Today, the Fourth of July, America will consume a lot of hot dogs. And most of those will be eaten in New York, specifically, Coney Island. The annual hot dog eating contest will see major league eaters like Joey “Jaws” Chestnut and Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas. Takeru Kobayashi, who currently holds the unofficial hot dog eating record, will not be participating in Nathan’s contest. Instead, he’ll be hosting the 1st Annual Crif Dog Classic, which you can watch live below.

Kobayashi, who won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest from 2001 to 2006, will not be competing in this year’s event. Due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating, Kobayashi has decided to take his talents elsewhere. According to ABC, Major League Eating has restrictions on how many sponsors an eater can have. Kobayashi decided not to play by those rules and has instead started the Crif Dog Classic at the restaurant Roberta’s.

This isn’t the first time that Kobayashi has been uninvited from the hot dog eating contest. In 2010, he held his own contest on a Manhattan Roof where he unofficially set the world record. Kobayashi ate 69 hot dogs, but since it was an unsanctioned event, Joey Chestnut still holds the record with 68.

George Shea, who is largely responsible for turning competitive eating into a sport, said:

“You know we have asked Kobi probably two dozen times to come sit … we have said let’s sit, let’s figure this out; we owe the world a rematch. He doesn’t want to do that, I respect him…. You know that the World’s Hot Dog Eating Champion is crowned in Coney Island and nowhere else, and that’s where he’ll be crowned.”

So as the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest goes on, Kobayashi will attempt to set a new world record at the Crif Classic. Here’s a live stream from the 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Live streaming by Ustream

Watch Takeru Kobayashi At The Hot Dog Eating Contest Live [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr