Tyrone Spong and Remy Bonjasky talk Badr Hari

Kickboxing legends Tyrone Spong and Remy Bonjasky were among attendees at GLORY 51 held this past Saturday (March 3) in Rotterdam. The event was headlined by the “bad blood” match between Badr Hari and Hesdy Gerges. The pair squared the differences in their second outing, following a controversial ending of the first clash in 2010.

The second bout ended in favor of “Golden Boy” Hari who earned a unanimous decision. In his next fight he is expected to face the reigning heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven, also in a rematch. In the first bout held in 2016 Verhoeven was proclaimed as the winner by TKO after Hari received arm injury in the second round.

“Badr has to work on his overall game, his stamina,” said Spong after watching Hari vs. Gerges 2. “But you know Badr, he has the power. All it takes is one punch.”

“But overall, I think Rico [Verhoeven] is in his prime and in great shape right now. So it’s going to be a hard fight.”

Bonjasky said that to make it a great fight Hari needs one or two fights prior he faces Verhoeven for the second time.

“I am hoping he will take one or two fights [before]. Because right now he is strong, but he is still missing some fight rhythm.”

When asked whether a potential opponent could be one of them, the three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion Bonjasky said that he was retired. He pointed out Spong, advising he was “the man”.

“No, no, no, he is the man,” said Bonjasky pointing Spong. “I am retired.”

Bonjasky fought Hari twice, taking a majority decision in 2007 and the win due to Hari’s disqualification in 2008. His final fight was in 2017 when he faced a decsion defeat against Melvin Manhoef.

“All they gotta do is [to] send me a cheque,” said Spong smiling. “I am a prize fighter, I fight for money. So you figure it out.”

The latest kickboxing fight of Tyrone Spong was in 2014, when he suffered leg injury in the clash against Gokhan Saki. Since then “King of the Ring” earned 11 wins in boxing, with the most recent victory claimed against Carlos Nascimento in Mexico last month.