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Interview with Patrick Barry 8-21-07

 


 

[fansofk1.com original interview, 8/21/07] 

With his New Orleans' drawl and fast wits, Patrick Barry is an easy man to like. But with his punishing strikes and aggression in the ring, he's also an easy man to fear. The Ernesto Hoost protégé exploded on to the 2007 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas with a crippling quarter final KO win over Rickard Nordstrand. In the semifinals, in perhaps the most exciting fight of the night, he faced off with Zabit Samedov. There, after three rounds of intense action, he managed to win the crowd but loose the match in a controversial split decision loss. But far from beaten, Barry has emerged from the tournament a rising star and the most talked about man in American kickboxing.

I had a chance to speak with Barry and ask him about the tournament, his training, and his plans for the future.

What're your thoughts on the fight with Samedov?

Sometimes there are decisions that could go either way. But this fight, I was positive. I didn't raise my hands to be a dick, I knew for sure I'd won. I don't know what the judges were seeing or scoring, how they could have given it to Zabit. I walked forward the entire fight, landed the most shots, and did the most damage. I showed no signs of fatigue and did the most damage through all three rounds.

I know for a fact that I won two rounds. Absolutely rounds two and three, one could have gone either way. When they announced the decisions the first judge was 29-28 for Barry and the second 29-28 for Samedov. When I heard the third judge was 30-27, I knew it had to be for me. There's no way someone could have given all three rounds to Samedov. I knew we were going to the semifinals in Seoul.

Samedov knows he lost the fight. The only positive thing I can take from the whole experience is that the man I fought knows in his heart he lost.

So I didn't knock the guy out! I still won the fight. You know what? Never leave the fight in the hand's of the judges, always get in the ring assuming the judges are not on your side.

Before the tournament, had you prepared to fight with Samedov in particular?

No. I'd seen him fight before, he fought my teammate Paul Slowinski in Amsterdam. But I didn't watch any footage,. I never study the guys I'm going to be fighting. I used too... I remember this one guy I fought who was famous for his left high kick. I trained and trained for that left high kick, knew exactly what to look for and how to block that left high kick. But then the fight comes, and he didn't throw it, he just punched me in the face over and over again while I stood there waiting for the left high kick. That was that last time I tried to study up on my opponents.

I train with Ernesto, if I can stand with him, that's all that matters. No one moves better than Ernesto, if I can stand with him, then I can stand with anyone.

But after your match with Nordstrand, once you knew you'd be fighting Samedov, what did you think?

I knew that Zabit was an extremely... lets say, aggressive fighter, but with no game plan. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to throw salt on him. What he does, he does well. But he has no game plan. He just throws punches and kicks hoping they land, no strategy.

Samedov kept mocking you in the ring, did that have any affect on you?

Nah, watch the tapes, I just smiled back. My theory, he did it because he knew he couldn't win. He knew he couldn't beat me, he knew he had nothing else. When all else fails, start dancing.

What did you think of Doug Viney winning the tournament?

Viney wouldn't have been able to beat me. Even if he was fresh and brand new, he wouldn't have been able to beat me. And beaten up, already with sore legs?? He wouldn't have had a chance. I had no injures from either of my fights and I wasn't tired. I still had something left, the last fight would have been great.

In your first match with Nordstrand, you pretty much won the fight with your legs kicks. Was that something that you'd been working on?

Leg kicks were absolutely part of my strategy. I've found that the large majority of guys don't really commit to their kicks. They don't want to leave themselves open, they don't want to get hit during that split second after a kick that they leave themselves open. But I figure, why do that? Whenever I throw a kick, I've got the worst intentions ever. I don't throw half-ass kicks. There's nothing worse than throwing a soft shot, landing it, and then knowing that you could have done more damage.

I don't think the cameras picked it up, but after you returned one of Nordstrand's groin shots I saw a big grin on your face. Was anything going on there?

Nah, that was accident. I've got nothing to say about that, I'm a straight-laced guy!

At the tournament, you had the rather unique distinction that all of your opponents tested positive for steroids... Any thoughts on that?

Yeah, they were juicing and they still couldn't beat me! But it's not surprising that they were juicing, lots of athletes do it. Samedov lost the fight and was technically cheating. But I'm the one with the loss on my record, I'm the one not advancing to the semifinals. But I swear, they must be some of the smallest guys on juice in the world! I've got a genetic advantage, I was born muscular. But don't get me wrong, I still work my ass off.

Who do you want to fight next?

I just want to fight. Every fight is another test, another way of proving that all the anguish and sacrifice pays off . Shit happens sometimes, but I'm never going to stop. If everyone is unconscious they cannot deny me.

How about a match with Badr Hari for the Heavyweight Championship?

