Jofeljoh!
14th May 2006, 12:16 PM
Translated from http://www.mixfight.nl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21770
'Well, what can I say, I wasn't the only one? Aiming at Bob Sapp.
Look when Sem wasn't the champion yet, I made a deal for a lot of GG fighters to let them fight at It's Showtime, inclusive Semmy Schilt.
I was a producer there and had the rights (TV/DVD-rights) of all It's Showtime events, so also this one. Then there was a collaboration and I showed DVD's in Japan from It's Showtime and K-1 began talking with Simon (Rutz). It was gonna be a K-1 GP Qualifier tournament. All in good agreement and with no problems with Simon and GG.
Nothing wrong with it and the public was the big winner, only more big names. But Semmy actually didn't want to fight right from the start, but a deal is a deal. He had a bit of a bad taste from the last time he was in the Arena (when he was fighting Iggy and got booed, red).
But the It's Showtime matchmaking doesn't fit K-1 well, in agreement Leko is moved to Las Vegas and also Sem is just scheduled against Musashi, just right 2 weeks for the Arena. Well Simon agreed (he probably got some promises from K-1 in return) and so it went taht Semmy and Stefan fought in LV. By the way, congratulations Chalid with your tournament win there.
While I'm still in Japan K-1 tells me that K-1 actually isn't too fond of the fight between Sem and Lloyd van Dams because they already got two (maybe to) expensive superfights.
I tell them that I had a deal with Simon but suddenly they shut me out as a producer, all the rights are for K-1. Almost the whole production has just been taken over, only thing left for me is two cameramen, a director and no rights.
So I tell K-1 that if the K-1 is broadcasted to Japan, this will mean it falls under Semmy's normal K-1 contract and there are other prices involved. Simon knew this but he wanted to stay with his agreement and just before I fled back from Las Vegas to Holland, there was a show on Eurosport with Simon giving an explination? I had to hear that whole story with comments on it. With the bottom line that, if Semmy doesn't fight, 'I will retreat the whole GG team' (words of Simon Rutz). Simon told me afterwards that he also called K-1 about this but they didn't had an opinion like 'whatever you want'.
So now I'm not completely retarded and there's also Korea soon. Semmy, who didn't want to fight in the Arena in the first place, K-1 who doesn't want Semmy injured for his fight in Korea on june 3rd, Dave (Jonkers, coach of Semmy, red) who doesn't want it because Semmy is getting sick and tired from all the bullshit, money, no money, fighting, no fighting. But when eventually that threat came, Semmy said 'My team won't suffer under this, I'll fight'. That was really his own decision.
If it was up to me, I would have created a scene like Bob Sapp, but it's about what the team wants and the trainers and all the others involved. Also I want to stay straight with K-1, but in the back of my head I'm already in Korea. And now it looks like I was right, Semmys fights was being broadcasted to Japan.
I heard about Sapp that he didn't get the amount of money he wanted, we can be angry about it as the Dutch public, but you try on the shoes of a manager or fighter for once. If the K-1 handled this well before it happened, and if they still had to negotiate at this point, is it Bob to blame?
Ofcourse we have to hear both statements from K-1 and Sapp, but if these are the rumours, then it's about the money, and Sapp wasn't satisfied.
Simon did everything to organize a top event and he'll see now that these kind of things happen if you organize it with another party. Simon was right, but threatening to retreat a whole team? What if Badr Hari has a contract with K-1. Simon organizes an own event and Badr would fight for les than $70.000 than he normally would (no tv and no big sponsors like in Japan). Would Simon and Badr also agree if they had to fight for 1/10th less with a chance for injuries, just before an important fight two weeks later, without owning the TV rights? A ring full with Japanese sponsors and Fuji TV and Korean TV who are broadcasting it live?
Especially when you're the K-1 Champ like Semmy?
So, will we be going to Sweden next week and then Korea? Or not?'
Hope this translation makes sense lol.
'Well, what can I say, I wasn't the only one? Aiming at Bob Sapp.
Look when Sem wasn't the champion yet, I made a deal for a lot of GG fighters to let them fight at It's Showtime, inclusive Semmy Schilt.
I was a producer there and had the rights (TV/DVD-rights) of all It's Showtime events, so also this one. Then there was a collaboration and I showed DVD's in Japan from It's Showtime and K-1 began talking with Simon (Rutz). It was gonna be a K-1 GP Qualifier tournament. All in good agreement and with no problems with Simon and GG.
Nothing wrong with it and the public was the big winner, only more big names. But Semmy actually didn't want to fight right from the start, but a deal is a deal. He had a bit of a bad taste from the last time he was in the Arena (when he was fighting Iggy and got booed, red).
But the It's Showtime matchmaking doesn't fit K-1 well, in agreement Leko is moved to Las Vegas and also Sem is just scheduled against Musashi, just right 2 weeks for the Arena. Well Simon agreed (he probably got some promises from K-1 in return) and so it went taht Semmy and Stefan fought in LV. By the way, congratulations Chalid with your tournament win there.
While I'm still in Japan K-1 tells me that K-1 actually isn't too fond of the fight between Sem and Lloyd van Dams because they already got two (maybe to) expensive superfights.
I tell them that I had a deal with Simon but suddenly they shut me out as a producer, all the rights are for K-1. Almost the whole production has just been taken over, only thing left for me is two cameramen, a director and no rights.
So I tell K-1 that if the K-1 is broadcasted to Japan, this will mean it falls under Semmy's normal K-1 contract and there are other prices involved. Simon knew this but he wanted to stay with his agreement and just before I fled back from Las Vegas to Holland, there was a show on Eurosport with Simon giving an explination? I had to hear that whole story with comments on it. With the bottom line that, if Semmy doesn't fight, 'I will retreat the whole GG team' (words of Simon Rutz). Simon told me afterwards that he also called K-1 about this but they didn't had an opinion like 'whatever you want'.
So now I'm not completely retarded and there's also Korea soon. Semmy, who didn't want to fight in the Arena in the first place, K-1 who doesn't want Semmy injured for his fight in Korea on june 3rd, Dave (Jonkers, coach of Semmy, red) who doesn't want it because Semmy is getting sick and tired from all the bullshit, money, no money, fighting, no fighting. But when eventually that threat came, Semmy said 'My team won't suffer under this, I'll fight'. That was really his own decision.
If it was up to me, I would have created a scene like Bob Sapp, but it's about what the team wants and the trainers and all the others involved. Also I want to stay straight with K-1, but in the back of my head I'm already in Korea. And now it looks like I was right, Semmys fights was being broadcasted to Japan.
I heard about Sapp that he didn't get the amount of money he wanted, we can be angry about it as the Dutch public, but you try on the shoes of a manager or fighter for once. If the K-1 handled this well before it happened, and if they still had to negotiate at this point, is it Bob to blame?
Ofcourse we have to hear both statements from K-1 and Sapp, but if these are the rumours, then it's about the money, and Sapp wasn't satisfied.
Simon did everything to organize a top event and he'll see now that these kind of things happen if you organize it with another party. Simon was right, but threatening to retreat a whole team? What if Badr Hari has a contract with K-1. Simon organizes an own event and Badr would fight for les than $70.000 than he normally would (no tv and no big sponsors like in Japan). Would Simon and Badr also agree if they had to fight for 1/10th less with a chance for injuries, just before an important fight two weeks later, without owning the TV rights? A ring full with Japanese sponsors and Fuji TV and Korean TV who are broadcasting it live?
Especially when you're the K-1 Champ like Semmy?
So, will we be going to Sweden next week and then Korea? Or not?'
Hope this translation makes sense lol.