There is no greater crime than to be deprived of sharing your gift with the world. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but to let a god-given talent die on the vine is unforgivable, yet this seems to be the fate of one Aleksander Emelianenko. You see, after fighting in a series of meaningful, competitive battles, Aleks found his true calling as a can-crusher. Each morbid beatdown was a sight to behold, a gift to the masses. Sadly, we are now being robbed of that gift. Sure, he’s still standing across the cage from lesser competition, but they are a dangling carrot that he cannot bite, a mirage in the distance that he’ll never actually reach. Observe:
We first caught a glimpse of this phenomenon when Aleks squared off against Eddy Bengtsson. After a scant forty seconds, Bengtsson succumbed to a phantom punch and deprived Aleks the joy of a brutal finish. Fast-forward to last Friday evening, where Aleks took to punching heavybag journeyman Tadas Rimkevicius. To his credit, Rimkevicius seemed game to trade until Emelianenko really started to swang them thangs, which forced “The Lithuanian Bear” to dig deep into his bag of tricks (check out that rolling kneebar at 5:20 and tell me that Tadas isn’t the bastard child of Oleg Taktarov and Ryo Chonan). Ol’ Rimke actually catches Aleks with a left hand and drops him as the round draws to a close, which was possibly the closest anyone came to being legitimately put away in a bout that ended via TKO.
After the jump, Aleks gets cut off at ‘second base’.
There is no greater crime than to be deprived of sharing your gift with the world. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but to let a god-given talent die on the vine is unforgivable, yet this seems to be the fate of one Aleksander Emelianenko. You see, after fighting in a series of meaningful, competitive battles, Aleks found his true calling as a can-crusher. Each morbid beatdown was a sight to behold, a gift to the masses. Sadly, we are now being robbed of that gift. Sure, he’s still standing across the cage from lesser competition, but they are a dangling carrot that he cannot bite, a mirage in the distance that he’ll never actually reach. Observe:
We first caught a glimpse of this phenomenon when Aleks squared off against Eddy Bengtsson. After a scant forty seconds, Bengtsson succumbed to a phantom punch and deprived Aleks the joy of a brutal finish. Fast-forward to last Friday evening, where Aleks took to punching heavybag journeyman Tadas Rimkevicius. To his credit, Rimkevicius seemed game to trade until Emelianenko really started to swang them thangs, which forced “The Lithuanian Bear” to dig deep into his bag of tricks (check out that rolling kneebar at 5:20 and tell me that Tadas isn’t the bastard child of Oleg Taktarov and Ryo Chonan). Ol’ Rimke actually catches Aleks with a left hand and drops him as the round draws to a close, which was possibly the closest anyone came to being legitimately put away in a bout that ended via TKO.
The second frame saw Aleks connecting with hard shots to Rimkevicius’ dome. Then, before the big man fell, before he was even slightly wobbled, he turned away and buried his face in the top rope in defeat. That’s not why you’re here, Tadas! Poor Aleks seems doomed to a never-ending sequence of pugilistic foreplay; it’s a bunch of jabs and stiff ones but he can never fully unload. You’ve got to feel bad for the guy. Then again, maybe it’s wrong to blame these dudes for not going all the way. Better safe than sorry, right?
If you bought a ticket to see Kimbo Slice attempt to extend his professional boxing record to 4-0 with a win over Mike Glenn on March 24, you might want to get yourself a refund — that is unless you want to watch him fight a lesser opponent instead.
CagePotato.com has learned from a source close to Glenn who contacted us Tuesday afternoon that Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, has bowed out of the bout. According to the source the former UFC fighter allegedly told the promoter that he would still participate in the event if they found him another opponent, but explicably stated that he did not want to fight Glenn.
(U mad?)
If you bought a ticket to see Kimbo Slice attempt to extend his professional boxing record to 4-0 with a win over Mike Glenn on March 24, you might want to get yourself a refund — that is unless you want to watch him fight a lesser opponent instead.
