(At least Page won’t have to worry about this sort of thing anymore. Props to MMAFighting.com)
I can already smell the rumors of a possible match with Kimbo. During a recent podcast with ESPN UK, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson stated that he plans to move to boxing at the end of his UFC contract, primarily to fight people that “aren’t scared.” On the heels of his 4th round submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 134, many have speculated that this was just a case of Page watching The Secret a few too many times, but Jackson seems about as serious as he can be about it:
I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they’re going to do. They turn and run. That’s why I’m gonna go to boxing. I’m gonna try boxing because they’ve got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don’t care because at least it’s a fight.
Given Jackson’s penchant for only using his boxing background in his MMA career, the move doesn’t honestly seem like that bad a move. Let’s be honest, “Rampage” had nothing to offer current champ Jon Jones in their fight, and probably has a long road ahead of him before we start talking about a possible rematch. But one of the main foreseeable problems in Jackson’s boxing future, according to Scott Christ over at Bad Left Hook, is that of his size.
…given his age it would be unlikely he’d be able to cut down to cruiserweight, where there’s no U.S. market, and that means he’d have to fight as a heavyweight. At 6’1″ with a 73″ reach, he’d be undersized and probably underpowered.
An interesting argument, but what do you guys think? Could Jackson ever be more than a PPV draw in the boxing world? Or could we being witnessing the rebirth of his career? More importantly, will Dana White ever allow this shit to happen? Discuss.
-Danga