conscription ended in April 1996. He also hired a new trainer. On June 1, 1996, in Paris, Le Banner won the ISKA Muay Thai World Super Heavyweight Championship against Curtis Schuster. On October 18, K-1 Star Wars '96, Le Banner beat Ernesto Hoost via second-round knockout. K-1 and boxing During 1997 Le Banner had trouble with his trainer again. As a result, Le Banner contracted former Christophe Tiozzo's promoter Jean-Christophe Courrèges. In 1998, Le Banner contracted boxing promoter Don King and well-known boxing trainer Don Turner. He was training with Evander Holyfield. On July 18, K-1 DREAM '98, Le Banner fought against Sam Greco. Le Banner was knocked down in the first round but managed to knock Greco out in the second round. On September 19, Le Banner fought in Evander Holyfield vs Vaughn Bean's undercard. Le Banner beat Espedito da Silva via first-round knockout by high kick, to become WKN Muay Thai world super heavyweight champion. Le Banner's pro boxing record was 6 fights, 6 wins, 5 KOs, 1 win by DQ. He was supposed to fight under boxing rules in the Madison Square Garden on February and March 1999, but had trouble with Don King about his contract so these matches were cancelled by King. Return to K-1 Le Banner could not fight both kickboxing and boxing due to contract problems. In 1999, K-1 producer Kazuyoshi Ishii solved his contract problem so that he could return to K-1. On October 3, K-1 World Grand Prix '99 Opening Round, Le Banner fought against Matt Skelton. Skelton became pro boxing WBA world Heavyweight title contender, WBO world Heavyweight number 5 contender. Skelton had never been knocked down by punches in his fighting career but Le Banner dominated Skelton with his boxing skills and knocked out Skelton in the first round. Matches of K-1 GP 99 final On December 5, at the Tokyo Dome, K-1 Grand Prix '99 Final Round, Le Banner fought against three-time defending K-1 GP champion Peter Aerts in the Quarter Final. Le Banner wanted to have Aerts as his opponent in the tournament draw. Le Banner was knocked down by Aerts's high kick but managed to knock out Aerts by left hook at 1:11 of the first round. In the semifinal, Le Banner fought Ernesto Hoost. Le Banner dominated Hoost in the first round but lost by KO in the second round. "The biggest KO of this