Badr Hari: “You'd better not back down”
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:05 pm
LeBanner is afraid of me.
Q: Congratulations on your win in the last tournament.
Hari: Sure.
Q: It was shocking how fast the match with Samedov ended.
Hari: Mike's strategy was just low kicks. Everyone probably expected a KO punch, but I wanted to show that it's possible to get a KO with a kick. But there wasn't really a chance. Before I could knock him down, I'd missed the chance. But I was really going for a kick.
Q: So you're not satisfied?
Hari: Well, the most important thing in the end is winning and going on to the next tournament. How you win comes after actually winning. Now the big thing is winning the next match.
Q: You drew the number 2 ball in the lottery, and now you are up against Karaev.
Hari: I prefer picking my opponent. . I like choosing more than having them come to me. I had no choice but to pick the spot I chose. But it's all the same no matter where I went. They all avoided me! Remy and LeBanner both chose the other block. But it's all the going to turn out the same.
Q: When LeBanner picked the third block, you made a face. Did you think he was running away?
Hari: I always wanted to fight him. Since he went to the other block, I'll just have to fight him some other time.
Q: And if you could pick anyone...?
Hari: It would be LeBanner (immediate reply). He's one of the veterans on my list of people I haven't fought yet. I've fought Peter, Glaube, and Schilt, but I still haven't fought LeBanner. He knows that too. It seems like he's trying to run away and hide. If someone told me I had to fight me, I wouldn't like it either. He made a good choice. But anyway we have to fight sometime.
Lonely without Peter
Q: You're going to fight Karaev for the third time. What are your thoughts on him?
Hari: It's only my third time fighting him, but his weakness is that he doesn't change. He doesn't get better. But I'm always improving. The first time I fought Ruslan Karaev, I'd only been training at Mike's gym. I wasn't getting better. But then after two or three years, I became the guy that Mike had imagined. I did it. Karaev isn't someone who can really change. This is a match between me, always changing, and Karaev, never changing. He holds back like a girl. Even though he's a guy. (laughs)
Q: Do you think your body has changed?
Hari: Yeah, I can tell. When I look back at myself in old matches, I wonder who that girly-man is. I've gotten more muscular. I have more confidence than I used to. There's a lot of good that has come out of it.
Q: It's too bad about last year, but what do you think about this year's championships?
Hari: Actually, I think last year was exciting because I was there. I beat Peter, and then I turned around my match with Zimmerman and won that too. I made it into a kind of show, so without me it would have been just another unexciting tournament. Realistically, I don't think there's a way to say how things are going to end this time, but this is my chance. I have another chance at fighting Remy. You've got to have a good opponent to have a good match.
Q: You have complete confidence.
Hari: I feel the change. I'm only going to get better. It's too bad that Peter isn't in the final, but everyone knew this day would come. We have a lot of newcomers who have aggressiveness and hunger instead of experience. They have heart and passion. They're young so of course they are eager to prove themselves. There are gonna be some heavy fights, but I think the fans are gonna love it.
Alistair is buff
Q: When the last generation gives way to the new one, that's when you will really rule K-1.
Hari: I have to win. I'm going to keep this in mind as I head towards the championships. I have to give it all I've got to prepare. I've fought a lot of guys, and I've proved that I can KO any one of them. I have to think about being the winner, and I'm going to want it more than anyone else. From there, I'll get to the top.
Q: What do you think was missing last year?
Hari: It was when the ref gave me that red card.
Q: Hey, what's that mean?
Hari: Hehe. Joking aside, I felt good up until the championships. But at the crucial moment I suddenly felt weighed down, while Remy looked like he was having a good time. I had just fought two tough matches and I couldn't control myself. I was just going with my instinct and until the last match that was working fine. Now Remy has the tough matches and things are much easier for me.
Q: Show us your enthusiasm for the upcoming tournament.
Hari: This is really a big tournament. There's no running away from it. Since there are a lot of young opponents, I have to sacrifice a lot to win. I have to work hard and I want to become the champion for my fans. This is my chance to give them 200 percent. I have to show them Badr destroying his opponents.
Q: What do you think of Aerts loss?
Hari: I don't think he was totally defeated. He just couldn't fight his own game. Meaning, he couldn't bring on a challenge. Peter had been at the top of K-1 for 17 years. I respect him a lot only for that. But in that last match, Alistair did really great. It was totally natural that this kind of fighter came about. It can be a positive thing for some, but in Peter's case it's a negative thing.
Q: Alistair has been saying that if he wins the WGP this year, he's going to dedicate himself to MMA. That means there will be no defending champion. If you don't win, the power is going to fall into someone else's hands....
Hari: I won't let that happen.
Q: You have a lot of fans who want you to stop Alistair. You must have some strong feelings about this, like revenge or something.
Hari: Of course Alistair is a strong fighter. Or at least, he's just muscular. (wry laugh) I'm sure he looks down on me since I lost that time before. But I had a tough match and still had to fight again right away. People were going on and on about how I went against the K-1 norm by going back to Holland twice last December. I couldn't focus. It's not going to change that he won and I lost. But, this time I'm showing a new Badr. If Texeira makes it to the next round, I've got to stop Alistair.
http://www.k-1.co.jp/en/news/2009/1111_wgp_02.html
Q: Congratulations on your win in the last tournament.