CagePotato.com has learned from a source close to Glenn who contacted us Tuesday afternoon that Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, has bowed out of the bout. According to the source the former UFC fighter allegedly told the promoter that he would still participate in the event if they found him another opponent, but explicably stated that he did not want to fight Glenn.
Now the promoter is scrambling to find an opponent for Glenn, a Strikeforce vet who holds a 5-6 record in MMA, who was to make his boxing debut against Slice in the main event of the show in front of his hometown crowd at the O’Reilly Center in Springfield, Missouri in less than two weeks. FYI, the only stoppage on Glenn’s MMA record was a doctor stoppage due to a cut, so maybe Kimbo didn’t like the odds of knocking him out.
Glenn posted the following statement on his Facebook page moments ago:
“Just [want] to tell everybody that bought tixs to see me fight kimbo that he has back[ed] out of the fight… Uh, don’t know why but he has pulled out. He is still on the card, but he wants to fight someone else… Huh, weird!!! To all the people that bought tix to see me I’m sorry, it’s not my doing. Just thought I would let u all know.”
Way to screw the promoter, fans and the friends and family of your opponent who were all excited for this fight, Mr. Slice. Looks like Gary Shaw was right about him.
Can’t wait to hear what $kala has to say about this one.
(“Where I come from, this is what happens to you when you come in smelling like cabbage during a staredown.”)
Dereck Chisora must think he’s the Paul Daley of boxing. The brash Brit today slapped WBC heavyweight kingpin Vitali Klitschko across the face during the staredown at the weigh-ins for their championship bout tomorrow night in Munich. He may not get as good of a shot past the Ukranian can-crusher’s juggernaut’s guard tomorrow night.
The Zimbabwe-born England-raised fighter is just 1-2 in his last three fights. Not sure how rankings work, but in the UFC you might have been fired, not given a title shot after a slide like that.
(“Where I come from, this is what happens to you when you come in smelling like cabbage during a staredown.”)
Dereck Chisora must think he’s the Paul Daley of boxing. The brash Brit today slapped WBC heavyweight kingpin Vitali Klitschko across the face during the staredown at the weigh-ins for their championship bout tomorrow night in Munich. He may not get as good of a shot past the Ukranian can-crusher’s juggernaut’s guard tomorrow night.
The Zimbabwe-born England-raised fighter is just 1-2 in his last three fights. Not sure how rankings work, but in the UFC you might have been fired, not given a title shot after a slide like that.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/davidme5)
Chisora indicated last month that he planned on kissing Vitali during the staredown, but opted instead to give him a French punch on the chin. Enjoy your five minutes, Dereck. Unless you prefer that your five minutes be when you were in the news after you beat up your girlfriend two years ago.
It looks like Brett Rogers is content with his career being that of a can crusher.
The former EliteXC and Strikeforce heavyweight’s next opponent is 38-year-old Todd Allee, who is 2-1 (1 NC) with only four fights under his belt, including two wins against a pair of fighters with a combined 0-3 record.
Now instead he’ll face Allee, a Michigan MMA instructor who hasn’t fought in a year.
(“Awwww…How adorable are you?”)
It looks like Brett Rogers is content with his career being that of a can crusher.
The former EliteXC and Strikeforce heavyweight’s next opponent is 38-year-old Todd Allee, who is 2-1 (1 NC) with only four fights under his belt, including two wins against a pair of fighters with a combined 0-3 record.
Now instead he’ll face Allee, a Michigan-based gym owner and purple belt who hasn’t fought in a year.
Not surprisingly, Alee, like us, isn’t giving himself much of a chance of beating Rogers.
“I’m expected to lose, so if I put in a good performance, I did well for myself,” he explains. “I don’t feel worried.”
