Written by Lyman Hoyt
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Monday, December 08 2008
The referee tries to restrain Badr Hari as he stomps Remy Bonjasky in their championship match of K-1's World GP 2008. Hari's actions during and after the bout shocked fight fans worldwide.
"When you won that title you should know now that you are representing a whole country or nation with your actions and you are now in a glass house or under a microscope and you better be ready to make your people proud."
--Alexis ArguelloFEG isn’t messing around with their response to Badr Hari’s illegal strikes and subsequent unsportsmanlike behavior in his DQ loss to Remy Bonjasky in the finals of the K-1 World GP 2000. Numerous Japanese media sources are reporting that FEG has stripped Hari of the K-1 heavyweight title and will suspend him “indefinitely”.
Japanese sports newspapers
Nikkan Sports and
Sports Nippon, among others, have revealed that the punishment was decided upon late Saturday night Tokyo time. The decision to suspend Hari and strip him of the title was made in a consultation between Fight Entertainment Group President Sadaharu Tanikawa and K-1 Rules Director Nobuaki Kakuda. Further punishment is also being considered, including a formal reprimand of the Moroccan fighter.
Hari has been known for having a “bad boy” reputation, but obviously nothing he’s done in the past comes close to the severity of his most recent K-1 malfeasance. In 2006, Hari got into a name calling exchange with Peter Graham at the pre-event press conference for a K-1 event in New Zealand and afterwards the two men and their entourage engaged in a brief scuffle. Graham got the best of Hari in their fight, breaking his jaw several places with his “Rolling Thunder” somersault heel kick finisher.
At K-1 World GP 2006, Hari was knocked down by Ruslan Karaev and after failing to stand or assume a fighting posture the referee awarded the match to the Russian. Hari’s entourage went ballistic and refused to leave the ring until persuaded to do so by K-1 officials. This is almost identical to their reaction after Hari was DQ’d in the World GP 2008 Final, though this time they ignored requests of K-1 officials to leave and were finally convinced to act like gentleman by fellow Mike’s Gym competitor Melvin Manhoef.
Hari’s behavior in the final match of the K-1 World GP 2008 in Yokohama, however, transcended being a mere “bad boy” and entered the realm of punk-like. Hari looked to be in top form as he steamrollered K-1 legend Peter Aerts in the quarterfinal round, then defeated a game Errol Zimmerman in the semi-final match in a “fight of the year” candidate bout that saw both men hit the canvas in the 2nd round. In the tournament final, he was clearly frustrated by Bonjasky’s excellent defensive techniques though began to make some progress with his jab. That was, at least, until Bonjasky floored Hari with a short left hand near the end of the first round. With open scoring in effect, both fighters knew heading into the second that Bonjasky was up 10-8 on all three scorecards.
Hari clearly knew that he had to come out aggressively in the 2nd round and did just that in the opening seconds of the frame scoring with several solid punch/kick combinations. About 45 seconds in, however, Hari simultaneously threw a punch as Bonjasky was trying to unload one of the leg kicks that served him so well in their first meeting (August 2007). Bonjasky lost his balance, and Hari either lost his as well or intentionally tried to take his opponent to the mat. At this point, Hari went nuts unleashing several punches to a grounded Bonjasky which are illegal in K-1. He followed this up with a downward foot stomp before being restrained by the referee.
The official went to check on Bonjasky, who was clearly dazed at this point with very glassy eyes. Hari, meanwhile, stood in the neutral corner alternately sneering and yelling taunts at the Dutch fighter including calling him a “sissy” as he implored him to get up and fight. Bonjasky was helped to a stool in his corner and given five minutes to recover from the foul while Hari was issued a “yellow card”.
As the attending physicians administered to Bonjasky, Hari continued to sneer and sulk. At one point he got into a verbal exchange with Bonjasky’s trainer, Ivan Hippolyte, forcing the referee to shepherd him back to the neutral corner. Bonjasky reportedly indicated to the attending medical staff that he was “seeing double” and after a brief examination ruled that he could not continue. With a fair amount of showmanship, the ref gave Hari a brief lecture in Japanese about sportsmanship before brandishing a “red card” and disqualifying him. Hari and his entourage were slow to leave the ring as K-1 officials tried to get the awards ceremony underway, but eventually Melvin Manhoef talked them out of the ring and back to the locker room.
Things were already going badly for Hari, and he made them worse with his post event comments to the media. Described by FEG President Takikawa as “unapologetic and defiant”, Hari’s comments suggested that Bonjasky’s corner was “yelling at him to stay down” and that he was “faking” his eye injury for fear of having to face another striking onslaught. The most inflammatory comment was the observation that while “Bonjasky won the tournament, it was for being the ‘best actor’ and not the ‘best fighter’”.
FEG/K-1 hasn’t made a public statement or confirmation on the penalty as of yet, but is expected to do so early this week. At that time, they may announce further penalties along with conditions for getting his “indefinite” suspension lifted. Alternately, they could just leave him swinging and put the onus on Hari to apply for reinstatement down the line. FEG will also have to make some arrangement for filling the heavyweight championship vacancy.
Hari’s intentional foul and subsequent horrible behavior was bad enough, but he made the unfortunate decision to go ballistic on K-1’s biggest event of the year. The fact that they’re trying to grow the promotion internationally and were broadcasting the World GP Final live to the US didn’t help matters. He dug his hole deeper by failing to apologize to Bonjasky, K-1, the fans, or anyone for that matter. To the contrary, he fanned the flames of the controversy after the fact by questioning the validity of his opponent’s injury and “fighting spirit”.
Badr Hari is only 24 years old, so he’s got plenty of time to redeem himself in the eyes of his promotion and fight fans if he chooses to do so. He’s also an amazing talent, which makes his decision to behave in a manner so unfitting for a champion so much more of a shame. Professional prizefighters may work harder than any athletes on the planet, but most realize that participation in the sport is not a “right” but a privilege. True champions understand that their sport, be it boxing, MMA or kickboxing, owes them nothing. At the same time, however, they have a duty to protect the honor and dignity of fight sports and the legacy of how a champion behaves both in and out of the ring. This legacy has been shaped by champions such as Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Royce Gracie, Fedor Emelianenko, Semmy Schilt, Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost and countless others. To be called champion is not only an honor and a monumental accomplishment, but an obligation to compete and conduct oneself in a manner befitting of the title and worthy of the champions who came before and built the legacy of greatness.
Until Hari learns this, he won’t be a true champion no matter how hard he hits or how many excuses he makes to rationalize his behavior.
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