Andreas "Andy" Hug (September 7, 1964 – August 24, 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, along with Mirko Cro Cop, Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Ernesto Hoost and Semmy Schilt,[1][2][3] Hug was renowned for his ability to execute numerous kicking techniques rarely seen in high level competition and although he was usually smaller than his opponents, standing at 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) and being barely a heavyweight, weighing around 98.0 kg (216.1 lb; 15.43 st) in his prime, he made up for his lack of size with his tremendous athleticism and speed. A southpaw, his trademark kicks included the axe kick and the "Hug Tornado", a low spinning heel kick targeting his opponents' thighs.

Raised in Wohlen, Aargau, Hug was a keen footballer in his youth but gave up the sport to pursue Kyokushin karate which he began practicing at ten years old. Beginning his full contact karate career in the 80 kg/176 lb middleweight division, he rose to prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s by winning numerous regional tournaments around Europe and made the transition to heavyweight in 1984. That same year, he competed in the Kyokushin World Open, knockdown karate's most prestigious competition, for the first time and made it to the fourth round where he was eliminated by Shokei Matsui. Returning to Europe, he won his first major title in the form of the 3rd European Championships in 1985 before entering World Open again in 1987. He became the first non-Japanese fighter to make it to the final of the competition but again lost to Shokei Matsui. Another European Championships win would follow in 1989 and he fought in his third and final World Open in 1991, losing a controversial bout to Francisco Filho in the third round.

Having become a popular fighter in Japan due to his technical diversity, spectacular aesthetics, tactics and strength, Andy Hug made the switch from Kyokushinkaikan to Seidokaikan in 1992, completing the step from being an amateur to becoming a professional fighter and star in Japan. After winning the 1992 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup, beating Taiei Kin in the final, and finishing as runner-up to Masaaki Satake in the 1993 edition, Hug then transitioned to K-1 kickboxing, scoring a first round knockout of Ryuji Murakami in his professional debut at K-1 Andy's Glove in November 1993. After a breakout win over K-1 Grand Prix '93 Champion Branko Cikatić in March 1994, Hug entered the K-1 Grand Prix '94 a month later as one of the tournament favourites but was upset by Patrick Smith via first round stoppage in the quarter-finals. Undeterred, Hug continued to improve his skills for the kickboxing ring and rebounded by winning the Universal Kickboxing Federation (UKF) World Super Heavyweight Championship in December 1994 when he knocked out Rob van Esdonk. He suffered another setback at the K-1 Grand Prix '95 Qualifying Round when he was stopped by Mike Bernardo but he would have his revenge the following year at the K-1 Grand Prix '96 when he won the tournament by finishing Bernardo with the "Hug Tornado" in the final. He continued to be one of K-1's top contenders in the following years, reaching the final of the K-1 World Grand Prix twice more (in 1997 and 1998) and becoming a three-time world champion by taking the WMTC and WKA titles under Muay Thai rules.

He was diagnosed with acute leukemia on August 17, 2000. On August 23, he fell into a coma and his illness was made public. Twenty-two hours later, Hug died following breathing difficulties due to multiple organ failure. He was thirty-five years old.

Kyokushin career (1977–1991)

After winning a number of beginners' karate competitions, Andy Hug was selected to represent the Wohlen Karate School during the National Team Championships in November 1977. His breakthrough performance came at the Swiss national Oyama Cup in 1979 at the age of fifteen when he defeated several opponents much older than himself to take the tournament crown. In 1981, Hug had an upsurge in competition as he was part of the Swiss team that defeated the Dutch in the finals to win the 4 Countries Team Tournament and recorded his first international success by taking a bronze medal at the 5th Dutch Kyokushin Championships in the 80 kg/176 lb middleweight division in Weert, Netherlands as he lost out to Koen Scharrenberg in the semi-finals. He also won the Swiss Oyama Cup for a second time that year, beating Heinz Muntweiler in the final, before further establishing himself as the country's top Kyokushin fighter by winning the 1982 Swiss Championships at middleweight. After reaching the round of sixteen in both the 2nd European Championships and the 6th Dutch Open, being eliminated by Jean-Pierre Louisset and Kenneth Felter respectively, Hug closed out the year by being crowned champion at the 1st Ibusz Oyama Cup in Budapest, Hungary where he defeated Mark Niedziokka in the final.

