Kickboxing Star Ben Saddik Denies Involvement in Antwerp Shootings

"I can’t say anything except that it doesn’t affect me at all. You know how the media works: they need a name to reach a certain audience. If they can do it with my name, then it will be fine," Jamal Ben Saddik told the Dutch media AD.nl. He denies any involvement in the shootings that occurred in Antwerp at the end of May and the beginning of this month.

Jamal Ben Saddik will recall that he has been living in Amsterdam for a year, a city far from Antwerp, where the shootings took place. "Everyone knows where I live. I’ve been in Amsterdam for a year. I train there all day, so if someone wanted to, they could have come. So yes, what can I say? That’s how the media works."

These accusations are far from undermining the morale of the Belgian-Moroccan kickboxer who is preparing his rematch against Romanian Benjamin Adegbuyi. The fight is scheduled for August 20 in Düsseldorf, Germany. "I read it all myself, but at least it didn’t interfere with my preparation," assures Jamal Ben Saddik. "Why should I be afraid?"