‘CroCop’ and Bonjasky square off at GLORY 14 press conference

Mirko ‘CroCop’ (22-7, 12 KO’s) and Remy Bonjasky (98-12, 36 KO’s) came face-to-face today at the official pre-fight press conference for GLORY 14 ZAGREB.

The event, which takes place Saturday, March 8 and airs across the US on SPIKE TV, will be the second time the two have fought.

They first met under the K-1 banner in 2002. It was Bonjasky’s debut and he lost by TKO in the second round. This time he hopes to redress the balance in what will be his retirement fight.

“I am very happy to have this honor to fight him as his last fight. He is one of the biggest names ever, he is one of the greatest and he is a real gentleman,” said ‘CroCop’.

“Regardless of the winner there will be a spectacle, a show for the audience.”

Bonjasky concurred and said that the fight with ‘CroCop’ was both a chance to even the score and would also bring his career as an elite competitor full-circle.

“If you retire you could choose a weak opponent, beat him up and then retired. But as a fighter, as a champion, I don’t want my last fight to be against some rookie,” he said.

“If I lose at least I lost against one of the strongest fighters.

“I had my first fight against Mirko in K-1 and now he will be my last opponent in GLORY so I think that is the perfect way to put an end to my career.”

In the years since their first fight the two have actually trained together on several occasions, with ‘CroCop’ spending some time in Amsterdam and also flying Bonjasky’s coach Ivan Hippolyte into Zagreb for his own training camps.

“I have my style and he has his ,we know each other well and there are no sec4rets,” admitted ’CroCop’.

“But this doesn’t matter. The crucial thing in the fight is going to be when there is a failure in concentration or a little movement going wrong, this is what leads to the knockout.”

Bonjasky was of the same opinion.

“Like Mirko said its in the details. Everyone knows his left high kick and my jumping knee. So its all in the little details. Like he says, there will be a moment when he is not concentrating or I am not concentrating and that is where the fight will be won.”

‘CroCop’ and Bonjasky are two of the biggest stars kickboxing has produced, with long and illustrious careers to their name. They are megastars in Japan especially, where they dominated headlines and television screens during the K-1 heyday.

These days GLORY is the world’s premier kickboxing league and is enjoying success around the world, particularly in the USA, where SPIKE TV audiences have been increasing from event to event. Both ‘CroCop’ and Bonjasky feel the sport is in safe hands.

“GLORY is the top organization in the world of kickboxing, maybe like the Champion’s League in soccer. Being in GLORY is very prestigious for any kickboxer,” said ‘CroCop’.

The press conference was wrapped up by GLORY CEO Andrew Whitaker, who confirmed that the strong response to this weekend’s live event had placed Zagreb firmly on the list of ’world cities’ and global capitals which form the GLORY circuit.

“I’ve seen a lot of organizations over a long period of time and this promotional team in Zagreb is one of the finest I have ever come across,” he said.

“It is very clear to us that Croatia and the city of Zagreb has been extremely supporting and we will definitely be back to Zagreb and to other parts of Eastern Europe also.

“We plan to continue delivering events from international global cities inside and outside the United States.

“Inside the US we have had a strong performance and we looking forward to delivering further event in North American, South America, Europe and Asia as we go forward.”

GLORY 14 ZAGREB takes place this Saturday, March 8. It will air in the US on SPIKE TV at 9pm ET / 8pm CT

Also on the card is the World Lightweight Title fight between Andy Ristie and Davit Kiria. The inaugural title fight will be contested over five rounds of three minutes but is likely to end well inside the distance.