Hug again made it to the last sixteen at the 7th Dutch Open in 1983 and in 1984, he moved up to the heavyweight class with instant success, winning the Swiss nationals. In January 1984, he competed in the 3rd edition of the Kyokushin World Open, knockdown karate's most prestigious competition held once every four years. Andy was able to battle his way through and reached the final sixteen but lost to Shokei Matsui on points. 1985 was another successful year for Hug as he won the Ibusz Oyama Cup for the second time and the Swiss nationals for the third time before taking his most notable prize to date when he outpointed Klaus Rex in the final to win the 3rd edition of the European Championships in Barcelona, Spain in December of that year.

At the 11th British Open in London, England in 1986, he was eliminated at the semi-final round by Michael Thompson. They would then rematch at the same stage of the 4th European Kyokushin Championships in Katowice, Poland in May 1987 with the Englishman again coming out on top and forcing Hug to relinquish his title as European champion. Andy Hug returned to the World Open in November 1987 and made history by becoming the first gaijin to reach the final of the tournament, booking his place with a judges' decision win over Akira Masuda in the semis. There, he again faced Shokei Matsui and lost to his Japanese foe by decision once again.

With his status as an elite Kyokushin fighter secured, Hug began to compete more sparingly over the next few years. He won the 1st Sursee Cup in 1988, defeating Kenji Midori in the final, and became a two-time European champion in 1989 when he beat Michael Thompson to win the 5th European Championships in Budapest.

After an uneventful year in 1990, Andy Hug returned to the spotlight in '91 when he reached the final of the 6th European Championships in Budapest only to lose to Michael Thompson once more. The 5th World Championships also took place that year at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. In his third fight, Andy came up against Francisco Filho. At the end of the round, as the bell rang, Filho landed a mawashi geri on the side of Hug's head which left him unconscious on the floor. Despite protest from the Swiss camp, it was later confirmed that Filho's kick had indeed struck after the bell rang, but he had started his move before the time was up and Filho was declared the winner.

Switch to Seidokaikan and entry into K-1 (1992–1993)

Having been fighting in Japan with success for a number of years, Hug became extremely popular in the country. The fans were impressed by his technical diversity, spectacular aesthetics, tactics and strength. In 1992, he made the switch from Kyokushinkaikan to Seidokaikan, completing the step from being an amateur to becoming a professional fighter and star in Japan. He debuted as a Seidokaikan karate fighter on July 30, 1992, defeating Toshiyuki Yanagisawa on points at the Seidokaikan Kakutogi Olympics II. He then competed in and won the 1992 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup on October 2, 1992, overcoming Taiei Kin in the final. On April 30, 1993, Hug fought in K-1 for the first time, albeit under Seidokaikan rules, in a rematch with Nobuaki Kakuda at the K-1 Grand Prix '93. The pair previously met at the second round of the 1992 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup with Hug winning by ippon and the Swiss repeated his performance by stopping Kakuda with a knee strike from the Thai clinch in round two.[11]

Facing another of his previous opponents from the 1992 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup, he beat Minoru Fujita by decision at K-1 Sanctuary III on June 25, 1993. Undefeated as a Seidokaikan fighter, Hug entered the K-1 Illusion 1993 Karate World Cup on October 2, 1993, defeating Yoshinori Arata, Changpuek Kiatsongrit and Toshiyuki Atokawa on his way to the final where he met Masaaki Satake. After four overtime rounds, the bout went to sudden death where Hug lost in a tameshiwari contest.

Following the tournament, Hug began his transition from full contact karate to kickboxing and, already a part of K-1's roster, made his debut against Ryuji Murakami at K-1 Andy's Glove on November 15, 1993. He won by first round knockout, dropping Murakami with a body kick early before finishing him off with a right hook soon after. In a non-tournament attraction at the K-2 Grand Prix '93 on December 19, 1993, Hug faced Eric Albert and hurt the Frenchman seconds after the opening bell when he rushed out and landed his trademark axe kick on his face. After a prolonged beating and a spinning back kick knockdown, Hug was able to put Albert away with a series of punches late in round two. In just his third outing in the kickboxing ring, he took a considerable step up in class as he faced off with the reigning K-1 World Grand Prix champion Branko Cikatić at K-1 Challenge on March 3, 1994. Struggling early due to his lack of boxing prowess, Hug received a standing eight count from referee Genshu Igari in round one after being rocked by an uppercut from Cikatić. Hug, however, came into his own as the fight went on, utilizing his kicking game to better effect and boxing from the inside, even forcing a count of his own on the Croatian before winning a unanimous decision after five rounds.

