In many ways, Saki is very similar to the young Carter Williams who burst on to the American kickboxing scene just over a decade ago with a string of huge knockout wins via head kick and crushing right hooks, his trademark shot. Saki has the same kind of speed and explosiveness, plus a tendency to leave his opponents in a broken heap on the floor thanks to his own heavy left hand.
Like young Williams, Saki likes head kicks and in fact kicks of all kinds, including spinning back kicks to the liver and head. These days Saki is one of the most watched, most talked-about heavyweight fighters in the kickboxing world. The same was true for Williams in his heyday. Back when K-1 was in its prime, the Japanese organization thought Williams would be its key to breaking America open and they courted him assiduously. But at the highest international level, Williams generally fell short. He has good wins over the likes of Chalid Arrab and Bjorn Bregy but he struggled with master technicians like Peter Aerts and the particularly clinical Alexey Ignashov. Gradually Williams lost momentum and now, at 32, mention of his name brings a little sigh from veteran kickboxing fans who remember what might have been.
That is where he and Saki differ, because Saki has been taking most of what has been put in front of him to pieces. Tremendously fast for his size and weight, Saki has a fluidity that is truly breathtaking at times; he moves and strings combinations together in a manner that would suit one of the 70 kilo fighters taking part in the Grand Prix opening round fights on this same card. Sometimes its difficult for the matchmaker to get someone to face Saki and this time was no exception. It was left to the venerable Williams, now 32, to take up the challenge and step in against a fighter that on paper he has very little chance of beating or even going the distance with. But maybe there is more to it for Williams than a payday - perhaps he wants to prove something to the world that has forgotten him, or perhaps he sees in Saki a reflection of his younger self and thinks he knows where the chink in the armour is.
Williams isn’t the fighter he was in his youth. But as battle-worn, as he is, the older American heavyweight is still dangerous. Like those aging lions that will concede leadership of the pride without a savage final battle, Williams may begoing in there for more than a fight on May 26. He might be looking to remind us of all of what he once was and give Saki some new scars in the process. On paper, Saki is the heavy favorite for this encounter and with good reason. But as the saying goes, youth and talent are no match for age and treachery. He will have to be on guard against a Carter Williams who resents his own fall from grace and is looking the channel that hurt into Saki. One clean shot from either man can finish the fight instantly - don’t blink.