He is holding onto a thread of hope that he could somehow pull off a miracle win over his veteran opponent.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to fight a guy like him in my hometown. At this point, I would rather fight a big-name guy like this than some kid from nowhere who is an All-American wrestler and undefeated. Even if I beat [the wrestler], it does nothing for my career,” he says. “If I beat Brett Rogers, I’m a superhero!”
The question is, what kind of a commission sanctions a mismatch like this? Where I live, they’ve turned down evenly-matched fights between veterans because one of the fighters who has fought UFC vets and a WEC champion, hadn’t competed in MMA for three years. Rogers is 11-4. He’s faced Overeem, Barnett and Fedor and he beat Andrei Arlovski. There’s no way he should be matched up with a guy with as little experience as Allee.
Slice, AKA Kevin Ferguson is finally making his boxing debut and, under the watchful eye of former EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw, he will likely have a decent run of beating up overmatched opponents while restocking his breadbox with boxing dollars.
Here’s the lead-in from the hyped-up press release Shaw sent out today:
“Forget the kicking and wrestling, Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson will soon be where he should have been all along… busting heads in a boxing ring.
On Saturday, August 13, legendary street brawler Kimbo Slice will make his long-awaited professional boxing debut in the four-round main event of a Gary Shaw Productions and Tony Holden Promotions boxing extravaganza at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
Slice became the Internet’s first street-certified action hero by smashing down a series of opponents in brutal backyard fist fights. The announcement is good news for fight fans, as he will surely administer a much-needed shot of adrenaline into the American heavyweight scene.”
Slice, AKA Kevin Ferguson is finally making his boxing debut and, under the watchful eye of former EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw, he will likely have a decent run of beating up overmatched opponents while restocking his breadbox with boxing dollars.
Here’s the lead-in from the hyped-up press release Shaw sent out today:
“Forget the kicking and wrestling, Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson will soon be where he should have been all along… busting heads in a boxing ring.
On Saturday, August 13, legendary street brawler Kimbo Slice will make his long-awaited professional boxing debut in the four-round main event of a Gary Shaw Productions and Tony Holden Promotions boxing extravaganza at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
Slice became the Internet’s first street-certified action hero by smashing down a series of opponents in brutal backyard fist fights. The announcement is good news for fight fans, as he will surely administer a much-needed shot of adrenaline into the American heavyweight scene.”
I’m not sure Kimbo will inject anything into the heavyweight boxing scene, but there will be those who watch if not simply for the freakshow factor the backyard brawler will bring.
His first bout under the Gary Shaw Productions banner will be on August 13 in Miami, Oklahoma against a yet-to-be-named victim.
Here’s what the promoter formerly known as $kala, whose new title according to today’s release is “Team Kimbo Promotional Advisor,” had to say about Kimbo’s future in the boxing ring:
“Kimbo was always meant to be in the ring. He’s one of the hardest punchers in the world and on August 13, his journey to becoming America’s heavyweight begins. The first stop will be Oklahoma in what will become the Kimbo Slice Express.”
Slice’s longtime manager “Icey” Mike Imber, said that in spite of Gary Shaw’s earlier assertions that his charge isn’t putting in the effort necessary to succeed in the sport, Kimbo has been training hard for his debut with boxing coach Randy Khatami and that he has also spent some time in top-rated contender Alfredo Angulo’s camp working with his trainer Clemente Medina.
“He’s completely focused on his boxing career and excited to showcase his talents inside the squared circle. Kimbo Slice is hungry and when that man wants his bread, he’s scary. Even in his losses, ‘Kimbo’ brought a level of excitement that few fighters can generate,” Shaw said. “He is a genuine personality with unbelievable strength and character, and we’re excited about his prospects in boxing.The minute he steps in the ring, he’ll be one of the most recognizable and talked-about fighters in the sport, and his fans around the world will once again feel the excitement.”
If only his performance inside the ring or cage was as impressive as the buzz surrounding Slice, he may have some longevity in combat sports.
