Winklejohn, Nurse, Mendez, who's the best kickboxer?

Mr.Dream

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In all these countdown shows they mention the striking coach was a world champion.

So how good are these guys really? Mike Winklejohn, Phil Nurse, Javier Mendez. No doubt they are good coaches but who has the best credentials as a kickboxer? And were they really top of the heap?

Any other striking coaches that should be mentioned? Did Duke Roufus win a championship?
 
Duke Roufus competed in K1 a couple times I believe, but never did that well.
 
Mendez was champ in ISKA. Rick roufus had a lil bit more impressive K-1 record than Duke. I can't even find a list of Phil Nurse opponents but apparently he was 33-3. Wink is 25-7-3 and has won ISKA belt and "two Muay Thai championships".
 
Add Duane Ludwig. He's the most accomplished of those, faced the better competition at least. Defeated Malaipet in 2004.
 
Mendez was champ in ISKA. Rick roufus had a lil bit more impressive K-1 record than Duke. I can't even find a list of Phil Nurse opponents but apparently he was 33-3. Wink is 25-7-3 and has won ISKA belt and "two Muay Thai championships".

How would ISKA compare with K-1?

Also did Phil Nurse ever fight in Thailand? I think I might've heard that from somewhere.
 
Apparently Winklejohn fought Dennis Alexio back in 87 for an ISKA cruiser weight championship, but lost a decision.
 
Why no Dellagrotte TS?

Never heard much about him but I just wiki'd him.

Says he has under 10 fights, most in Thailand and he stepped in the ring only to become a better trainer and teacher. Pretty cool
 
In all these countdown shows they mention the striking coach was a world champion.

So how good are these guys really? Mike Winklejohn, Phil Nurse, Javier Mendez. No doubt they are good coaches but who has the best credentials as a kickboxer? And were they really top of the heap?

Any other striking coaches that should be mentioned? Did Duke Roufus win a championship?
Duke might not have been a k1 star, but he was a top kickboxer in his weight class. If I remember correctly he ko'd Stan the man in the first round to win the ISKA, WKA, and WAKO titles.
 
Of the 3 mentioned - I have never seen Nurse fight before, so I can't rate him. I would rate Wink above Mendez due to the caliber of opponents he has fought. Winklejohn has been in there with guys like Dennis Alexio, Don Wilson, Rick Roufus, and Marek Piotrowski. He lost all those fights, but most were early in his career and he put up a good fight in most of them. He held 2 ISKA world titles and fought in all rule sets - full contact, IR and MT. Wink was a tough guy and he took on most of the top kickboxers of his era and always gave a good account of himself.

Mendez also held 2 ISKA world titles in full contact rules. He was a decent fighter but not great. The level of competition he fought wasn't as high as the guys Winkeljohn fought. I think all his fights were full contact rules, I don't recall any IR or MT fights. Some of his opponents were Piotrowski, Ian Jacklin, Mark Longo.

Duke Roufus held IKF & KICK world titles, and maybe an alphabet title or two. I'd put him up there with Wink as far as career and the quality of his opponents - Mo Smith, Stan Longinidis and also fought some of the top tier k-1 guys. Maybe not quite up there with his bro Rick, but had a pretty decent career.
 
Going to necro this thread for the sake of Marek Piotrowski.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marek_Piotrowski

He is the greatest kickboxer because, coming from an underdeveloped communist country, without modern-day training methods and medicine, he rushed onto the kickboxing scene to take 10 kickboxing titles from the most prestigious kickboxing orgs of the time and from the most challenging fighters - like Rick Roufus and Don "The Dragon" Wilson! Undefeated in Kyokushin, undefeated in boxing, 44-2 in kickboxing. The Punisher.
 
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