Hari: Sure.
Q: It was shocking how fast the match with Samedov ended.
Hari: Mike's strategy was just low kicks. Everyone probably expected a KO punch, but I wanted to show that it's possible to get a KO with a kick. But there wasn't really a chance. Before I could knock him down, I'd missed the chance. But I was really going for a kick.
Q: So you're not satisfied?
Hari: Well, the most important thing in the end is winning and going on to the next tournament. How you win comes after actually winning. Now the big thing is winning the next match.
Q: You drew the number 2 ball in the lottery, and now you are up against Karaev.
Hari: I prefer picking my opponent. . I like choosing more than having them come to me. I had no choice but to pick the spot I chose. But it's all the same no matter where I went. They all avoided me! Remy and LeBanner both chose the other block. But it's all the going to turn out the same.
Q: When LeBanner picked the third block, you made a face. Did you think he was running away?
Hari: I always wanted to fight him. Since he went to the other block, I'll just have to fight him some other time.
Q: And if you could pick anyone...?
Hari: It would be LeBanner (immediate reply). He's one of the veterans on my list of people I haven't fought yet. I've fought Peter, Glaube, and Schilt, but I still haven't fought LeBanner. He knows that too. It seems like he's trying to run away and hide. If someone told me I had to fight me, I wouldn't like it either. He made a good choice. But anyway we have to fight sometime.
Lonely without Peter
Q: You're going to fight Karaev for the third time. What are your thoughts on him?
Hari: It's only my third time fighting him, but his weakness is that he doesn't change. He doesn't get better. But I'm always improving. The first time I fought Ruslan Karaev, I'd only been training at Mike's gym. I wasn't getting better. But then after two or three years, I became the guy that Mike had imagined. I did it. Karaev isn't someone who can really change. This is a match between me, always changing, and Karaev, never changing. He holds back like a girl. Even though he's a guy. (laughs)
Q: Do you think your body has changed?
Hari: Yeah, I can tell. When I look back at myself in old matches, I wonder who that girly-man is. I've gotten more muscular. I have more confidence than I used to. There's a lot of good that has come out of it.
Q: It's too bad about last year, but what do you think about this year's championships?
Hari: Actually, I think last year was exciting because I was there. I beat Peter, and then I turned around my match with Zimmerman and won that too. I made it into a kind of show, so without me it would have been just another unexciting tournament. Realistically, I don't think there's a way to say how things are going to end this time, but this is my chance. I have another chance at fighting Remy. You've got to have a good opponent to have a good match.
Q: You have complete confidence.
Hari: I feel the change. I'm only going to get better. It's too bad that Peter isn't in the final, but everyone knew this day would come. We have a lot of newcomers who have aggressiveness and hunger instead of experience. They have heart and passion. They're young so of course they are eager to prove themselves. There are gonna be some heavy fights, but I think the fans are gonna love it.
Alistair is buff
Q: When the last generation gives way to the new one, that's when you will really rule K-1.
Hari: I have to win. I'm going to keep this in mind as I head towards the championships. I have to give it all I've got to prepare. I've fought a lot of guys, and I've proved that I can KO any one of them. I have to think about being the winner, and I'm going to want it more than anyone else. From there, I'll get to the top.
Q: What do you think was missing last year?
Hari: It was when the ref gave me that red card.
Q: Hey, what's that mean?
Hari: Hehe. Joking aside, I felt good up until the championships. But at the crucial moment I suddenly felt weighed down, while Remy looked like he was having a good time. I had just fought two tough matches and I couldn't control myself. I was just going with my instinct and until the last match that was working fine. Now Remy has the tough matches and things are much easier for me.
Q: Show us your enthusiasm for the upcoming tournament.
Hari: This is really a big tournament. There's no running away from it. Since there are a lot of young opponents, I have to sacrifice a lot to win. I have to work hard and I want to become the champion for my fans. This is my chance to give them 200 percent. I have to show them Badr destroying his opponents.
Q: What do you think of Aerts loss?
Hari: I don't think he was totally defeated. He just couldn't fight his own game. Meaning, he couldn't bring on a challenge. Peter had been at the top of K-1 for 17 years. I respect him a lot only for that. But in that last match, Alistair did really great. It was totally natural that this kind of fighter came about. It can be a positive thing for some, but in Peter's case it's a negative thing.
Q: Alistair has been saying that if he wins the WGP this year, he's going to dedicate himself to MMA. That means there will be no defending champion. If you don't win, the power is going to fall into someone else's hands....
Hari: I won't let that happen.
Q: You have a lot of fans who want you to stop Alistair. You must have some strong feelings about this, like revenge or something.
Hari: Of course Alistair is a strong fighter. Or at least, he's just muscular. (wry laugh) I'm sure he looks down on me since I lost that time before. But I had a tough match and still had to fight again right away. People were going on and on about how I went against the K-1 norm by going back to Holland twice last December. I couldn't focus. It's not going to change that he won and I lost. But, this time I'm showing a new Badr. If Texeira makes it to the next round, I've got to stop Alistair.
http://www.k-1.co.jp/en/news/2009/1111_wgp_02.html