Fuck sake!

Shit. I need K1 and It's Showtime. Everything in combat sports is going shit sandwich for me lately. FFS!

Quote :

Big news from the kickboxing world today - controversial fighter Badr Hari has announced his retirement from kickboxing. The news came via Hari's management at It's Showtime, stating that the K-1 veteran would be leaving kickboxing in order to move to the US and begin a professional boxing career. Hari will have at least one final fight, as he faces Gokhan Saki on the January 28 It's Showtime card in what will be Hari's last fight.

Known as "The Golden Boy", Hari has been one of the most polarizing figures in K-1 and kickboxing for some time. Hari's aggressive style earned him great acclaim and a legion of fans, but his uneven temper has also caused him troubles. In 2008, Hari was the first fighter ever to be disqualified in the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals as he stomped a downed Remy Bonjasky in an ugly scene. 2010 saw a near repeat of this incident when he kicked Hesdy Gerges on the ground in an It's Showtime event. Shortly after the Gerges incident, Hari became entangled in an incident involving the assault of a nightclub bouncer. He was wanted by police in Amsterdam, and left the country for some time. He would not return to the sport until one year later after finally getting these legal issues sorted out.

Despite these troubles, Hari remains a very popular fighter. He's had great successes in his career, including twice making the K-1 Grand Prix finals, and holding knock out victories over huge names like Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts, and Semmy Schilt. His fights with Ruslan Karaev, Stefan Leko, and Errol Zimmerman are all classics for fans of non-stop action and huge KOs.

Hari has talked about the switch to boxing for some time, including an announcement that he would box for Morocco in the 2012 Olympics (though that seems to have passed). If he is serious about the move, his personality and heavy hands will make him an intriguing new Heavyweight, though he'll have to answer questions about his chin, defenses, and of course his temper.

One other note from this news - the Saki fight will be Hari's last, but he's also scheduled to take part in the K-1 Grand Prix later this year. However, It's Showtime, who is a co-promoter of the GP, stated that Hari may not take part, as the GP may not happen at all due to outstanding fighter pay on the part of K-1. If the GP happens, Hari will be in, but for now the event is in jeopardy.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/

Damn that sucks. he was really great to watch. why he is going to a sport you can not use your legs in is beyond me. i always remeber him having strong round house kicks.

Because K1 is on it's arse and Its Showtime, big and all as it is, is limited to Europe.

Have you ever tried to watch a K1 tournament? Kinda sucks mostly.... boring and I guess this opinion bears out with the limited growth they see. Hari's transition to boxing will not go well (my prediction) he takes 12 minutes to throw a jab, his looping lefts can be seen from the 10th row, his defense sucks and if you take away his one real weapon... kicking, he comes out as maybe an average boxer... maybe....

Krieger wrote:

Have you ever tried to watch a K1 tournament? Kinda sucks mostly.... boring and I guess this opinion bears out with the limited growth they see.

i don't think I've disagreed more with any statement ever made?!

No offense intended but the fact remains that K1 is not a financially sound organization with limited world wide audience proven out by the amount of money they have coming in. When was the last K1 ppv that made any real money in North America?

However I will concede that K1 does have a strong fan base and interest within that base. For me I have a hard time watching it BUT Im no longer a boxing fan either. Muey Thai tournaments from Indonesia (at least the ones I have seen) offer much more action (for me) than K1....

But again my point was not to offend but just to point out a fact.... and for K1 fans a sad fact because no fan wants to see their sport die off.

Sigh .... I do miss the glory days of Jai Alai

Their financials and all that are one thing but i really enjoy the K1 shows especially when I can watch the commentary from Schiavello and then again separately over here with a European commentator.

The It's Showtime shows are also fucking amazing- really great fights, tons of good production and there on at a reasonable time because they are held in Europe.

Muay Thai kicks ASS too but I don't get to see fuck all MT shows over here except when Eurosport have the odd old re-run.