FEG President Sadaharu Tanikawa on Friday announced the addition of Badr Hari vs. Alistair Overeem under kickboxing rules for "Dynamite!! 2008" on New Year's Eve.
Tanikawa explained to the press why Hari was added only a little over a week after getting stripped of his K-1 heavyweight title and his K-1 World GP Finals purse withheld. Tanikawa's quotes are courtesy of Kamipro.
"It wasn't easy to make this decision, but we decided to give him a chance. We will see whether or not he really regrets what he did in K-1 World GP. His promoter as well as many fans requested us to arrange his fight in Dynamite. We talked to our sponsors and nobody disagreed with our decision."
"I personally considered our punishment against his action was too light. However, his fight is always exciting. Unlike Yoshihiro Akiyama, he is not picky about his opponent. He is always cooperative to promote events. That's why he is suppoted by fans."
"Korean fans complained that our punishment against Hari was too light compared to penalties which Akiyama received. Hari's action was impulsive, while Akiyama's was well planned and intentional. In addition, fans and sponsors were very upset about Akiyama."
FEG will announce shortly one more fight for the event.
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