fred and Maillet, Jean-Paul (1987). Kick Boxing: Stratégies et
Techniques, Sedirep publishers, Geneva, Switzerland (ISBN-10: 2901551459, ISBN-13: 978-2901551454) | ·
NBC-TV
(USA), 1984 | ·
Jeffrey, Douglas (April 1994). “’The Jet’
Nearly Shot Down in ‘Farewell’ Victory”, Black Belt magazine (digitized by
Google Books), pp. 18-23 | ·
Maslak,
Paul (January 1988). “AK’s Kickboxing Report: My Favorite Kickboxers”, American Karate magazine, Condor Books, Inc.,
New York, NY, USA, pp. 58, 66 | ·
Maslak,
Paul (Summer 1986). “OK’s Full Contact Report: Kickboxing Hall of Fame –
Runner-Up Fighters of the Year 1986”, Official Karate Yearbook, Charlton Publications, Inc.,
New York, NY, USA, p. 13-15 | ·
Maslak,
Paul (July 1986). “OK’s Full Contact Report: Kickboxing Hall of Fame – Runner-Up
Fighters of the Year 1986”, Official Karate, Charlton Publications, Inc.,
New York, NY, USA, p. 41 | ·
Maslak,
Paul (1985). “Full-Contact Karate: Down for the Count or Headed for the Big
Time?”, Black Belt Yearbook magazine, Rainbow
Publications, Inc, Burbank, CA, USA, pp. 24-29, 121-122 | ·
Royers,
Fred and Maslak, Paul (May 1984). “An Exclusive Interview with Rob ‘The
Adonis’ Kaman: Europe’s New World Middleweight Champion” (cover story), Official Karate, Charlton Publications, Inc.,
New York, NY, USA, pp. 18-22. | ·
Maillet,
Jean-Paul (No. 140). “Interview Fred Royers” (cover story), Karate magazine, Des Editions du
Monde, Paris, France, pp. 30-37 | ·
Georges,
Dominique (No. 86). “Quand Deux Champions Se Rencontrent”, Karate magazine, Des Editions du
Monde, Paris, France, pp. 60-64 | ·
Maillet,
Jean-Paul (No. 76). “Fred Royers: Le Gladiateur” (cover story), Karate magazine, Des Editions du
Monde, Paris, France, pp. 46-51 |
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