IT'S SHOWTIME kicked off today for 4 events in 5 weeks, starting with the weigh-ins and press conference for tomorrow's event in Lyon, France.

In his opening word, Simon Rutz declared that there will be a live broadcast on Orange France. It seems that some French newspapers write about other TV channels, but Orange is the one where the action happens.

Undercard fighter Wendell Roche looked more slim than ever. Host Jeroen Post asked him if he is also faster and Wendell made a clear statement: “Yes, I am. But my opponent is not here, so he is disrespecting me. Besides that, he was also 10 kilograms too heavy so I'm going to punish him 10 times harder”. Despite of Yuksel Ayaydin being 10 kilograms heavier than Roche, Roche isn't bothered by that and he didn't even seem to care. Wendell is tough as nails, something he already proved several times, and tomorrow he's on the lookout for a KO victory.

The first staredown at the press conference was between Chahid Oulad el Hadj and Giorgio Petrosyan. The Moroccan with the granite chin looked just like he did in the staredowns with any other opponent. While Italian Petrosyan is widely regarded as the absolute best fighter in his weight class, Chahid will be on a hunt tomorrow. Petrosyan seems to be in his element when he is facing fighters who push forward but the question is whether he will reign supreme just like he did against so many other good fighters.

Chris Ngimbi will be defending his IT'S SHOWTIME 70kg max world title for the first time. His opponent is French Willy Borrel, who looked impressively ripped! Ngimbi was jumping rope in the staircase of his hotel late last night, but today the scale still wasn't very friendly to him. Fighters usually have a 500 grams margin at the weigh-in, but when it concerns a title fight, there is no margin whatsoever. ‘The African Warrior' eventually made weight, so tomorrow he'll be able to defend his beloved title.

Ngimbi, well dressed as always on the pressers, appeared to be very confident. Borrel told the big attendance in the beautiful Casino Le Lyon Vert that he respects Chris but he is surely ready to fight. When Chris was asked about his feelings regarding his first title defense, he declared “It's MY title”. He will fight like a lion to keep it, otherwise he might just as well give Borrel the keys to his house, so Borrel can easily steal the belt, according to the champ.

Daniel Ghita's popularity is growing, so much is clear. When he entered the Casino he needed sunglasses for all of the flashing cameras. However, last minute substitute for the injured Anderson ‘Braddock' Silva, Moroccan Fikri Ameziane, was not impressed. The relatively unknown Ameziane, nicknamed ‘The Amazing', took this fight on approximately 1 week's notice. Offering yourself to fight one of the most dangerous heavyweights in kickboxing deserves nothing more than a lot of respect.

As if the fans won't be spoiled enough tomorrow, there is a second title on the line. For the first time in IT'S SHOWTIME history, there will be a fight for the 73kg max championship. Armenian powerhouse Marat Grigorian will fight Yohan Lidon from France. Just like Ngimbi, Lidon had a tough time making weight. His first attempt on the scale was not successful but eventually also Lidon made the cut for a shot at the title. Tomorrow we will know who the first 73kg champion will be…

Tyrone Spong probably wasn't the man ZZ Top wrote their song ‘Sharp Dressed Man' to, but he's surely in the run for anyone who'd cover that track.
When he was asked about his ‘sort of' comeback, he told the media and fans that he used his time off to adjust to his relatively new weight and to completely recover from surgery. He is back, looking forward to tomorrow and promised to deliver a good show against Croatian Igor Mihaljevic.

After a year of absence, ‘Golden Boy' Badr Hari is finally set to make his comeback. Today he already won the ‘Sharp Dressed Man' competition, where he even beat Tyrone Spong. Calm, cool and collective are the words that described Hari today. He shook Tony Gregory's hand while having a respectful smile on his face. Hari told he's been away for a long time and he is extremely happy to make his comeback in France, because he wanted to fight in France for a long time. Finally that moment is there, tomorrow in Palais des Sports in Lyon. He wished Tony Gregory good luck and said that he hopes that Gregory takes this fight seriously. Gregory stated that he trained a lot, he is ready and he will not come to be toyed around. Gregory only comes for the victory.

Kader Marouf of Knockout Promotion pointed out that there will be media from all around the world on the event tomorrow. According to him, nobody in France will surpass this event for the next ten years: “If you close your eyes, you will miss something”.

So if you don't want to miss anything, order your PPV stream now (this service is not available in France)! Go to www.showtimefights.com for more information. Don't miss the most stacked fight card of 2011 so far, and if you're a fan of kickboxing you may definitely not miss all these great athletes, 2 title fights and the comeback of Badr Hari!

For photos of the weigh-in & press conference