--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of STRIKEFORCE MIAMI from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. This event will be headlined by Nick Diaz vs. DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title– Join us for the best live fight narrative in the world January 30, 2010 7 PM Pacific /10 PM Eastern.
“If you go by the rules, you end up being an accountant.”
Written by Grady Roy | Wednesday, September 24 2008
Kimbo Slice will face Ken Shamrock October 4th on CBS TV. While it may not be a "battle for the ages" to MMA purists, it could be one of the most watched fights in history.
On Oct. 4th MMA Legend Ken Shamrock will take on Internet street fighter Kimbo Slice at the Bell Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. The announcement came on Thursday, Sept. 11th during a very intense teleconference where Ken Shamrock lashed out at Kimbo Slice and Elite XC.
Ken Shamrock has taken his selection for the fight personally and believes that he is being overlooked and being "thrown to the wolves" based on the perception that he is merely a stepping stone for Kimbo. "That is absolutely what it is....I'm absolutely taking it as an insult, and I'm going to smash it back in their face" said Shamrock.
"All I've got to say is that I apologize for my last couple of performances. I have no excuses. On Oct. 4th, I will shut everybody up and make amends for those (losses) by putting Kimbo's lights out.
That’s a pretty bold statement from a fighter who’s lost 5 straight fights and eight of his last 10. Shamrock hasn't earned a victory in more than four years. Despite his recent short-comings there is no doubt that Shamrock is a MMA legend. He’s been around since the beginning and has been in some legendary battles with the likes of Don Frye, Dan Severn, and Tito Ortiz. And he is the only man who can claim two wins against Bas Rutten, considered by some to be the best pound for pound fighter in the history of the sport. Clearly Shamrock is not intimidated by Kimbo Slice or the hype that follows him.
During the teleconference Kimbo didn't respond in kind to Shamrock's verbal attacks, and for the most part shrugged off the comments. "I’m not a sh**t talker" he claimed.
Kimbo did say, “I grew up watching Ken. I'm honored to fight a guy like him. If I beat Ken's ass, I'm good. This guy has the ability to f**k someone up.....I want a guy whose going to try and kick my ass, try to knock me out, try to break my leg. He still has the ability to pull something off, I don't underestimate anybody".
His claims of not being a "smack talker" notwithstanding, he is showing an unusual amount of respect for Shamrock. Regardless of what he says, it is very uncharacteristic of him. Either he legitimately has that much respect for Ken, or he is scared beyond words. Either way, like it or not the MMA world and the general public will definitely be tuning into this bout between two colorful fighters.
Shamrock’s experience alone is enough to present Kimbo with tons of problems in the cage. While Shamrock may be considered as “past his prime” he’s entering this bout with ample motivation. Facing a "phenom" and rising star in the MMA world it could very well be his last stand, and will be bringing his “A game.” Shamrock noted during the teleconference that a win over Kimbo Slice could be just the thing to put him back on the MMA map.
"It's a huge thing for me and my career, I can taste this one. I want this bad. He's a fast rising star and this is an opportunity for me to get in the ring revive my career."
One advantage Kimbo does have is the wisdom of Bas Rutten. Despite Rutten’s losses to Shamrock, he definitely can provide insight on what Shamrock will bring to the match. His knowledge of Shamrock aside, Rutten may have the best “MMA mind” in the world. His understanding of fighting is encyclopedic.
With Shamrock being a knockout victim in 7 of his last 8 fights, conventional wisdom suggests that he would be best served in being cautious of Kimbo's brute strength. Yet that doesn’t seem to be the case. Shamrock stated,”I don’t have any respect for his power. The only time he has knocked anyone out is when they were tired. At this point, I have no respect for him at all. I'm going in there to whip his ass".
Normally here at The Savage Science we'd offer more of a technical analysis for such a heavily hyped fight, but not this time. All we can say is that this is one you don’t want to miss. Even for the novelty alone, this is definitely one of the most interesting and anticipated fights in modern history.
Stay tuned for more savagery...
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed