Kickboxer Rico Verhoeven speaks to the press after his fight against Jamal Ben Saddik for the world title in the Gelredome.
ANP
Jamal Ben Saddik has apologized to Rico Verhoeven after last weekend’s epic fight. But not for the huge blow he gave Verhoeven, which left the left eye of the Dutch top kick boxer black and blue. Ben Saddik apologized for an incident that happened way back in 2017.
At the time, the Belgian-Moroccan kickboxer spat at the staredown Rico Verhoeven in the face. Ben Saddik now regrets that. After the heavy gladiator fight between the two, which Rico Verhoeven won this weekend, the apologies came. Bee Jinek Verhoeven says that he has “accepted the apology with both hands”.
Rico Verhoeven: ‘So tiring’
The stocking is now over for him. “It is so tiring to constantly have an annoying, irritated feeling towards someone,” said Verhoeven at the table with Eva Jinek. He is glad that he is now free of that feeling. After the spitting incident four years ago, Rico Verhoeven lashed out at Ben Saddik, who according to him was a ‘genuinely bad person’. Ben Saddik also threw mud.
“Doesn’t that help? Isn’t such an unpleasant feeling towards someone an engine to demolish someone?”, Jinek asks Verhoeven. “I think it’s easier to demolish someone if you honestly think he’s a bad person, for example because of that spitting. I would think: ‘Dude, I’m really going to lecture you now’.”
Rico Verhoeven says he doesn’t need such a feeling at all. “I mainly fight on my drive to be the very best.” He is sure that an unpleasant feeling towards someone does not help. “You have to be focused in such matches and preferably nothing happens outside of it. If you get emotional, you will make mistakes.”
Verhoeven and Ben Saddik positive about each other again
Both fighters seem to have finally buried the hatchet. On Instagram, the fighters only have positive words for each other. The day before yesterday Jamal thanked Ben Saddik Verhoeven for the chance of a “historic fight, which will certainly go down in the history books”. He calls Verhoeven a ‘true warrior’ and hopes that the hatchet can now be buried.
Rico Verhoeven responds: „To start a great fight you need someone who gets the most out of you and that is what Jamal Ben Saddik did. It was an honor to share the ring and together we have made history.”
cockfight? Mud throwing between rivals Rico Verhoeven and Jamal Ben Saddik
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Rico Verhoeven received an apology from Jamal Ben Saddik after an epic fight