Personal life

Andy met his wife Ilona Hug (born July 4, 1964 in Lucerne) in summer 1987 while she was working as a fitness trainer and model[24] and the couple married in Inwil on August 28, 1993.Their son, Seya, was born at Lucerne's Klinik Saint Anna on November 19, 1994. Around 1996, it became a struggle for Andy to see his family regularly due to his commitments in Japan and he encouraged Ilona to fulfill her desire to study art and design. Ilona and Seya moved to the United States where she attended the Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture for two years before returning to Switzerland upon completion of her studies.


Death and legacy

Andy Hug was in Switzerland in early August 2000 when he suffered more than thirty-nine attacks of high fever and heavy nosebleeding. He visited a hospital for medical tests and examination but doctors found no sign of illness. Despite the advice of the doctors and his manager Rene Ernst, Hug travelled to Japan on August 14 to train ahead of his planned participation in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka. On August 15, his Swiss personal physician found a swollen tumor on the left side of Hug’s neck and declared it malignant. He was rushed to the Nippon Medical School hospital in Bunkyo, Tokyo on August 19 after suffering more feverish attacks. The doctors diagnosed leukemia and began chemotherapy immediately. They also warned Hug that due to heart and circulation problems he had suffered for a while, the chemotherapy treatment might in fact adversely affect his condition. The doctors’ warnings proved true when, after starting chemotherapy, Hug suffered hemorrhaging of the brain and inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) combined with extreme fever. His body showed all the signs of acute leukemia: purple spots, digestion pipe bleeding, eyeball bleeding, urinary tract bleeding and genital bleeding.

On the morning of August 21, Seidokaikan and K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii visited Hug at the hospital and Hug told him that if he should die soon, he would like to die in Japan. Andy was reportedly in good condition on August 22, watching television, eating without help and speaking to Ilona on the telephone. That day, he also released the following statement:

“ Dear Fans ",

I think that you will be shocked when you hear in what state of health I am. When the doctor told me about it, it was an enormous shock even for myself. But I want to inform you about my state of health so that I can fight together with you against this illness. This illness is the most severe opponent of all my fights. But I will win. As if I would stand in the ring I will get power from your cheers and beat this strong opponent. Unfortunately I will not be able to fight at the tournament in October. I will fight against this illness in Japan and one day I will appear again with you. Don't lose hope!

Greetings, Andy Hug" - The message Hug posted to his fans on the internet on August 22, 2000 after learning of his illness.

His condition worsened on August 23 as he had difficulty breathing in the morning and by afternoon had fallen into a coma and was placed on a life support system. While in the coma, his heart stopped three times but the doctors were able to regain his pulse. When his heart stopped a fourth time on August 24, the doctors decided against reviving him and let him pass away. He was pronounced dead at 4:21 pm on August 24, 2000, two weeks short of his thirty-sixth birthday.

Reporting of Hug's death was broadcast live on Japanese news channels Fuji Television, Japan News Network, NHK World and TV Asahi. Peter Aerts, who was at the Nippon Medical School hospital having treatment on his lower back at the time, broke down crying for over two hours when told of Hug's passing. When interviewed, he dedicated his performance in the forthcoming K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Final to Hug. An hour-long press conference attended by the five doctors who treated Hug, Kazuyoshi Ishii and Francisco Filho was also held at 8:45 pm that night.

Hug's funeral was held on August 27 in Kyoto where his body was cremated and his ashes deposited in the cemetery of the Hoshuin temple. Eight hundred guests including Kazuyoshi Ishii, Hajime Kazumi, Akira Masuda, Shokei Matsui, Kenji Midori and Swiss President Adolf Ogi attended while more than twelve thousand mourners gathered outside. K-1 fighters Francisco Filho, Nobuaki Kakuda and Nicholas Pettas were among the pall-bearers.

His legacy remains as a true legend in kickboxing and knockdown karate, as well as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of both sports. Hug was the highest paid kickboxer in the world at one point and his matches in his native Switzerland, where he posted a perfect 6-0 record, drew a larger television audience than the tennis matches of Martina Hingis and the games of the Swiss national football team. In addition to his in-ring accomplishments, he was also known for his articulation, humility and strong work ethic.
source: wikipedia