Sam Greco : WCW In Australia
Australian Pro Wrestler In WCW (October 2000)
Sam Greco was a certainty, if there is such a thing, in his K1 fight against Samir Benazouza. But the opening up of the old wounds cut short the bout and a no contest was declared. It was an inglorious start for Sam to a year which predicts big things. "Basically at the start of the second round we clashed shins," says Sam of the no contest result. "I went for a trademark leg kick and he checked it which split open the old injury I suffered against Hoost in December. I kept going until the end of the second round, but as we were about to come out for the third, the referee said he had to call the doctor into the ring as there was blood coming out of it. The cut was too big to go on."
In K1 rules if the match is a one off and not a series and has only been in progress under half way, and if the injury is to the shin, the fight is stopped for safety purposes and a no contest is called because no one is deemed to be at fault. If the contest goes longer than half way the result goes to the score cards. "I was up on points in both the first and second rounds, so I would have won if the fight had gone on," says Sam. Now it is a matter of nursing the injury back to full recovery. "I gave December's injury two and half months but probably began kicking a little early. There were five stitches to tie it up then and my doctor believed they hadn't stitched it up enough. This time there are 14 stitches." Sam will take the time now to improve his boxing skills and nurse his wife through their first child, due in April. Greco delighted the Japanese recently by saying that if the kid was a boy he would grow up to be a K1 fighter and if a girl a K1 promoter. Congratulations to the Grecos on one of their greatest achievements. Greco hopes to be back in Japan for the June 18 clash with Francisco Filho. If his shins need another month he will fight in July. "I'm going to give my legs a rest but if the Japanese want me to fight in June and this injury hasn't healed 100 percent I'll offer to fight a K1 match as a boxing bout. I'm a big name there and the last thing they would want is to not have me there."
As far as making a career out of wrestling, he's received a call and things are eventuating but very slow. "At the moment it's a waiting game. A lot of people have told me different things about fighting for the WCW or WWF. I just want to make a break and fly the flag for Australia, but it's something I can't comment too deeply on."
There was also an offer by Mike Tyson's management for some big time boxing bouts in the States, but Sam declined in favour of his contract and new deal in Japan. The offer, which came about after Sam's manager Graham Burke showed the right people a reel of Sam's career, is still open. It may be an option worth considering in the not too distant future. So the avenues are big. Primarily, Sam will concentrate on the K1, but don't be surprised if one day you see Sam taking on Goldberg in the WCW or Steve Austin in the WWF as talks are underway with both multi-million dollar organizations. Then there's always the movies.
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