Remy Bonjasky ranks among the best kickboxing fighters of all time and there is no doubt about that at all. However, he was promptly reminded in Zagreb of the heavy defeat he experienced against Cro-Cop back at the beginning of the previous decade.
"Thank you for reminding me of my defeat eleven years ago. It was at the start of my career, I was fighting one of the best in the world. I lost badly, but some things have changed now. As Mirko said, we even trained together in Zagreb. But our job is to give a good fight to the crowd, I believe that fans love Mirko too, and our job is to give everyone in the world a real show. I'd like to thank Glory for giving me this opportunity, but also to Zovko for enabling all this to happen in Zagreb."
"They're always asking me about my retirement. It's hard for a fighter like me to retire. I love this job and every time I get in the ring I feel a big adrenaline rush. It's as if I was addicted to kickboxing. The outcome of this match will decide whether I continue to fight or retire."
The excellent Dutch-Surinamese fighter did once already interrupt his career for a while.
"Yes, I retired briefly, but Glory asked me to help them bring this sport back to a high level, and I said I was ready for new fights. That was the reason for my return. I had problems with my right eye, but that's behind me now, and I'm happy to be back in the ring."
He has to put aside his friendship with Mirko for this occasion. "Mirko has already said we are friends, but we have to show that fighters take their job in the ring professionally. People pay for the ticket after all, and our job is to make that count. After the event we'll go for a drink, but until then we'll be rivals," Bonjasky revealed during his stay in Zagreb.
Cro Cop: The match against Remy will be great, and then I might go back to MMA!
Mirko Filipovic and Remy Bonjasky know each other pretty well, having even trained together at one point, but they have to put that friendship aside for a short while and are now preparing for a true spectacle in the ring.
Cro Cop has pointed out that after he hears the bell there is only one goal for him, and that is to knock his opponent out.
"The only change since our last fight is that I’m 11 years older. I’m fighting Remy again and I have to say I was supposed to fight Peter Aerts, but for some reason he didn’t accept that. It was Glory’s decision for me to fight Remy. I wasn’t too happy about it, since we’ve formed a friendship in a way in the meantime, we even trained together a few years ago. He’s a great person and a top athlete, and the goal here is to hurt your opponent, and because of that I’m not happy to fight him. But, I’m sure that fans will be pleased with our performance, we’ll do our best."
The best Croatian fighter of all time is right now focused solely on the fight awaiting him on March 8 in Arena Zagreb, although he already has many offers for future fights on the table. "I don’t know half of what awaits me this year. Now I only know that I’m fighting March 8, and we’ll see what happens afterwards. It’s easily possible for some MMA fights to happen soon again, but we’re taking one step at a time for now. First it’s the match against Remy, and then the next fight will be easy to set up."
Their friendship definitely won’t be a problem once they’re in the ring… "I really like Bonjasky, but there is no friendship in the ring. When the fight begins, the situation changes. Even if it’s my brother on the other side in that moment, I’ll try to hurt him. After that, we can both go for a drink, no problem, if we’re able to walk at all."
Once again, combat sports fans are expected to fill the stands of Arena Zagreb. How much does hometown support actually mean in combat sports?
"I don’t believe that fighting at home means much in this sport. The crowd provides support, but their cheering doesn’t mean too much. Maybe it brings an advantage in some other sport, but here, one punch can solve everything, so it doesn’t represent any special advantage for me. If anything, I feel more pressure because I’m fighting in my country, but, on the other hand, I don’t have to travel to another continent, I’ll be better rested. It’s nice to hear 15 thousand people supporting you, but it can be a double-edged sword. Maybe I’ll go ‘crazy’ just because of them and make a mistake. Everything is possible," Cro Cop said at the media conference.
"It’s a great privilege for Zagreb to be in the company of Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles"
Glory has been considered the best kickboxing organization in the world for a while now, and it comes as no surprise that combat sports fans are delighted to hear that a Glory event will be held in this part of Europe, more specifically in Zagreb.
Most of the credit for bringing Glory to Croatia goes to Fight Channel CEO Orsat Zovko, who emphasized the significance of this at the media conference announcing the event scheduled for March 8 in Arena Zagreb.
"First of all, this is a major privilege. Being on the list with all those metropolises that Glory has recently been to and will be in the future. All those great cities, and now Zagreb is among them, that is really big. And for me, personally, this is a great honor, as well as for the entire team, because Glory is currently the best kickboxing organization in the world. As I’ve said, I’m extremely proud, we’ll do everything we can to make this the best possible show ever seen in this part of the world," Zovko said.
"In the middle of the last year, we started negotiating and we quickly agreed it was good for both parties that Glory came to Zagreb. This is a big opportunity for Zagreb and Croatia to promote themselves all over the world, but it is also a great thing for Glory to have Cro Cop at its event. I’m certain that atmosphere in the Arena will be fantastic. A great crowd is what counts the most, and we’re happy to have both great fighters and numerous fans in Croatia," Orsat added.
On behalf of Glory, Cor Hemmers spoke at the media conference, revealing why they decided to bring Cro Cop in their ranks.
"The United States is one of the most important markets for Glory right now, and Mirko has a large fan base there as well. It was a request from Spike TV that we sign Cro Cop, and it immediately sounded like a great idea. There is no better place than Zagreb to realize such an event, and it’s also very important for us to have a great partner like Zovko," Hemmers pointed out.
GLORY 14 takes place on the 8th of March and will be aired in America by Spike TV.
