Badr Hari has confessed to involvement in the beating sustained by a partygoer in Amsterdam last month.
Internet entrepreneur Koen Everink suffered fractures to his face and an ankle-break so bad that doctors told him he may have a limp for the rest of his life. He was beaten by three men in a VIP ‘SkyBox’ at the July 7 ‘Sensation White’ event at the Amsterdam Arena.
Hari was immediately linked to the attack but he left the country the next day for a pre-booked holiday with his girlfriend Estelle Gullit, estranged wife of the retired football legend Ruud Gullit. He passed no comment while he was away, but the victim allegedly told police and reporters that it was Hari who stamped on his ankle.
Its Showtime has cancelled the September 17 event it had planned for Yokohama, Japan.
A statement from Its Showtime promoter Simon Rutz was released today and provides the official reasoning, which you can read by clicking 'Read More'
Its taken some time but it seems Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic has finally decided to embrace the training methods of the modern day.
CroCop has been notoriously stubborn when it comes to his training methods and in recent years was one of the few top-name fighters with no formalised strength and conditioning routine.
But that has changed now as he is putting himself through gruelling workouts under a professional S&C coach. They have released a 40-minute video showing just what CroCop is putting himself through to get in fighting shape.
The question is, where will he be fighting? He is signed to K-1 but that organisation doesn’t appear to have much activity going on, besides its recently announced American grand prix event.
CroCop hopes to win a full K-1 World Grand Prix but if one does take place at all, the field will be thin this year because all the top names are with Glory.
Badr Hari is facing a possible attempted manslaughter charge following an appearance in front of an Amsterdam magistrate today.
He is alleged to have taken part in an assault on a reveller at a rave in Amsterdam Arena earlier this month, before going on holiday with his girlfriend Estelle Gullit, estranged wife of the Dutch footballing icon Ruud Gullit.
Having returned from holiday this week Hari handed himself in to police Wednesday night and was arrested on doing so. He has been detained in custody since then and today his remand was extended by the magistrates, who gave police permission to hold him for two weeks.
Badr Hari has been arrested.
The heavyweight kickboxer returned to Amsterdam this week and reported to police today, whereupon he was arrested pending an interview tomorrow.
Hari will be quizzed by detectives investigating the assault on Dutch entrepreneur Koen Everink, who took a bad beating at a dance music event staged in Amsterdam Arena on July 7.
Its one of the oldest arguments in fight sports - is being a fighter a team endeavour or an individual pursuit?
Over in the UFC there is constant pressure from Dana White for team mates to fight each other but he is generally resisted on the grounds that there is a close bond between the fighters which they don’t feel able to violate.
Its no different in Muay Thai and kickboxing - the fighters represent teams and academies which they feel strongly about. And while its only them in the ring fighting, its their coach and team mates in their corners. But how much does team matter at the end of the day?
Some experienced fighters give us their thoughts:
Veteran trainer Thom Harinck is backing the Romanian heavyweight Raul Catinas to achieve greatness in the sport.
Catinas took a stoppage win over the veteran Croatian fighter Ostojic at the latest Superkombat event, knocking him down three times in the first round and forcing the referee to step in.
Harinck has only been training Catinas for five months but he says the fighter is making vast improvements already. A hard-hitter, Catinas has never really bothered to use his legs - despite competing in kickboxing - and has been learning a lot about kicking and kick-timing from Harinck at the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam.
Harinck spoke to the Romanian site Luptatorii.ro about his charge, who he thinks can mirror the achievements of the great Peter Aerts one day.
“Everyone is different, he is unlike any other fighter. I do not make a comparison but I can say that Raul is something I’ve not seen before in a 45-year career. He has a devastating left hook, he is the first white fighter I’ve seen who hits as strong as a black fighter.
K-1 is pulling out all the stops to attract interest for its upcoming open tryouts in the US.
The new owners of the brand - it was bought by a Korean-Japanese investor named Michael Kim at the start of the year - have recruited several famous names of the kickboxing world to be on hand for the tryouts, which take place tomorrow.
This week it announced that Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, a legend of yesteryear, will be on hand at California’s Muscle Beach for the official K-1 Tryouts, along with previously announced attendees Alistair Overeem, Rick Roufus, Tyrone Spong, Mighty Mo, Dewey Cooper and Masato.
Also, K-1 today announced it has confirmed more than a dozen of the best trainers in the business, including Colin Oyama, Gene Fields, Paulo Tocha, Rob Kamen and Mark Beecher to take the various attendees through their drills and the tryout process.
"Not only are we bringing in the biggest stars of the sport to help evaluate talent for our open tryouts, we are also bringing in the best trainers in the industry to assist the hopefuls," said Doug Kaplan, CEO, K-1. "We have people coming in from all over the world, and we understand how important this opportunity is for them. We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday."
‘Hopefuls’ appears to be an official K-1 designation for the tryout attendees, who will be vying for a spot in either the 70 kilo or heavyweight tournaments. There are apparently just over 200 registered - assuming they all turn up, there should be some decent fighters among their ranks. But they will all be unknowns, which raises interesting questions in terms of how they will be promoted and presented as fitting heirs to the K-1 legacy.
Some of the trainers that will be attending the tryout to help put people through their paces and assess their quality:
Colin Oyama
Oyama is currently the coach of undefeated heavyweight and UFC rising star Shane Del Rosario, UFC flyweight Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall, Bellator Middleweight Contender Giva "The Arm Collector" Santana, world ranked female fighter Carla Esparza among others.
Gene Fields
Fields was the first American coach to have the "youngest and first" American Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion (2003) in Carter Williams. He is a professional trainer for more than 35 years.
Paulo Tocha
Born in Africa, Tocha moved to Thailand to learn "real" Muay Thai boxing. Tocha is the Senior vice president of the United States Muay Thai Association, World Muay Thai council judge and referee, World Boxing Council judge and referee, and a Nevada State Athletic Commission mixed martial arts referee.
Rob Kamen
A Dutch Muay Thai Champion, Rob Kamen is one of the best-known figures in kickboxing. He is a nine-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion.
Mark Beecher
Based in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, Mark Beecher has groomed champions in many of the world's top promotions for Muay Thai and MMA. He trained champions such former UFC champion Forrest Griffin and Muay Thai standout Kevin Ross.
This mini-documentary looks at the lives of young trainee fighters in Thailand. They are often from poor families in the rural areas of Thailand and their parents send them to the camps to make money, which they do by fighting from as young as eight years old.
Its been around for a while but its worth watching again and again - Buakaw Por. Pramuk kicks seven shades of sap out of an innocent tree.
Botanists have renamed this species of tree Arbor Masato