HESDY GERGES says he would be happy to give Badr Hari a rematch despite being "penalty kicked"
in the face by him when he was down.
Gerges claimed the It's Showtime heavyweight
kickboxing title by second round disqualification after defending champion Hari inexplicably decided to treat his
head like a football while he was rising from the canvas.
Egyptian-Dutchman Gerges
said another meeting with Hari is inevitable though following the controversy which surrounded their main event
at the Amsterdam ArenA.
Hari is a wanted man at the moment, with Gokhan Saki also telling Fightnewz.net he is keen
for a second fight with the talented but temperamental Amsterdam star.
Gerges, 26, told Fightnewz.net: "Of course I will give him a rematch, because we are fighters.
"I don't even have to say I will give him a rematch, because the rematch will come anyway.
"We are both at the top so the rematch will happen - maybe for this title (It's Showtime).
"For me it's not a problem, bring it on. I do this sport every day, I love it and I like to fight
everybody because I'm a real sportsman."
Gerges said he would have preferred
to have won the title by knockout or decision rather than on an infringement, but explained that Hari's illegal shot scrambled
his
senses temporarily after taking him by surprise.
Moroccan-Dutchman Hari's self-destructive
streak also notoriously let him down in the 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix Final, when he was disqualified for stamping on
the head of grounded opponent Remy Bonjasky.
"I'm very happy I won and of course
I wanted to win in a fair way but he didn't give me chance to do that," Gerges said.
"Ten minutes after the fight it didn't hurt but I was really out at the time because it was right
on my chin - it was a very hard penalty kick.
"I was very dizzy. When you are fighting
you expect to get hit and it's no problem, but I wasn't expecting the kick because I was down.
"I tried to stand up and 'pow' - I didn't know what hit me.
"I don't like these actions but it's the way he is, it's not the way I am. I still won the fight, so that's
the most important thing."
Hari was widely tipped to win by a quick stoppage, yet
he was unable to budge Gerges even though a right hand which landed high on top of his head could have been called
a flash knockdown in the opening round.
Gerges was leg-swept to the floor after a couple
of punches sent him sideways into the ropes before the controversial ending, but had started to rally behind solid
blows of his own.
He said: "I prepared for a very hard fight, so in the fight I
thought: 'Is this it?'
"It wasn't as hard as I expected. I was put
in the ring in training with three heavyweights who came at me one after the other, so the training is sometimes harder than
the fight.
"For me the punches were no problem. When I fight and someone hits me
it's no problem.
"It's just when I'm laying on the ground I don't
expect it."
'Fightersheart' Gerges has continually proved his doubters
wrong in a career which has already seen him upset K-1 regional tournament winners Ruslan Karaev and Paul Slowinski and lose
on points at short notice in a gutsy effort against four-time K-1 World GP champion Semmy Schilt.
And after confounding his critics once again with the way he stood up to former K-1 heavyweight champion Hari,
the ambitious 6ft 6in battler aims to kick on in the long term and establish himself as the No 1 fighter
in the division.
Gerges, who won over the passionately pro-Hari crowd with
his dogged performance, said: "When I fought Sem Schilt they said I would be out after two seconds. When I fought Karaev
they thought I wouldn't last a round and the same with Slowinski.
"I'm
not concerned with everybody's opinion, but maybe now they might start to believe in me."
He added: "I want to be No 1, I want to beat everybody and I know I can do it.
"I want to be the best and write history. When I've finished my career and people see
me in
the street I want them to recognise me as a very good fighter.
"Then my dream is
come true."
Gerges' victory was also a triumph for his champion-maker trainer
Thom Harinck, who trained Hari for five years before an acrimonious split in 2005 and provided a withering assessment of his former
pupil's latest indiscretion.
With emotions still running high after the
fight, Amsterdam-based Harinck said: "If you're a sportsman you don't kick someone when they are down.
"Badr did it with Remy Bonjasky, now he did it with Hesdy. For the same thing - he ruined his show or
something.
"Hesdy doesn't like to win like that but Badr made the mistake of
kicking him on the ground, we didn't ask for it. It was very dangerous and it's not sport.
"All credit to Hesdy, he is a respectful man and very serious. I said all along it was going to be a hard
fight and I wanted to see the third round."
Also a WFCA world champion, Gerges improved his record to 32 wins,
eight losses and two draws with victory over Hari.
