Nieky Holzken isn’t done yet: Tokyo farewell fight suddenly becomes real

Three months after quietly walking away from combat sports, Nieky Holzken may not be done just yet.

The former world champion admits retirement came too fast after his failed boxing title fight against Germany’s Besir Ay earlier this year. Now, talks are underway for what could become a proper send-off in Tokyo — a city that played a major role throughout his legendary kickboxing career.

For a fighter who spent decades under bright lights in Japan, the idea almost feels too perfect.

Tokyo could become the final chapter

Holzken revealed that ONE Championship is exploring plans for a farewell fight in Tokyo, widely viewed as one of the spiritual homes of kickboxing. The 42-year-old says the opportunity immediately caught his attention.

“After losing that boxing world title fight, I decided too quickly to stop,” Holzken admitted. “That’s not really the warrior’s way.”

He’s realistic about his body, though. Twelve hard boxing rounds are no longer an option because of lingering arm issues. But a shorter kickboxing bout? Different story.

“Three rounds of three minutes? That’s a piece of cake.”

Anyone who followed Holzken during his peak years in Japan knows exactly why this matters to him. The Dutch veteran built a reputation there for his calm walkouts, brutal combinations, and ability to stay dangerous late into fights. Even in defeat, Japanese crowds respected him because he always came forward.

Retirement hasn’t slowed him down

Although he officially stepped away from fighting in February, Holzken hardly looks retired.

Inside his gym in Helmond, he still teaches almost daily and continues strength training several times a week. Sparring has become limited while he focuses on healing his arm properly, but the competitive fire clearly hasn’t disappeared.

There’s also another reason he remains deeply connected to the fight game: his son.

Geraldo Holzken steps into the ring this weekend in Rotterdam for his third professional boxing match, facing Moldovan fighter Crețu Octavian. And according to Nieky, watching from the corner is far more stressful than fighting himself ever was.

“It’s my own flesh and blood in there,” he said.

“He has ten times more talent than I had”

Holzken doesn’t hide how highly he rates his son.

At just 19 years old, Geraldo has already started building attention around the Dutch boxing scene with his calm demeanor and aggressive finishing instincts. His father believes the difference between them at that age is massive.

“He has ten times more talent than I had when I was 19.”

That statement carries weight coming from a man who won world titles across multiple organizations and fought more than 150 professional bouts.

According to Nieky, the biggest advantage is simple: Geraldo grew up inside a gym. While his father learned the sport from scratch, the younger Holzken has been surrounded by fighters, trainers, and fight camps since childhood.

Now he wants knockouts.

Ahead of Saturday’s bout in Rotterdam, Geraldo made his intentions crystal clear.

“I want to knock him out.”