27.06.2004, 09:57
Hier mal die Meinung von Zach Arnold ueber die Situation zwischen K-1 und Bob Sapp:
"Say so long to Bob Sapp..."
He lost against Ray Sefo.
I'm amazed at the lack of outrage there has been over the fact that K-1 management this last month has basically thrown Sapp on the proverbial train tracks and let him get run over. Did K-1 have a choice given the current circumstances with Sapp wanting to go to Hollywood? No. But guess what? They didn't have to book Sapp vs. Fujita on 5/22 in Saitama, either, and they did. We've seen from PRIDE management that fighters who have showed them box office bonanza with loyalty will get that in return (see: Sakuraba). However, the way that K-1 management got rid of Sapp as soon as they possibly could when he lost a no-win fight to Kazuyuki Fujita (who isn't a draw in Japan and has the hardest cranium known to man) and finished him off with a fight against Ray Sefo, someone with skills 10-fold of Sapp in legitimate kickboxing, is stunning. Yes, Sapp wanted out of fighting after the 5/22 Saitama fight. And yes, Sapp had to fight the 6/26 show due to a contract. But the way it was handled by K-1 was absurdly disloyal and dumb on a business-level.
After pushing and pushing and pushing Sapp onto the Japanese public for merchandise, for wrestling matches, for fights, he finally loses one MMA fight badly to a tough opponent and the next month it is all over. Sapp was getting tired of the fight scene before his 5/22 Saitama Super Arena fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, so imagined what he felt like going into the fight on Saturday with Ray Sefo. It would have been truly scary to have seen K-1 let Bob Sapp even get a normal training schedule for fighting, which he just never had.
And when it's all said and done, Sapp's last fight comes on a B-level show taping. Not Saitama Super Arena, not Yokohama Arena, not even buildings like Nagoya Aiichi's Rainbow Hall or Fukuoka Marine Messe. No, Sapp's last fight takes place in Shizuoka at the Ekopa Arena with little fanfare.
This is the difference between PRIDE & K-1 if it needed to be stated any more clearly. One understands how to book top draws, the other one clearly has no idea what the hell they doing from one minute to another and has absolutely zero loyalty to anyone at the top who even shows an ounce of being human as a fighter (see: Hoost, Sapp, etc.)
I don't hate K-1 or their office personally. I am confused as to why they continue to accept mediocre business practices and put themselves in a situation where they look secondary to PRIDE.
Zusammengefasst heisst das soviel das K-1,Bob Sapp falsch einsetzte ihn schlecht bookte und dann fallen lies als sich der Stern von Sapp zu senken begann nach der ersten Niederlage.
Tja hat aber nicht den falschesten erwischt ;)
"Say so long to Bob Sapp..."
He lost against Ray Sefo.
I'm amazed at the lack of outrage there has been over the fact that K-1 management this last month has basically thrown Sapp on the proverbial train tracks and let him get run over. Did K-1 have a choice given the current circumstances with Sapp wanting to go to Hollywood? No. But guess what? They didn't have to book Sapp vs. Fujita on 5/22 in Saitama, either, and they did. We've seen from PRIDE management that fighters who have showed them box office bonanza with loyalty will get that in return (see: Sakuraba). However, the way that K-1 management got rid of Sapp as soon as they possibly could when he lost a no-win fight to Kazuyuki Fujita (who isn't a draw in Japan and has the hardest cranium known to man) and finished him off with a fight against Ray Sefo, someone with skills 10-fold of Sapp in legitimate kickboxing, is stunning. Yes, Sapp wanted out of fighting after the 5/22 Saitama fight. And yes, Sapp had to fight the 6/26 show due to a contract. But the way it was handled by K-1 was absurdly disloyal and dumb on a business-level.
After pushing and pushing and pushing Sapp onto the Japanese public for merchandise, for wrestling matches, for fights, he finally loses one MMA fight badly to a tough opponent and the next month it is all over. Sapp was getting tired of the fight scene before his 5/22 Saitama Super Arena fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, so imagined what he felt like going into the fight on Saturday with Ray Sefo. It would have been truly scary to have seen K-1 let Bob Sapp even get a normal training schedule for fighting, which he just never had.
And when it's all said and done, Sapp's last fight comes on a B-level show taping. Not Saitama Super Arena, not Yokohama Arena, not even buildings like Nagoya Aiichi's Rainbow Hall or Fukuoka Marine Messe. No, Sapp's last fight takes place in Shizuoka at the Ekopa Arena with little fanfare.
This is the difference between PRIDE & K-1 if it needed to be stated any more clearly. One understands how to book top draws, the other one clearly has no idea what the hell they doing from one minute to another and has absolutely zero loyalty to anyone at the top who even shows an ounce of being human as a fighter (see: Hoost, Sapp, etc.)
I don't hate K-1 or their office personally. I am confused as to why they continue to accept mediocre business practices and put themselves in a situation where they look secondary to PRIDE.
Zusammengefasst heisst das soviel das K-1,Bob Sapp falsch einsetzte ihn schlecht bookte und dann fallen lies als sich der Stern von Sapp zu senken begann nach der ersten Niederlage.
Tja hat aber nicht den falschesten erwischt ;)