Bas Boon: Producing more than Fighters

Bas Boon: Producing more than Fighters. Golden Glory founder, Bas Boon, has been building a stable of top-level mixed martial artists and elite strikers for decades. Boon has been an essential key to the growth of MMA in Japan. He started with K-1 20 years ago.

And now, he has expanded into a global market combining martial arts and television. Boon recently talked with The Mouth of MMA about everything from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix to his upcoming movie projects. 

Original interview: The Mouth of MMA

And he even tells us who he thinks could beat Alistair Overeem.

Jason Kelly:  How long have you been involved with martial arts?

Bas Boon: 29 years

JK:  When did you open Golden Glory?

BB:  We started the first gym 12 years ago.

JK:  Who were some of the first fighters to join Golden Glory?

BB:  Chalid Arrab, Semmy Schilt, Valentijn/Alistair Overeem, Fatih Kocamis.

JK:  Besides the more famous names like Alistair Overeem and Semmy Schilt, who are some of the up-and-coming fighters at Golden Glory?

Bas Boon: We will hear a lot from John Olav Einemo, a young, upcoming heavyweight talent. He will be in the news soon. Tommy “Scarface” Depretz and Siyar Bahadurzada are doing well as well as K-1 max fighter Robin van Roosmalen.

JK:  Bas Rutten recently suggested that Brock Lesnar should go to Golden Glory and learn some striking. Have you ever had an American visit Golden Glory, for a training camp?

BB:  Heath Herring was five years with Golden Glory, so yes.

JK: Would you be open to having fighters from other gyms frequent Golden Glory when they are in preparations for a fight?

BB:  No, we don’t. We will sign professional fighters. It does not make any sense to make better fighters who are later potential opponents under different management.

JK: You guys have the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix coming up. What are your thoughts about the whole tournament?

Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament.

BB:  We have been participating for 12 years in tournaments and have won many. We like the concept.

JK:  Do you think it is suitable for Strikeforce to do?

BB: Yes, it shows a tremendous heavyweight division and spectacular fights.

JK: Do you think Strikeforce might have a problem finding an opponent if Alistair Overeem wins the tournament?

Bas Boon, There will always be fighters who challenge. I am not afraid that Strikeforce will run out of opponents. Scott Cocker is doing a good job.

JK:  Do you think Alistair should be fighting in the tournament, or do you believe Strikeforce should have set up a tournament without Overeem to find an opponent for him?

BB: No, it’s okay. We wanted to fight Werdum as he defeated Fedor first. And Alistair is the reigning champion, so we got what we wanted. No problem if the second fight is against Big foot, which also defeats the problem.

JK: Would you like to have seen Overeem and Fedor in the finals so all the talk can end, or do you not have a preference for who Overeem fights?

Fedor is out.

BB:  I think the tournament should (have) been divided (so) that would be the finals. Unfortunately, Fedor is out, so we do not see that fight in the finals.

JK: You have been involved with television production for a long time. And recently been doing things for FOX FILES in the U.S.A. Do you plan to do more of that? Do you have any upcoming television projects in Holland or the United States?

Bas Boon:  Yes, right now I am producing a movie called Amsterdam Heavy where Gokhan Saki, Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, and Marloes Coenen from Golden Glory will act. We got some reality shows in the planning, and I am producing a video game called Fight Game. There are also plans for Fight Game, the movie. Bas Boon answer: I produced a lot of fighting shows with stars like Peter Aerts, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, and Ernesto Hoost. It was the start of a great time. I brought the sport to TV in Europe and later also to many other countries.

JK:  As a result of the television work, do you reside in U.S.A or Holland?

BB:  I live in Thailand as it is closer to Japan, Korea, and China. It is more practical for me.

JK: One last question before I let you go. Would you like to see Alistair Overeem in the UFC ever? Do you view anyone in the UFC heavyweight division as a challenge for Overeem?

Bas Boon: Every fight is a fight, it will be no different in the UFC, but right now, Alistair is the strongest and most skilled, complete, and has a great fighting rhythm. I do not see him getting beaten anytime soon. Except maybe a teammate of Golden Glory in the future can give Alistair trouble.

Micromanagement in The Fight Game, Alistair Overeem. 

https://basboon.com/micromanagement-in-the-fight-game-m-kerr-and-a-overeem/

(C) Bas Boon www.basboon.com