I'd love to fight that guy, because right now he's the best. I'm only interested in fighting the best. Find one kickboxer who doesn't want to fight the best, and you've found someone who's only fighting because he doesn't think he's good at anything else.

Would Hari's height and reach give you any difficulty?

Nah, this tournament was the first time that I've been in a ring looking at a guy straight in the face! It was my first time fighting guys that were smaller or shorter than me. I'm always fighting monsters. But being short doesn't matter if you don't get hit, and being tall won't matter if I hit you.

I think I could take him. Being on top makes you lazy. He thinks I'm a young shit, but I'm eight year's older than him! Do I have as much experience as some of these guys? No, I've only been doing this for five years. But that doesn't matter.

Would it be difficult to cut to 220 lbs?

Well, I feel comfortable at 230 lbs. But I have the body type where I can go up or down. I can go up and fight at 245 lbs, but I may not be able to last that long. Or I can go down and fight at 220 lbs and be fast, but not be as strong. I‘m a genetic freak, its easy for me to change weight.

I haven't been at 220 lbs in years, but I don't think it would cause me any difficulty. But what's better, to be the best guy at 220, or the smallest guy in the Super Heavyweight division and to beat all these giants? I think I‘d rather be the giant killer. Five-foot-eleven inches, 230 lbs... Imagine if I can beat these monsters! That‘d be impressive. But I don‘t know what the crowd wants, or what K-1 wants. But right now, I‘m leaning toward being the smallest of the big guys.

Will you be going back to Holland to train with Hoost?

Yeah, I'll be going back on September 1st, to help train my teammate Paul Slowinski.

When you go back to training, what are you going to work on?

I'm extremely good at throwing one or two really fast and really hard shots. But I need to up that, to three or four shots. And I've also got a nice guy complex that's ridiculous! I play the game well, but I'm not some ex-prison-street-fighter. I just play the game of kickboxing well, and that's what's got me so far, but that's also what's hurting me.

I do my part to make sure the fight stays fair. But I'm too nice in the ring.

Like when Zabit clinched with me in the third... The ref said "Fight", and not "Break", so I kicked his legs. Zabit cried foul and threw his hands down. I should have thrown a punch when he put his hands down, it would have been legal. You should never throw your hands down, never think that I'm not going to kick you in the face. I need to get meaner, more aggressive.

When I fought Gary, I won because he fought my fight. It was the same way with Nordstrand, and the same way with Samedov. But when I fought Alexander, I fought his fight, that's why he beat me. I waited for him to move first.

How was it to be fighting in the US?

A fight is a fight no matter where you go, but there's something about being an American fighting in front of Americans. It feels good to fight in the US.

Any thoughts about K-1's future in the US?

I think that Americans support Americans, and until there's a stand-out American figure in K-1 most people aren't going to be watching it.

Right now the UFC is the shit, and people keep asking me when I‘m going to be fighting in the UFC. But if I'm an American winning in the UFC, then I'll be like 95% of all the other guys there. What's special about that? But what if I'm an American winning in K-1? That hasn't really ever been done before. Maurice Smith maybe, back in the 90's. But I firmly believe that when an American becomes a truly dominant figure in K-1, then Americans will start watching.

Hey, and you know what's going to take over the world someday? Kickboxing with MMA gloves, that‘s the next big thing. That's what the UFC's turning into. No one wants to take fights to the ground and the bonuses all go to the guys who stand up to fight. I'm telling you, kickboxing with MMA gloves... After that, all that's left would be sword fighting, two guys in the ring swinging samurai swords [laughter].

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us!

No problem, I'll keep you posted when I get back to Holland.




Comments

Post new comment
Henrik Rautila (29 posts)
Posted: 2007-08-22 at: 08:19
Interesting comments from a fighter I am sure will move on to great things in the near future. I hope he will stay in K-1. Great job as usual Pathologist!
NormaR (1 posts)
Posted: 2007-08-22 at: 09:43
Thanks for this interview!
Dennis, Administrator (1164 posts)
Posted: 2007-08-22 at: 06:28
Bad confidence obviously isn't one of Barrys problems! Hope he can do for americans in K-1 what he wants to. I think all of the world would benefit from K-1 growing stronger in the US.

Great interview Pathologist!
Eldarbong (989 posts)
Posted: 2007-08-28 at: 04:57
"I think that Americans support Americans, and until there's a stand-out American figure in K-1 most people aren't going to be watching it."
..so true. Kudos to Barry for sticking to K-1. K-1>>>UFC any day. I am sure he will get better, considering he is training with Hoost and Slowinski daily.
rebien (13 posts)
Posted: 2007-09-09 at: 08:48
patric barry is very good fighter but he has no fantasy like poul slovinski AND IT NOT GOOD TO SITT HERE AND TALK ABOUT ZABIT SAMEDOV LIKE A WOMAN
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