The Media Turns on Badr Hari, Accuses Badr of Organized Crime Connections

With a name like the Bad Boy, you knew eventually things would catch up to Badr Hari, and catch up they did. Badr's bad luck began earlier this year when outside of a nightclub (Club Bling), he was denied entry for wearing a tracksuit and supposedly Badr and his friends decided to make the bouncer pay for refusing them entry, leaving him badly beaten with a metal plate in his skull. They were not able to link Hari to the assault at the time, so he continued about his business as one of the world's best kickboxers. Then at It's Showtime in Amsterdam ArenA he decided to punt Hedsy Gerges in the head while down and get himself disqualified. To say that Badr Hari is suffering from some anger issues is an understatement.

All throughout this, the media and Badr's management have been more than kind to him, but it looks like this article in 'De Telegraaf' in the Netherlands has broke the seal on Badr Hari. Let me put it this way, the headline of the piece is; "Kickboxing champion accused of mistreatment and connections with top criminals." In the world of PR they always claim that any PR is good PR, well this flies in the face of that and spits everywhere along the way. An article that touts that Badr Hari seemed like a great role model for young Moroccans by overcoming adversity and at a young age becoming a kickboxing champion being nothing more than a "thug" and running with "dangerous criminals." It has been a well-known but not widely publicized fact that Badr Hari was good friends with European drug kingpin Gwenette Martha, who escaped from prison and due to the link, the police were shadowing Badr to see if Gwenette attempted to contact him. I mean, Badr Hari wore a shirt in K-1 that said "Gwenette Forever" if anybody has any doubts. 

On top of that, the article links Badr Hari with the king of the underworld, Dino Soerel. They even go as far as to compare Badr Hari to a kickboxing champion from the 80s Andre Brilleman who was a known bodyguard and on the payroll of a mob boss, Klaas Bruinsma. There are also whispers of some of Badr's loss to Gerges and his demeanor being part of a fix in the fight due to his connections and the incredible betting odds for the fight. While these are just rumors and cannot be confirmed, it can help to explain Badr Hari's actions in the ring as well as his stone cold demeanor after the fight, as well as make sense as to why he'd do something when it seemed like he was in complete control of both the fight and his emotions. 

The main thing to take away from this is that the press has begun to attack him and call him out on issues they never would before in such a public forum, could this be a sign of things to come for Badr Hari? They include a quote from a recent interview with Badr Hari, which helps sum this whole thing up.

"But I'm no different than other people", he recorded. "I'm sometimes very uncertain. Very emotional too. Too much stress? I do not know, but when I am on my way to the ring, then there is a button. I want only one thing: demolish my opponent. His head from his body on him! "